KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hello, weather blog readers! Our week of wintry weather is underway, beginning late tonight with a chance of light snow.
System #1: Overnight to Tuesday morning
Scattered snow showers are possible late tonight into Tuesday morning. Snow accumulations are not very impressive as there is a layer of dry air in the atmosphere that will likely eat away at a lot of the moisture.
If a snow band forms over your area, you can expect a trace to 1/2" of snow. There's also a chance many wake up to no snow on the ground Tuesday.
System #2: Wednesday
The second system will be much more potent and impactful on Wednesday. A winter storm watch is in effect from 9 p.m. Tuesday until 6 p.m. Wednesday.
An upgrade to a winter storm warning may be warranted later today or tomorrow.
Accumulating snow will begin overnight Tuesday, after midnight, and continue until Wednesday evening.
The heaviest snowfall is expected from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m., accompanied by strong winds, which will reduce visibility. Avoid travel or driving in these conditions all day.
Roads will turn snow-covered quickly.
Snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches can be expected for the majority of our area. However, there's still a chance of seeing higher amounts of 5-7" between Kansas City and St. Joseph.
This map shows a model guidance of receiving 6" or more of snow at 40-60% around Kansas City.
Anticipate lingering cancellations into Thursday as many roads could remain covered or partially covered as temperatures dip to the single digits. Some sunshine could help on Thursday afternoon; although, daytime highs stay near 20 degrees.
On top of the snow cover, wind chills on Thursday morning may be as cold as -10°!
Friday will get close to freezing, with some beneficial melting ahead of our next possible wintry system.
System #3: Saturday
Another chance of accumulation exists, but temperatures with this system are a bit more uncertain as warm air attempts to surge in from the south.
Precipitation may begin as rain or a wintry mix Friday night before changing to snow by Saturday afternoon as temperatures drop. The quicker the changeover to snow, the greater the accumulation, and vice versa.
Let's get through Wednesday's snowstorm first, then we'll decide if we should be overly concerned about the weekend storm.
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