Trouble looming for Kansas City? Hail, strong winds, maybe tornado in forecast
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cold front arriving on Wednesday may trigger hail, strong winds and maybe tornadoes.
- Severe thunderstorms may form from 3 to 10 p.m., especially south of Kansas City.
- Cooler air follows storm front, dropping temperatures through the weekend into 70s.
A quiet start to the work week in Kansas City may be short-lived, with a strong cold front promising a dramatic change in the weather.
A stray shower is possible Tuesday, mainly in the morning south of Interstate 70, the National Weather Service said.
The rest of the day should remain mostly cloudy, with temperatures in the upper 70s.
The calm weather, however, won’t last.
Severe weather threatens Kansas City area
The weather service is tracking a strong cold front near the North Dakota and Canadian border that is expected to surge south, arriving across the region on Wednesday afternoon.
This front is expected to bring stronger, possibly severe storms.
“Large hail and damaging winds are the main threats, but an isolated tornado can not be ruled out,” the weather service said. The storms might also bring heavy rains, with some areas getting over an inch of rainfall.
Severe thunderstorms, some of which could organize into clusters of supercells, will be possible from 3 to 10 p.m., especially south of Kansas City. Supercells are powerful storms known for large hail and strong winds.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center has placed Kansas City in a marginal risk for severe weather on Wednesday. A marginal risk is the lowest of the Storm Prediction Center’s five severe weather risk categories.
The Kansas City metro also falls within an area where there is a 5-14% chance of severe hail, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-80s on Wednesday.
Could more storms hit the weekend?
Cooler temperatures will follow behind the cold front, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees below normal on Thursday, the weather service said.
Temperatures will be in the mid-70s on Thursday, well below the mid-80s that is typical for this time of year in Kansas City.
A reinforcing cold front is expected to sweep through the region on Friday morning, limiting temperatures to around 70 degrees in the metro.
Additional storms are also possible, but are not expected to be severe.
The cooler temperatures are expected to spill into the weekend, reaching the low to mid-70s on Saturday and Sunday.
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 7:42 AM.
