Christmas in KC to be bitterly cold as a winter storm with measurable snow looms
It will be bitterly cold in the Kansas City area this holiday as wind chills are expected to be near zero degrees on both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.
“Later on today for Christmas Eve, it’s going to be cold,” said FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter, who provides weather updates to The Star. “Highs at best will be in the mid- and upper 20s. It’s going to feel like the teens throughout the day, and we are anticipating as the day unfolds, lots of sunshine.”
Temperatures, however, will drop down to around 12 degrees, with wind chills making it feel more like 5 degrees.
“We start to see our temps going back up tomorrow above average,” said Ritter. “Highs on Christmas with sunshine will be in the lower 40s.”
The normal high on Christmas in Kansas City is 38 degrees with an average low of 21 degrees.
Temperatures will climb to around 60 degrees on Saturday with Sunday being a bit cooler, but still above average, at 47 degrees. The cold returns early next week with highs around 30 degrees on Monday.
“Tuesday and Wednesday has caught my attention,” Ritter said. “We have the potential for rain, a wintry mix and snow on the table. And it’s going to be an interesting 24 to 48 hours at the tail end of our seven day forecast. We’re monitoring that very closely.”
The National Weather Service in Kansas City said in its forecast discussion that it’s too early to clamp down on expected snowfall totals but “the signal for a nice winter storm system moving through from I-44 to I-90 is more likely and worth watching trends as we get closer.”
Early estimates indicate three to four inches of snow could be possible north of the Missouri River and one to two inches to the south, according to the weather service.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we did this story
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 December 24, 2020 at 9:17 AM.
