KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Good Friday morning, weather bloggers,
A very active day is underway for Kansas City.
First up - the strong wind! Unlike last week, the wind is coming from the south and brings in very warm temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. Sustained winds of 30-40 mph are likely today, with gusts up to 50-60 mph. And that is without a thunderstorm.
Because of this, our fire danger has also increased! A High Wind Warning and Red Flag Warning goes into effect at 11am.
Next up, is the severe weather threat. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed part of our area now in the enhanced (threat level 3/5) & moderate (threat level 4/5) risk area for locations over central & western Missouri. The threat of witnessing storm-associated wind gusts of 75mph & stronger has warranted this upgrade.
As highlighted by the SPC, the greatest chance of seeing wind gusts over 75mph is showing up in the red & pink zone.
Meanwhile, the tornado threat is also greatest out east, especially between Columbia & St. Louis, but it's not completely zero around KC.
Here's more on the timing & threats for our area today.
2-4pm: A broken line of storms initiate west of KC. A brief moment of heavy rain and strong winds possible at this time.
3-5pm: Storms sweep through the city & the northland. The severe threat increases as the storm cells form into a line & zip quickly northeast. Wind gusts associated with the thunderstorms could easily get up to 60-75 mph. The chance of larger hail stones & a brief spin-up tornado increases east to northeast of KC.
5-6pm: The line of storms continues to stay very strong bringing the concern of extreme wind, large hail & spin-up tornado over northern & central Missouri. Storms are out by 6pm.
THE WEEKEND:
It turns much cooler over the weekend. Temperatures stay very cool in the 50s with gusty winds on Saturday with more of a relief on Sunday.
