Snow increasingly likely in KC area Sunday as storm brews, weather forecasters say

Enjoy the pleasant and mild Thanksgiving Day weather in Kansas City, because it’s not expected to last.

A roller coaster of weather is headed this way over the long holiday weekend.

“We have a little storm system Friday, and a lot stronger storm system moving through on Sunday,” meteorologist Chris Bowman of the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill said Thursday.

It will all hold off long enough for the crowds gathering in the Country Club Plaza Thursday night for the Plaza holiday lighting ceremony. They should have dry weather and temperatures in the upper 40s or lower 50s.

“There shouldn’t be any problem for the Plaza lighting,” Bowman said.

But after that, things get messy.

Rain is expected in the Kansas City area by about 6 a.m. Friday, when people may be heading out to get an early start on Christmas shopping. The rain could linger into the afternoon.

“People are definitely going to want an umbrella with them,” Bowman said.

Conditions rebound on Saturday, with dry weather and a high temperature near 60. 

But rain returns Saturday night into Sunday morning, likely transitioning to snow later Sunday morning. The snow is expected to taper off Sunday.

Forecasters’ confidence is growing that the snow could accumulate in the Kansas City area Sunday, although it’s still too soon to predict snow amounts.

Bowman said forecasters expect higher snow amounts in northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri, with lesser amounts to the south southeast. The high temperature will be in the mid-to-upper 30s early in the day, but temperatures are expected to plunge into the 20s by Sunday afternoon and evening, which could create slick road conditions.

Motorists traveling back to the Kansas City area from northern Kansas, northern Missouri, Iowa or Nebraska may want to consider traveling Saturday or Monday, Bowman advised.

“You’re really going to want to pay attention to the weather on Sunday,” he said.