Strong rain storms in forecast for Kansas City area as cold front drops temperatures
Temperatures Wednesday will once again soar into the 80s in the Kansas City area, but a cold front arriving in the afternoon will send temperatures tumbling and bring the possibility of storms, said FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter.
“It’s going to get pretty warm outside as we wait on a cold front to approach, which will get here during the afternoon — 3 to about 6 o’clock from north to south,” said Ritter, who provides weather updates to The Star.
“Ahead of it, we are going to top out in the lower 80s and then we’re quickly going to fall as some much colder air arrives,” she said.
Rain should not be an issue Wednesday morning. However, during the afternoon, especially between 3 and 6 p.m., there may be some stronger thunderstorms that pop up across the metro area, especially along and east of the Kansas and Missouri state line, she said.
“The Missouri side certainly stands to see a better chance for storms and some of them, especially in central Missouri could be strong to severe,” Ritter 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.
The roller coaster ride of rising and falling temperatures will continue with temperatures near 82 degrees Wednesday and then only the upper 50s on Thursday and Friday. The morning lows will be in the mid-30s on Thursday and around 30 degrees on Friday.
It’ll be warmer this weekend, with temperatures in the low 60s on Saturday and mid-50s on Easter Sunday. There’s a chance of rain on both days.
Temperatures will then plunge again with morning lows on Monday in the 30s and the high warming only to the upper 30s.
Scattered strong thunderstorms east of KC
The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill said that scattered strong thunderstorms are expected Wednesday afternoon in northeastern and central Missouri. The storms are likely to move through that area between 3 and 7 p.m., bringing the chance of frequent lightning at times.
The main threat from these storms is hail between 1 and 1 1/2 inches in diameter and winds reaching 50 to 60 mph. Tornadoes are unlikely, the weather service said.
As the cold front moves through the Kansas City area, sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, along with occasional gusts of 40 mph, are expected Wednesday evening.
People using temporary outdoor structures, including tents for medical purposes, should expect strong winds to last for about eight hours, the weather service said in its forecast guidance for temporary structures.
The weather service also advised that tents don’t offer any protection from lightning and should be evacuated in advance of, during and 30 minutes after thunderstorms. People should know their tents’ wind rating and make sure their tents are deployed and anchored per manufacturer recommendations.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 8:14 AM.
