Good Tuesday bloggers,
We have been in weather March Madness the last few days. I-70 was closed for a few hours Monday in western Kansas due to blizzard conditions and stranded cars. The clouds have cleared out in western Kansas revealing the snow cover. You can tell the difference between the clouds and snow cover as the lakes are visible in the snow cover with no clouds over it. The lakes are the black dots.
We had a high in the 60s Monday followed by a round of strong to heavy thunderstorms that produced small hail and the storm ended with some snow and freezing drizzle this morning. Some locations had a patchy dusting as the snow area was just too weak for much more than that.
It is sure cold enough to snow as temperatures at noon were in the low 30s. Out high today will struggle to 40°. Keep in mind our average high for today us 59° and the average low is 37°.
OK, what is next? We will go day by day through March 31 and talk about early April.
TONIGHT:
The sky will clear meaning we lose our nighttime blanket, clouds, so a hard freeze is likely with lows in the low to mid 20s. The wind will drop to NW at 5-15 mph at least, but that means wind chill values will still be in the teens.
WEDNESDAY:
A warming trend begins as highs reach the low 50s. A weak disturbance may bring a period of clouds and a few sprinkles, but it will basically be a partly cloudy and dry day with a light wind.
THURSDAY MORNING (OPENING DAY):
It will be a cold start with lows in the 30s and a light SW wind.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON (OPENING DAY):
The weather looks great for the first game of the 2024 Royals baseball season. First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. It will be sunny with highs in the mid to upper 60s. The wind will be south-southwest at 10-20 mph, blowing out, but not a huge factor.
On the bigger picture Thursday we will see a front stalled along I-80 separating our warming air from still winter temperatures in the northern Plains. The front will be inactive due to lack of Gulf moisture.
FRIDAY:
We will warm further in the 70s as the front to the north becomes a cold front. A few showers and thunderstorms may form on the front Friday night across northern Missouri into Iowa as Gulf moisture increases a bit.
SATURDAY:
The front will likely move through and stall. It still looks mostly inactive, but a few showers and thunderstorms may form from Missouri and east later in the day or at night as Gulf moisture continues to increase. We will see highs in the 60s. If the front stalls to our north, we will make a run at 80°.
SUNDAY (MARCH 31):
This is when things start to get interesting. The front will be in the area with dewpoints south of the front in the 60s. These ingredients combined with a storm system tracking through the southwest USA may allow for thunderstorms to form on the front, especially from KC and east where there is deeper Gulf moisture. Yes, the thunderstorms may be severe, but it is way to early to go in detail.
Early next week the storm system will track across the Plains and we will have a chance of thunderstorms, possibly severe, followed by a new shot of colder air and perhaps a freeze.
The first half of April is looking active and we will look for the potential of a bigger storm around the 10th.
Have a great rest of your week.
Stay healthy.
