With cold and snow in the forecast, Kansas City will get an early taste of winter
For those who dislike the snow and the cold, Kansas City’s forecast for the week of Halloween could be downright scary.
“We have our first taste of winter in our forecast,” said FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter, who provides weather updates to The Star. “Throughout the day today we are going to really hold steady — upper 30s and lower 40s for the air temperatures.”
There’s a chance of a mist or drizzle Monday. The likelihood of a cold rain increases in the afternoon and evening as temperatures begin falling, she said.
“Our system is still developing out to our west, but it will arrive her later in the day,” Ritter said. “Our chances for winter weather will also go up, just outside of the metro later this evening.”
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The Star produced this weather update in partnership with the local FOX4 television station. The station’s meteorologists create forecast videos multiple times a day for the newspaper to include in its weather reports.
The areas with the best chance of seeing accumulating snow overnight will be northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri.
“If we have some wet flakes mixing in, I’m not worried about accumulations here in Kansas City with this event,” Ritter said. “But we have more winter weather in the forecast for as we head into Wednesday night and Thursday morning.”
Accumulating snow north of KC
Monday’s scattered drizzle and rain showers are expected to transition to a rain-and-snow mix and then to all snow after 7 p.m. Monday across northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri, according to the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill.
Although the chance of snow continues overnight, less than an inch of snow is expected. Most areas will see under a half inch of snow, according to the weather service.
A stronger winter storm, however, is expected to bring several inches of accumulating snow midweek. Uncertainty still exists as to where the storm will track and how much will accumulate, according to the weather service.
There is also a chance for periods of light freezing drizzle Wednesday night into Thursday.
It will also be cold, with temperatures expected to be well below normal through next week. Wind chills will drop into the teens and low 20s Thursday morning.
Because of the snow, freezing drizzle and cold, travel conditions could become dangerous Wednesday into Thursday for portions of eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
Record could fall Halloween
Trick-or-treaters headed out this Halloween will need to plan a costume that allows them to bundle up.
The high Thursday will likely be among the coldest, if not the coldest, high in Kansas City for that day. The metro’s coldest high on record for Halloween is 36 degrees in 1951, the weather service said on Facebook.
The weather service said Sunday night that the forecast high for this Halloween is 38 degrees, but that forecast high could drop a few degrees as the day gets closer.
This could also be the 11th time that Kansas City has seen measurable snowfall in October. Snow is a rarity, although not unheard of, in the metro area during this month. Last year, .2 inches of snow fell on Oct. 14, which set the record for earliest measurable snowfall in Kansas City.
If Kansas City gets a measurable snowfall this week, it will be only the second time that has happened in back-to-back years in Kansas City’s 132-year history. The only other time that happened was in 1912 and 1913, according to the weather service.
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
