Is there more snow on the way? What the forecast says for the Kansas City area
Bitterly cold temperatures remained locked in place over Kansas City as rumblings of the next winter storm bubble up.
But before you toss in that snow shovel in despair, here’s what the National Weather Service in Kansas City says.
“You may have heard there is more snow potential Thursday night and Friday,” the weather service said in a post on Facebook. “Well the good news is that this is looking nothing like this past weekend for us.
“The southern half of the area may see a dusting, but overall impacts from this system will be minimal.”
The weather service says Kansas City has a low chance, less than 40%, of a dusting of snow and less than a 2% chance of seeing an inch of snow.
Counties on the southern border of the Kansas City forecast area — Pettis, Henry, Bates and Linn counties — and surrounding areas are expected to see higher snowfall amounts.
As of now, the worst-case scenario is that “a few of our southern counties will see around 2 inches; however, the probability of this occurrence is very low,” the weather service said. The heaviest snow stays in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Dangerously cold temperatures continue in Kansas City
When it comes to the bitter cold, the metro is not so lucky.
A cold air mass remains over the Kansas City area, and when combined with the recent snowfall, temperatures will remain uncomfortably cold, the weather service said.
Temperatures at Kansas City International Airport dropped to 7 degrees shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday. The wind chill plunged to 5 degrees below zero.
Temperatures are expected to climb to around 18 degrees in the metro and between the upper teens and lower 20s elsewhere, keeping the region 15 to 20 degrees below the seasonal average. Typically, Kansas City sees temperatures around 38 degrees during the day and 20 degrees at night.
Warmer weather is expected for the weekend
A shift in winds is coming overnight, which will help the metro “warm up,” the weather service said.
Temperatures will climb to or above freezing on Thursday, the first time in nearly a week. Temperatures will remain around freezing Friday through Sunday.
Another weather system is expected to move through Sunday afternoon, which could bring snow flurries to areas near the Missouri and Iowa border, the weather service said.
A cold front is expected to move through overnight Sunday. The weather service said this would drop temperatures a few degrees and keep the metro’s temperatures below average for the start of next week.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 7:28 AM.
