Cold blast to bring wild temperature swing to Kansas City; Next winter storm looming
Keep those winter coats handy Kansas City — a cold blast will take the metro from unseasonably warm weather to bitterly cold wind chills all in the next 24 hours.
Despite the chance for light rain or drizzle across much of the Kansas City region, temperatures are expected to soar into the low to mid-50s Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City.
That’s more than 10 degrees warmer than normal. Temperatures typically climb only to the low 40s this time of year.
Winds will pick up in the afternoon, gusting out of the northwest between 20 to 30 mph, which could lead to some elevated fire weather concerns across northeastern Kansas and far northwestern Missouri, according to the weather service’s forecast discussion.
A strong cold front is expected to sweep through the area in the afternoon with colder air behind it. Temperatures will quickly plunge to the mid-20s by midnight and into the low teens by sunrise Saturday. The wind will make it feel much colder, with wind chill values ranging from slightly below zero to the single digits.
Weather conditions will be slow to rebound, resulting in a chilly weekend with temperatures remaining below freezing on Saturday and slightly above freezing on Sunday, according to the weather service.
Winter storm brewing
The metro area will see a brief warm up with temperatures climbing well above normal, reaching into the lower 50s on Monday and the 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The forecast indicates there’s a chance for a winter storm to move through the region on Thursday, bringing rain and possibly snow.
With the storm still a week away, there remains a lot of uncertainty in the forecast. There’s also the possibility of a more than 40 degree temperature spread across the region, with northwest Missouri in the teens and central Missouri in the 50s. Any slight change in the track of the system will have huge effects on the forecast, the weather service said.
“But anyone with travel plans late next week will definitely need to keep track of the forecast,” the weather service said.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 8:16 AM.
