Storm-weary Kansas City faces more severe weather. Here’s when and what to expect
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Widespread strong to severe storms could develop as early as 1–2 p.m. and spread into KC.
- Forecasters warned of large hail early, damaging winds later, and isolated tornadoes.
- Flash and river flooding possible with 1–3 inch per hour rates and some 2–4 inch totals.
Strong to severe storms could slam the Kansas City region Friday afternoon and evening, with large hail early, damaging winds later, and isolated tornadoes possible, the National Weather Service said.
Forecasters also warned of flash flooding and river flooding tonight as storms could drop torrential rain and repeatedly hit the same areas, with some spots picking up 2 to 4 inches.
Friday will get off to a warm start, with temperatures climbing to around 83 degrees—well above the normal 66 for this time of year.
A strong cold front is expected to push into the area Friday afternoon, triggering thunderstorms.
Widespread strong to severe storms are expected to develop as early as 1 to 2 p.m. and quickly spread southeast toward and through the Kansas City area, Chad Shafer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, said in a morning video briefing.
Large hail will be the main threat with the first storms. As storms merge into clusters or a line, damaging winds become more likely, Shafer said.
While not the main threat, isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out, especially if storms stay separate. The tornado risk also could increase into early evening as winds strengthen, forecasters said.
“The main change with the forecast today is actually a little bit of an increased signal for flooding potential, primarily south of the Kansas City metro, near and south of U.S. Highway 50, in particular,” Shafer said.
Areas near and south of Interstate 70, including the Kansas City metro, have been included in a flood watch because rainfall rates with the strongest storms will be excessive, probably 1 to 3 inches per hour, Shafer said.
“If storms hover over the metro for a good 30 to 60 minutes, it’s not entirely impossible to get some instances of flash flooding from that today,” Shafer said.
The greatest uncertainties with the forecast are where and when the storms will initiate and how quickly they will merge into clusters and lines. That will have big implications on the hail and tornado threat with these storms, Shafer said.
“Tornadoes are still possible even if the storms congeal into lines and clusters. However, their overall severity will be lower than if the storms maintain a discrete mode,” like the supercell thunderstorms that the region saw earlier this week, Shafer said.
The Storm Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service, has kept most of the Kansas City area under an Enhanced Risk of severe storms, Level 3 of 5.
Forecasters say the “reasonable” worst-case impacts would be 75-85 mph winds, 2 to 3.5-inch hail, and a tornado potential up to EF3, according to the weather service.
Overnight, the storms should gradually shift to the south and east, with the severe weather threat expected to be done by midnight, and showers ending by sunrise on Saturday.
Cooler and quieter weather is expected for the weekend, with temperatures expected to climb to around 58 degrees, which will be about 25 degrees cooler than Friday. Temperatures are expected to drop Saturday night, falling into the 30s. Frost is possible in river valleys and rural areas of northern Missouri.
The weather will quickly rebound, climbing to around 70 on Sunday and the mid-70s for the start of next week.
