It's been an icy Monday, blog readers. And another round of rain and ice is possible tonight.
The good news is that the round we are tracking tonight should lift north of the metro and be less intense than what we had to deal with this morning.
But still, minor ice accumulations are never fun.
So let's talk timeline, track and totals!
Timeline & Track
This storm is being fueled by the gulf, and more moisture is expected to lift north this evening.
With that, expect rain to enter the metro by 8-9 p.m. and then spread north through the night.
As we head toward midnight, some rain could mix with sleet and freezing rain, yet again.
But this go-around should be more mixed with rain, so less intense, and should stay north of Interstate 70, so fewer roadways (hopefully) are impacted.
Still, expect some slick roads Tuesday morning for areas north of Kansas City.
Tonight
8 p.m. to midnight: Mainly rain lifting north and spreading through the KC area.
Overnight into Tuesday
Midnight to 6 a.m.: Some frozen precip (sleet and freezing rain shown in pink in the futurecast) mixes in for areas north of Kansas City. This could allow for some minor ice accumulations for those north, but overall, this is mainly a rain event for many.
Totals
Rain totals should be around 0.5" over the next 24 hours, which should help clear out roads and wash away salt and ice concerns for many.
When it comes to ice, we are keeping those minor and light accumulations mainly north of Kansas and closer to the Iowa border.
So far, this month has been wet. For both snow and rain, we are ahead of the game.
Our rain total is sitting at 1.13" vs. the 0.77" it is normally at, and for snow, we are at 8.7" vs. the 3.2" we are normally at for this point in time.
Our snow depth is also still at 1.3" toward the airport, but snow will be melting quickly with the rain and the warmer weather ahead.
What's Next?
Another rain chance is looking likely with a system pushing north Tuesday night and a quick rain by Wednesday morning.
Then, we are tracking a system that right now is evolving to pass just to the south of KC Saturday night, so stay tuned for some rain impacts possible this weekend.
And saving the best for last ... as we move closer to February, a pattern change is looking likely that will warm us up close to the 50s!
We do look to stay right on the edge of the rainy wet El Niño pattern into early February.
So here's to getting through a little ice tonight before we turn up the heat for February!
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