Happy Tuesday, blog readers —
After a gloomy Monday, we've at least got the sun back today ... but, unfortunately, we also have the cold air back.
This cold air combo with some lingering moisture is a recipe for flurries overnight.
But when it comes to impact, it is really the wind chill factor that will hit hard for your Wednesday start.
7 p.m. tonight to 7 a.m. Wednesday
We are tracking pockets of light snow in the northern Great Plains that are wrapping into the forecast tonight.
Some could start seeing a few flakes fly this evening with flurries and snow staying very scattered in nature.
Here is a look at what radar could look like by 8-11 p.m.
You'll notice coverage isn't great, and these pockets will remain fairly wimpy. That means maybe a few flakes flying around.
There is one area through northern Missouri along I-35 we are watching that could see up to 1" of accumulation.
There is a chance we could see a small band of snow there into early Wednesday morning.
While snow is the main weather impact people watch during the winter, it's really the cold air that has a bigger punch this round.
We are expecting wind chills in the 5-15° range to greet you as you head out the door Wednesday morning.
Make sure to bundle up the kids for the bus stop and grab all the winter gear for the day ahead because we aren't going to get above freezing Wednesday.
Next chance of precip: Friday
We look to stay cold until Friday. Then, we've got a warm air system pushing in from the south that will bring us back to the 50s for the weekend.
But it comes with a chance of light rain. The rain-snow line with this next setup continues to pull further and further north with each model run and the heavier rain continues to pull east.
Expect limited rain totals for us here in KC.
But also, did anyone else not realize this Friday is a Friday the 13th! So if you grab the umbrella Friday, make sure you aren't opening it up inside :P.
Looking ahead
Overall, these two precip chances are kind of meh. They aren't super organized, they won't hit us with a lot of moisture and the real impact continues to be the big swings in temperature this month.
So as we start to look ahead to the Christmas holiday, the forecast is leaning green vs. white.
The climate outlook for mid-December is warm and dry for a lot of the U.S.
The bigger concern for me to see is a dry ridge could be setting up shop Dec. 17-23.
On any given year, the Kansas City area holds a 25% chance to see a white Christmas, but this setup has me thinking our chance will be much lower than that this year.
The flurries we see Wednesday morning might be it for a while! Stay warm and safe out there.
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