Cold, light rain to change over to snow later Thursday in Kansas City
Commuters might see some snowflakes falling as they head home during the evening rush hour Thursday, according to FOX4 meteorologist Alex Countee.
“Throughout this afternoon, we are going to hold onto a little bit of some drizzle and cold, light rain, with temperatures in the mid-30s — above freezing for the most part,” said Countee, who provides weather updates to The Star.
“But come late this afternoon into the evening, that’s when we are going to see the transition from the drizzle to the snowflakes,” he said.
The snow will represent the final wave of a three-day storm system that has been rolling through the metro this week. The snow will slowly sag through the metro from the north around 5:30 p.m., which will be after the evening rush for the most part.
“Overnight tonight as we head toward 10 p.m., we are going to see more widespread snow for the immediate metro and again up toward the north,” Countee said. “Then it kind of pivots toward the Missouri side as we head toward the Friday morning drive.”
By 5 a.m. Friday, the storm will be moving out of the area, with the Kansas side of the metro seeing only snow flurries.
“On the I-435 loop on the Missouri side, that is where we are going to see snow showers and that could be on the more moderate to heavy side toward Odessa, Warrensburg and even Sedalia before even that starts slowly break down throughout Friday morning,” Countee said.
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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.
Snow totals
Snowfall totals are expected to be up to 2 inches in the Kansas City area and 2 to 4 inches east of the metro. Some areas could see as much as 5 inches of snow, depending on how the heavier bands of snow set up.
With the threat of possible snow, the Kansas City District of the Missouri Department of Transportation urged drivers to have their emergency kits ready in their vehicles.
Friday will remain cold and cloudy, with a high temperature hovering around 32 degrees.
“It will be a very slow warm up, but staying dry throughout the weekend,” Countee said. Highs are expected to be in the 30s on Saturday and Sunday and then the 40s to start work week.
The next winter storm system is expected to arrive Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
To bring a “ray of hope” to a cold, dreary day in Kansas City, the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill said the coldest period for Kansas City typically falls between Jan. 10 and 22.
“Today’s the 23rd so it’s all uphill from here!” the weather service said in a tweet.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 12:58 PM.
