Good morning bloggers,
With just ten days left in 2020, I think we are safe to say that there will not be a Tornado Watch issued for the Kansas City metro area. Did you know we went the entire year without one Tornado Watch issued? There were four days with Tornado Warnings around KC, but they came without a watch, and usually in the middle of the night around 2 AM. This is an incredible statistic, and the fact that we share "no tornado watches in all of 2020" with much of Tornado Alley. Take a look:
2020 Tornado Watches:
Just look at these maps. There were no Tornado Watches all year in Wichita, KS; in Kansas City; in Dodge City, KS; across most of western and northwestern Oklahoma. The weather pattern that has now dried out has continued to produce no watches this fall. There were two Winter Storm Warnings over that "no tornado watch" territory of northwestern Oklahoma this month. I am expecting this streak to end in the spring of 2021.
Dry December:
Kansas City has another dry storm system approaching. Just a couple of days ago it appeared we would have a chance of some snow Wednesday into Christmas Eve, but last night on the air I took all chances out. It is looking like a dry front to me. How long will this last?
There is some sign of a storm system early next week, New Year's week. Between now and then, we get to enjoy two really mild days. The record high temperature for today is 63°. We will be making a run at this number this afternoon. Then, it may be a bit warmer on Tuesday, but the record high is 67°.
We are in the warm sector of a fast moving surface cyclone moving across Minnesota and northern Wisconsin this morning. And, then a new system will be developing by tomorrow.
On this map, above, you can see a warm surge developing ahead of a developing strong storm system. This will likely mean tomorrow is warmer than today, but also windier. And, then that front you can see over Montana will be heading south. That is a strong front. There is actually a chance of some rain showers zipping by with less than 0.05" possible on Wednesday morning. But, look at the band of rain by noon on Wednesday, below:
As you can see, on this model, this shows a strong cold front will already be near Chicago and St. Louis by noon Wednesday. And, all of the rain/snow is modeled to be far to the east. The H, plotted on this map, shows the center of the Arctic high pressure area, and we will be going into the cold air. By Friday morning, it may be down to 12 degrees to begin Christmas Day!
Astronomy: Tonight's Viewing Of The Conjunction
There will be a viewing of the conjunction in our western sky just after sunset. Take a look around 6 PM off to the west, a bit south of west, and look for the brightest star. It won't be a star at all, as Jupiter and Saturn, our two "gas giants", our largest planets in the Solar System, will be lined up with Jupiter in front of Saturn. The weather is looking good right now with maybe just a few high clouds. So, we should be able to see this!
So, our dry weather will continue. Expect the big warm up the next two days. I am going to take Sunny The Weather Dog and Rainbow The Weather Puppy (she is now 1 1/2 years old) out for a great noon walk today. Tomorrow will be windier, and then the cold air will arrive Wednesday.
Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day reading the Action Weather Blog! Have a great start to the holiday week.
Gary
