Kansas City heats up fast. Severe storms possible, especially Monday
A blast of summerlike heat and humidity is surging into the Kansas City area, setting the stage for possible strong storms this weekend — with a bigger severe threat building for Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
A warm front is expected to move through Friday morning, pulling warmer, more humid air into the Kansas City area, the weather service said.
This will help temperatures rise into the upper 80s to lower 90s and dew points, a measure of humidity, increase from the mid-40s to mid-50s to the lower 60s by Friday afternoon and evening.
In the metro, temperatures may climb around 91 degrees, which could tie or break the daily record of 91 degrees set in 1941. The average temperature for this date is 75 degrees.
Storms are expected fire late in the afternoon into early evening near a cold front across southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. These storms are expected to grow rapidly into clusters or even a well-developed complex of thunderstorms, the weather service said.
The storms could move into northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri after 8 p.m. The storms could be strong to severe, with damaging wind gusts being the primary hazard. Large hail will also be possible.
The potential for severe storms is expected to decrease as the storms continue to move southeast overnight.
The Storm Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service, has placed locations north of a line from Leavenworth to Kirksville within a slight risk (Level 2 of 5) for severe weather, with a marginal risk (Level 1 of 5) for the Kansas City metro and the remainder of the forecast area.
The warm and humid weather is expected to persist into Saturday, with temperatures around 90 degrees.
Storm chances return on Saturday, and while parts of northeast Kansas and northwest and northern Missouri are in a marginal risk for severe weather in the afternoon and evening, the higher threat should remain to the north and northwest, where conditions will be more favorable, the weather service said.
On Sunday, the weather will continue to be warm, with temperatures in the upper 80s. Storm chances return again, but the severe weather setup looks to remain northwest of the Kansas City region, across east-central Nebraska, northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota and southeast South Dakota, the weather service said.
“That being said, strong to severe storms cannot be ruled out for our area, especially for far NW Missouri,” the weather service said.
Tornados, large hail, damaging winds possible Monday
The stormy pattern persists into early next week, with Monday shaping up as the area’s best chance for severe weather, the National Weather Service said.
Monday will stay hot, near 91 degrees, and even more moisture will move in, making it muggy as dew points climb into the upper 60s. With that heat and humidity building ahead of an approaching cold front, thunderstorms could develop in the afternoon into late night.
Storms could be strong and organized, bringing all severe weather threats — tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds — and downpours will also be possible, the Weather Service said.
“If the cold front doesn’t move through until sometime during the day on Tuesday, the severe threat could linger into Tuesday,” the Weather Service said.
