‘Just ain’t right’: Kansas City sees return of winter after temps plunge from 70s to teens
A day after folks in the Kansas City area were basking in sunny 70-degree weather, they are scrambling to find their winter coats, mittens and other cold weather gear.
A strong cold front moved through the area Tuesday afternoon and evening, sending temperatures plunging from the daily max temperature of 73 degree in the afternoon to the daily low of 19 degrees reported just before midnight, the National Weather Service said.
The daily temperature range of 54 degrees tied for the fourth largest on record, the weather service said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The other top dates:
- 65 degrees on Nov. 11, 1911
- 57 degrees on Jan. 15, 1953
- 56 degrees on Nov. 21, 1898
- 54 degrees on March 2, 1904
- 54 degrees on Dec. 14, 2008
Temperatures continued to tumble overnight.
“It’s a very cold start to the day, especially considering where we were this time yesterday.” the weather service said in a separate post on X. “Temperatures across the region are in the teens w/ wind chills ranging from 5 below zero to 7 above zero.”
Just before 7 a.m., temperatures at Kansas City International Airport was 12 degrees with a wind chill of minus 4 degrees.
The cold, combined with rain, graupel and snow from an overnight winter storm created icy roads in Kansas City’s Northland and led to crashes early in Wednesday morning’s commute.
“This weather just ain’t right,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said on X.
There will not be much relief from the cold on Wednesday either. Despite sunny skies, afternoon temperatures are expected to remain in the 30s in Kansas City. The normal temperature this time of year is 49 degrees.
The cold will be short lived, as above normal temperatures are expected on Thursday. Afternoon temps will climb near 60 degrees.
The warm up is expected to continue into the weekend, with temperatures of 60 degrees expected on Friday, 75 on Saturday and 80 degrees on Sunday. Sunny skies are expected through the weekend.
Rain chances return Sunday night into Monday, according to the weather service.
This story was originally published February 28, 2024 at 7:51 AM.
