Rain, thunderstorms sweep through KC; snow possible later this week

Rain and thunderstorms were expected to sweep across the Kansas City area Monday morning and afternoon, bringing the chance for brief periods of moderate to heavy rain fall.

The storms were not expected to be severe, but there’s a chance they could produce a funnel cloud or two. These funnel clouds, however, were expected to be harmless and not likely to result in a tornado, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City.

Highs Monday were expected to reach into the lower 50s with overnight lows falling into the 30s. Highs were expected to remain in the middle 30s Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter system was expected to move into the Kansas City area later this week. There’s a potential for a wintry mix of precipitation, including snow, Thursday through Saturday.

But there’s uncertainty in the timing, track, location and type of precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.

If the storm system targets Kansas City, it has the potential to bring several inches of snow by the weekend.

Meanwhile, those looking forward to Christmas, the National Climatic Data Center released a map last week showing the historical probability of a White Christmas.

The map is based on data from 1981 to 2010.

Kansas City typically has about a 20 percent chance of having a White Christmas with more than 1 inch of snow on the ground, according to the National Weather Service.

Of course actual weather conditions will determine whether there’s snow on the ground Christmas Day.