Could Kansas City break a record for warm temperatures? Here’s how hot it will get
The Kansas City area will flirt with breaking a 119-year-old record as temperatures are expected to be more than 20 degrees warmer than usual through the end of the work week.
“Temperatures today are forecast to rise back into the 70s across the entire area, and it is possible for our southern counties to hit the upper 70s and maybe an hour or two right at the 80F mark,” the National Weather Service said in its forecast discussion.
In the metro, temperatures are expected to climb to 78 degrees, which is just shy of the record of 80 degrees for March 12 set in 1916. Even if the record isn’t broken, Wednesday will be one of the hottest. Only 10 other times in Kansas City’s history have temperatures reached 75 degrees or above.
Typically, Kansas City sees temperatures reach 54 degrees this time of year.
Expect a lot of sun and dry weather the next couple of days, the weather service said. Fire weather concerns will be minimal due to weak winds.
Strong storm system is brewing in KC’s forecast
The weather gets interesting on Friday as a strong, early spring storm system moves through the area, the weather service said.
“Rain showers are expected, though rainfall amounts remain uncertain due to moisture availability,” Alex Krull, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City said in an email briefing Wednesday morning.
While the forecast remains conditional on the amount of moisture in the air, one thing is clear: gusty winds.
Wind gusts above 35 mph are likely, the weather service said.
“There is also a threat for severe storms, conditional on there being enough moisture,” Krull said. “If thunderstorms develop, they will have plenty of support to become severe.”
Any severe thunderstorms will be able to produce damaging wind guts above 60 mph, and hail ranging from 1 to 1.25 inches in diameter.
If conditions remain dry, there may be elevated fire weather concerns due to the wind gusts.
Areas east of U.S. 63 into eastern Missouri have a greater likelihood of severe weather late Friday afternoon and early Saturday.
The storm system could bring an outbreak of severe storms across much of the Mississippi Valley, eastward toward the lower Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center said all severe weather hazards, including swaths of intense winds and tornadoes, are possible.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 7:52 AM.
