KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Good Wednesday bloggers,
Before we get to the next two storm systems, let's recap this first one that is now over. Admittedly this was somewhat of a dud. We forecast a widespread 3"-4" of snow with pockets of 4"-6", our 3"-6" forecast. Snow amounts across the area were a widespread 2"-3" with a few reports around 3.5"-almost 4".
Across the region, amounts were widespread 2"-3" with pockets of 3"-6". So, this storm ended up being about 1"-3" less than we had forecast. That is equivalent to saying we forecast .30"to .60" of rain and we saw .10" to .30". That is much harder to notice than inches of snow.
This is a radar image from 4:45 a.m. Wednesday. The heaviest snow crossed our area between 4 and 6 a.m. Had it snowed heavier for one more hour, we would have easily seen 3"-5" of snow widespread.
Now, we have two more storm systems to track, each with a unique set of challenges. The 2nd one timed for Saturday looks to be the tougher of the two.
Let's go through this.
TONIGHT-THURSDAY:
We will see a clearing sky tonight allowing temperatures to drop to around 0° with wind chill values around -10°. Our storm system heads to the east coast.
Thursday will be mostly sunny with highs around 20°.
VALENTINE'S DAY
It will be a windy, mostly cloudy and warmer day ahead of the next storm system. The winds will be from the south pushing high temperatures to 35° to 40°. We may see a brief light rain, sleet, snow shower as the warmer air moves in. The warmer air is good, but it sets up a challenging forecast for Saturday.
SATURDAY (STORM #2):
The storm system will be coming through as Arctic air surges south. There are big questions on how strong the storm will be. This will determine how much rain, ice and snow occur.
7 a.m.
Temperatures will still be in the mid to upper 30s as we see rain and thunderstorms from eastern Texas to southern Illinois. A band of rain, freezing rain/sleet then snow will be forming to our west & northwest.
3 p.m.
The colder air will be moving in as we see rain change to freezing rain. This would initially be wet on roads, but could flash freeze into a sheet of ice even if amounts are under .05". The band of snow extends from western Kansas to the Great Lakes.
7
p.m.
Temperatures have fallen to around 20° with snow. So, this sets up a snow-over-ice scenario. This is very tough to drive on and treat regardless of whether there is a lot or not of ice and snow.
This is an especially tricky one, so stay with KSHB 41 for the latest updates.
NEXT TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY (SYSTEM #3):
This system tracks northwest to southeast along the leading edge of an Arctic blast. It has the potential to be a significant snow, but we are way too far out from this storm to make even an educated guess on amounts. What we can tell you is that it is likely all snow, no rain or ice.
Have a great rest of your week and weekend.
Stay healthy
