Big weather shift for Kansas City area: Steady rain likely, chance of snow
A big change in the weather is coming to the Kansas City area, with widespread rainfall expected and even a chance of snow for parts of the region during the second half of the week, according to the National Weather Service.
But before the storms move in, temperatures typical of spring will linger through Thursday, with Wednesday likely to be the warmest day of the week.
Temperatures will start out chilly early Wednesday, but by the afternoon, they are expected to reach the mid-60s, forecasters say. That’s about 25 degrees above the metro’s seasonal average of 38 degrees for this time of year, and just shy of the daily record of 70 degrees set in 1907 for this date.
Conditions will be nearly as warm on Thursday, with temperatures climbing to around 60 degrees.
Widespread rain is expected to move into the area on Thursday, with a very high chance of rain, ranging from 80% to 100%, the weather service said. There is a greater than 50% chance that rainfall will total at least an inch for much of the area. The rain is expected to begin winding down Thursday night as the storm system moves on.
The setup for the storm isn’t right for widespread thunderstorms, so this mainly looks like steady and sometimes heavy rain. There is little risk for widespread flooding because the ground is dry.
The weather will be much cooler on Friday, with temperatures climbing only to the mid-40s. This cooler weather, combined with another chance for precipitation Friday night into early Saturday, could allow rain to transition to some snow and a wintry mix.
“Greatest chances for accumulating snowfall remain just north and west of the Kansas City metro area,” the weather service said. “Snowfall may occur in a relatively narrow area or band, including the potential for a couple/few inches in such an area or band.”
The metro’s chance of seeing at least an inch of snow is about 19%.
Colder, albeit sunny, weather is expected over the weekend, with temperatures more in line with winter, around 40 degrees on Saturday and around 38 degrees on Sunday, according to the weather service.
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 7:31 AM.
