It will be ‘hot’ in KC before Arctic blast sends temps tumbling. How cold will it get?
Kansas City will see some of the warmest temperatures of the New Year over the next couple of days, but an arctic blast will follow closely behind with dangerously cold weather.
The National Weather Service said it will be “hot” on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures above freezing across a widespread area. Friday will be the warmest, with some areas south of the U.S. 50 highway seeing temperatures climb into the low 50s.
The metro’s temperatures are expected to be around 40 degrees on Thursday and 44 degrees on Friday. This is the warmest since the start of the New Year when temperatures climbed to 44 degrees on Jan. 2.
It has been a cold start to the year, with about 9 degrees below average daytime temperatures. The average daytime temperature for the first 15 days of this year is 29.5, compared to the typical 38.3 degrees for that period.
“This much welcome warmth will be short lived however,” the weather service said.
A cold front will push through the area Friday night, bringing a chance of precipitation to the southern and eastern parts of the Kansas City forecast area. Because of the warm weather, only rain will fall.
Arctic air to bring extreme cold to Kansas City
The cold front will usher in another round of extreme cold with dangerously cold wind chills, the weather service said.
Temperatures on Saturday will climb only into the mid-20s in the metro.
Temperatures will be in the low 20s by the 3:30 p.m. kickoff of the AFC divisional playoff game between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The wind chill will be around 10 degrees.
Temperatures will drop into the teens overnight.
Dangerously cold temperatures linger into next week
The coldest temperatures from the arctic blast will arrive Sunday and remain in the area through Thursday.
Daytime temperatures will be in the mid-teens on Sunday, plunging below 0 overnight. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, temperatures will climb to the low teens before diving to -1 degrees overnight.
Tuesday will be slightly warmer, with temperatures reaching around 20 degrees and dropping to the low teens overnight.
Wind chill values of -10 to -15 degrees will be possible, and some areas could see even colder wind chill values.
Temperatures are expected to climb to around freezing on Wednesday.
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 7:43 AM.
