Bitter cold, snow flurries to descend on Kansas City; freezing rain may be next
Dangerous cold arrives in Kansas City Friday, bringing wind chills well below zero and the chance for a few harmless snow flurries. But the National Weather Service says another developing concern could come early next week, when freezing rain is possible.
The timing of the flurries will be late morning to early afternoon in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, spreading east during the afternoon and evening.
The weather service said the greatest chance of minor accumulations is along and north of Interstate 70. But even then, accumulations are expected to be light.
At best, there’s a 10% chance of snow accumulation exceeding a tenth of an inch in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, the weather service said. Other areas have less than a 5% chance of anything accumulating, according to the weather service.
Temperatures will struggle to rise much above overnight lows on Friday. It was 17 degrees shortly before 6 a.m. at Kansas City International Airport (MCI), and temperatures are expected to climb to around 20 degrees.
Once the Arctic air pushes into the area, temperatures will quickly tumble. A strong high-pressure system will settle over Kansas as the cold deepens.
“Our area may be spared the coldest temperatures with the high centered to our west, but we’ll still see sheltered and drainage areas across the area with well below zero low temperatures Saturday morning,” the weather service said.
Wind chills around minus 6 degrees are expected in the metro, and as low as minus 15 degrees elsewhere in the region on Saturday morning, the weather service said.
Temperatures will rebound to near 20 degrees on Saturday. Kansas City’s temperatures typically reach a high of around 40 degrees and a low of around 20 degrees at the end of January.
More snow possible overnight Saturday
There is another chance of light snow Saturday night into Sunday as a weather disturbance moves through overnight Saturday and into Sunday afternoon.
“This system has slightly better moisture than the Friday system, though still very limited,” the weather service said.
Flurries to light snow are possible. The highest probability of accumulating snow — greater than a tenth of an inch — is across northern Missouri, the weather service said.
“Overall, little if any snow is expected, but there may be a dusting across northern Missouri,” the weather service said.
Warmer weather is expected to move in during the second half of the weekend. Temperatures are expected to climb to around 35 degrees on Sunday, 40 degrees on Monday, and 42 degrees on Tuesday.
Freezing rain may be possible next week
A strong weather disturbance will move across the middle part of the country from Tuesday into Wednesday, bringing another chance of precipitation, the weather service said.
Depending on the timing, the disturbance could bring freezing rain or accumulating snow.
If the precipitation falls when air and ground temperatures are above freezing, the metro may just see rain. But because the ground has been so cold lately, it may stay below freezing, which could lead to freezing rain.
This system will need to be watched closely for the possibility of mixed or freezing precipitation, the weather service said.
