Is Kansas City in a drought? What to know about why it hasn’t been raining
It’s still looking like the Kansas City area will have a warmer than normal winter this year.
And while the cold weather taking an absence at this time of year is nothing new, something else is also missing, and it’s made things pretty dry.
There hasn’t been a significant amount of rain in nearly a month.
The last measurable rainfall that occurred at Kansas City International Airport happened on Nov. 14, and it was less than an inch of precipitation.
Why is this happening? The Star’s service team spoke with Brett Williams, who’s been with the National Weather Service in Kansas City for the past 10 years, for answers.
Why has it been so dry in Kansas City?
Williams said we’ve been experiencing a pattern of wind and weather that has prevented rain from coming through. There have been a lot of something Williams called “ridging,” which means that the air pressure above the metro has been high, which makes it harder for clouds to form and it less likely to rain.
The warmer weather hasn’t helped Kansas City end the drought. Williams said that Kansas City’s current warm weather pattern is not conducive to bringing rain to the metro.
What’s causing it to be warmer than normal?
Speaking of warm weather, Williams said this is due to a lower frequency of arctic air masses moving through. It’s common for this time of year to receive strong cold fronts that originate in Canada to move south, and there have been very few of those in the region. The cold fronts that do appear are short-lived and quickly replaced by a warmer air masses.
So far, Kansas City is nine degrees above normal for December. The average temperature for the month is a high of 46 and a low of 27, and in 2021 the average high is 56 and the low is 34.
Only 30% of Kansas City winters since 1888 haven’t had snowfall at this point and Williams said it looks like the city will be snow-free at least until the end of next week. Only 25% of winters haven’t had snowfall at Dec. 16, and the percentage drops as the days go on.
“To get snow, you need to have some cold air in place and we’ve had a significant absence of cold air and then of course, we’ve also had an absence of precipitation,” Williams said. “We haven’t had the ingredients in place to give us snow, but it doesn’t look like any time in the near future we’ll see that.”
Should you be concerned?
The most important thing to be aware of is the possibility of grasses curing, which happens in dry conditions and makes grass susceptible to igniting. Williams cited the large fire at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium after the game concluded on Sunday.
Very low humidity and windy conditions can lead to some elevated fire concerns, so he suggests that people be aware that any kind of dry grass is at a higher risk of igniting and spreading a fire.
He also stressed that people should continue to prepare for winter weather. While it’s been warm and dry recently, it doesn’t mean that a cold air outbreak or a snowstorm won’t show up. Don’t let your guard down, he said.
