Arctic cold front sends Kansas City temps tumbling; dangerous wind chills looming
Unless you are an early riser, you probably missed Kansas City’s warmest part of the day Monday.
An arctic cold front is sweeping through the area, sending temperatures tumbling and bringing strong winds with gusts over 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill.
Temperatures are expected to fall about 20 degrees by Monday evening, prompting the weather service to warn that any wet roads, parking lots and sidewalks may refreeze.
Temperatures at Kansas City International Airport were around 40 degrees at 6 a.m., but in a matter of 2 hours temperatures plunged nearly 10 degrees.
Fierce winds were being reported Monday morning with gusts reaching between 40 and 60 mph across the region.
About 8:15 a.m. winds gusts at KCI reached 63 mph, according to the weather service.
About 5,000 Kansas City Power & Light customers were without power in the Kansas City area as of 8:30 a.m.
Winds are expected to die down about noon.
By the time it’s ready to head home Monday afternoon, commuters should expect temperatures to have dropped into the teens and lower 20s, with wind chills ranging in the single digits below zero to single digits above zero.
Overnight lows in the Kansas City area are expected to be in the mid-teens, with wind chills in the single digits.
Highs on Tuesday aren’t expected to be much warmer, climbing only into the lower 20s before plunging into the single digits Tuesday night. Wind chills are expected to drop below zero overnight Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill watch effective from Tuesday evening through Thursday morning because dangerously cold wind chills are possible. Wind chills between -40 and -20 are possible, with the coldest values expected in northern Missouri.
At those extremes, the wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
Temperatures are expected to rebound by Thursday afternoon, with temperatures reaching the low 30s.
