Good September, bloggers —
We are now in the last quarter of the year. Time is flying.
This is Sept. 1, also known as August statistics day.
The month started without a cloud in the sky, allowing us to see the crescent moon and Venus rise before the sun.
We will look back at August and then into the first week of September as we have big Royals games and one big Chiefs game.
AUGUST STATS:
Officially, August will finish as the 22nd driest on record. Records go back to 1888, 136 years ago.
Overall, it was nearly 1° below average despite highs of 99° on the 25th and 26th. There were many locations on those days that reached 100°-102°.
The high on the 27th was 96°, so we had three straight days with highs 95° or higher for the first time this summer. This is also known as a heat wave.
It's better to have your first heat wave at the end of the summer instead of at the start.
Since fall is around the corner, our chances of another heat wave drop fast.
Not all locations were drier than average.
On the southwest side of KC, in Johnson County, there was 3"-5" of rain. Also, northern Missouri received 4"-6" of rain.
Chillicothe was the big winner, as far as official reporting stations are concerned, with 6.06" of rain in August.
There were more locations with below-average rainfall as St. Louis received 27% of average rainfall. C
entral and western Kansas received some decent rain with 100% to 150% of average rainfall.
Here is the latest drought monitor.
The wetter weather out west reduced the drought some with more locations out of a severe drought (level 3 of 5). The drier weather in eastern Missouri and overall around here has brought some level 1/2 of 5 drought conditions.
As we look closer, level 1/2 droughts are increasing around KC.
The moderate drought in Johnson County may get knocked down a bit on the next drought monitor as this monitor does not include the heavy rain in Johnson County Tuesday evening.
Northern Missouri is in good shape as they had a wet August.
Now to the first days of September.
RAINFALL NEXT 7 DAYS:
The first week of September is not going to help much with the drier areas as amounts will be mostly trace-.50".
When is the rain going to occur? We are tracking two storm systems.
TODAY:
Highs will be 80°-85° as a cold front slips through without a cloud and a northeast breeze at 5-15 mph.
Scattered thunderstorms will still be lingering from the Missouri-Arkansas border and south. Table Rock Lake may see some thunderstorms.
LABOR DAY MORNING:
There will be a fall feel in the air as lows drop to 50°-55°. A few upper 40s may show up in northern Missouri.
LABOR DAY AFTERNOON & TUESDAY:
The weather looks spectacular as we see highs 75°-80° along with an east breeze at 5-15 mph. Highs will be in the upper 60s as close as eastern Iowa.
High clouds will cross our sky, but the sun will be able to shine through them. Lows will be in the 50s again Tuesday morning.
WEDNESDAY:
The first of two storm systems we will be tracking will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms to mainly southeast Kansas to southwest, central and eastern Missouri.
The map below is valid at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
During the day, the scattered showers and thunderstorms will track northeast toward Columbia and St. Louis.
It looks like it will stay south of KC, bringing us some clouds. This means we will see more nice weather with highs in the low 80s.
You will notice the humidity creep up a bit as well.
CHIEFS THURSDAY AFTERNOON:
The second system will cross the region from northwest to southeast.
At this time, it looks like we will see a few showers and thunderstorms around with highs in the low to mid-80s.
CHIEFS THURSDAY EVENING/NIGHT:
You can see on this map, valid at 7 p.m., there are scattered showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures would be in the 70s.
As is, this would mean that the chance of a thunderstorm at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium during tailgating, kickoff and during the game is about 30%.
But the questions here are the timing of the system and whether the system is weaker or stronger.
If it is stronger, the rain and thunderstorms could be more widespread. If it is slower, the rain would hold off until later Thursday night.
The bottom line ... keep checking the forecast each day to see how this trends as we get closer.
CHIEFS/ROYALS WEATHER:
At this moment for the Chiefs game, temperatures will drop from the low 80s to mid-70s.
There will be a chance of isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms through the day and night.
We will be updating and refining this forecast throughout the week.
Stay with KSHB 41 for the forecast updates and the game itself. Kickoff is at 7:20 p.m. on KSHB 41.
We can't forget about the Royals in the heat of a playoff chase.
Fortunately, on Saturday, the Guardians, Twins and Red Sox lost. But the Royals need to stop the losing ASAP.
They have a big series this week against the Guardians Monday-Wednesday. The weather looks great for all three games.
We will watch the first system Wednesday, but it looks like it will stay well south of I-70.
Have a great rest of your Labor Day weekend and the week ahead.
Stay healthy.
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