Big change coming as freeze warnings, wintry mix of rain, snow likely in Kansas City
A day after Kansas City just missed setting a record high temperature, the metro area is about to get its first taste of winter, said FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter.
“We have some big changes to talk today,” said Ritter, who provides weather updates to The Star. “Northerly winds have returned with wind gusts about 20 mph.”
Rain and storms that moved into the Kansas City area early Friday are leaving much colder temperatures behind, she said. The high on Friday is expected to be 45 degrees.
That’s significantly lower than the high of 86 the metro reached on Thursday, making it the second warmest Oct. 22 in Kansas City’s history. The record is 87, which was reached in 1963, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City.
“For the next five days it’s looking much colder with highs in the 30s and 40s and that is going to set us up for our weekend and early next week,” Ritter said.
A freeze warning is in effect from 11 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday as temperatures as low as 27 degrees are expected in the metro area. Areas to the north will see lows a few degrees colder.
Frost and freezing conditions will likely kill crops and other sensitive vegetation as well as possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing, the weather service warned.
It will be dry on Saturday with highs in the 40s. Soggy conditions return on Sunday with highs in the 40s.
Ritter said on Twitter that a meteorologist with a TV station in Denver is calling for 1 to 3 inches of snow on the ground for kickoff of the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos football game Sunday afternoon in Denver with temps in the lower 20s.
“Then by Monday, the return, for the first time of this year, winter weather,” Ritter said of Kansas City. “We’ll be watching very closely for a wintry mix.”
The weather service said wintry precipitation may affect the entire area late Sunday into Monday with accumulating snow possible north of a line stretching from Leavenworth to Kirksville. Areas south of that line, including the Kansas City metro area, will likely see a wintry mix. Points south of the metro will likely see rain.
BEHIND THE STORY
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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.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 8:44 AM.
