KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Good Friday bloggers,
Today is one of the three days (June 19-21) where we have the longest daylight of the year, 14 hours and 55 minutes. The sunrise is 5:52 a.m. and the sunset is 8:47 p.m.
The northern hemisphere of the Earth, on the first day of Summer, is tilted towards the sun. So, the sun is shining directly on our part of the world. This is why summer is the hottest season of the year.
On the first day of Winter our part of the world is pointed away from the sun. This is why Winter is the coldest season of the year. The first days of Fall and Spring the Equator sees the direct rays of the sun. That is why Fall and Spring we see cold and warm days.
The Earth is always tiled to the left at 23.5 degrees as it rotates around the sun every 365 days.
Before we look at the first week of Summer, we look back at the last 90 days. We are going to look at the rainfall, because amounts varied greatly across the area. Keep in mind these are radar/satellite estimated totals so your rain gauge may read different.
Average rainfall around here for the Spring is 13"-14". KC was about 1"-3" below average. There was a location around Higginsville, MO to Waverly, MO that was about 5"-6" below average.
When we look at our viewing area, amounts ranged from just 3.5" in far northwest Missouri where there is a level 1 of 4 drought to 2 feet from around Iola, KS to Nevada, MO. Rainfall the last 7 days fit this trend almost exactly.
Our viewing area was on the northern edge of a huge area of excessive rainfall this Spring. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas to the Tennessee Valley and southeast USA saw 2 to 3 feet of rain! Oklahoma City averages about 12"-13" during the Spring.
As we begin Summer the rainfall pattern will shift around a bit. We will have more below.
In the upper level flow we are seeing the first upper level high of the season. This is also known as an anticyclone, heat dome and heat wave creating machine.
Today the upper level high is over Louisiana. We are on the northern edge and that is why there were a few showers and thunderstorms along and north I-70. A small disturbance was tracking along the northern edge of the building dome.
Saturday will see the dome shift east to the Tennessee valley. We are on the western edge, but still under its influence.
Monday the dome will shift to the east coast, but we are still under its influence as the dome keeps growing as it tracks east. Rain and thunderstorms will be found across the northern Plains where the rain-making jet stream is located. The thunderstorm zone will shift very slowly south next week as the dome decreases very slowly.
Highs today will reach 90°, officially, for the first time since October 12th, 2024, 251 days ago. A Heat Advisory is in effect today and Saturday for our area. There are Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Watches/Warnings for much of the USA east of the Rockies.
TODAY-SATURDAY:
Highs will be in the low 90s with high humidity. A south-southwest wind at 15-25 mph, gusting 30-40 mph at times will help a bit. The 100 degree heat will be out west with lower humidity. So, basically hot is hot.
SUNDAY:
We will see a cold front enter the northern Plains. The Dakotas will see highs in the 60s and 70s, while we stay in the low 90s with high humidity and wind.
MONDAY:
The front makes it to western Kansas northeast to Iowa. But, it becomes a stationary front. The thunderstorms will be tied to the front. It will be very tough for them to get down here. There is a slim chance the front stalls farther south and/or a cluster of thunderstorms decides to break off from the main area.
Also, notice the highs in the 80s from southeast Kansas to southern Missouri. This is due to the start of seeing cumulus clouds and daily scattered showers and thunderstorms. Our area may end up being in between the daily scattered thunderstorms to the south and organized thunderstorms to the north.
RAINFALL FORECAST NEXT 7 DAYS:
The rain chances don't really start until Tuesday. You can see the main rain zone from western Kansas to the upper Midwest where widespread 1"-2" of rain is likely. There will be pockets of 2"-7" of rain. We are in the under .10" zone as we could see a few daily thunderstorms. But, the better chances may be south of here where you can see .50"-1" areas.
SPRINKLER WARNING:
Our next legitimate chance of rain is 7-10 days away. So, we are issuing a "Sprinkler Warning" if you want to keep that yard green. It takes 1"-1.50" of rain per week to keep the yard green this time of year. And, with the next 3 days seeing abundant sunshine, highs in the low 90s and a wind 15-25 mph with gusts 30-40 mph the evaporation rate will be high. Also, the last 7 days we missed most of the rain. Our area saw .10"-.50" while the areas that have been wet all Spring saw 3"-6" of rain.
Have a great weekend
Stay healthy
