Good windy & cold morning bloggers,
Look for your seasonal snowfall totals and a look ahead of what to expect in March below.
We ended up with a mini-snowstorm last night, really just a dusting, but from 10 PM until midnight it was snowing, blowing, and turning cold. There are a few minor slick spots out there this morning.
Our region is now on the back side of this storm and we will get the wind & cold today. Then there are two warm-ups in the forecast. The first warming spreads in Wednesday into Thursday. And, the second one moves in Saturday into early Sunday. It should warm up into the 50s Thursday and Saturday. But, on Sunday a strong cold front will move through. At this moment it doesn't appear to be a strong storm system associated with the cold air. It is something we will monitor closely for later in the weekend.
Here is one problem for Thursday's warm-up. It is just so difficult to warm things up, isn't it? We have a warm front trying to set up south of Kansas City. If there was moisture available there would be a good chance of thunderstorms, but there is no moisture available yet. Later in the season this would be a rain maker. It still could create some thick cloud cover and keep us in the 40s Thursday.
Saturday is the first day of March, so March will likely come in like a lamb this year. But, we are confident that March will be roaring like a lion many times next month. The weather pattern continues to cycle (according to my theory, the LRC). It is around 50 days in length and the stormy, more energetic part of the weather pattern will be returning next month.
We are going into the same part of the weather pattern where I issued the Arctic air watch in January. I will hesitate on issuing one this time, as it will be March, but my feeling is we will get hit hard by a few more surges from the North Pole. Last year, March was very warm before we had a killing freeze in April. This year, we expect the hard freezes to happen many times next month, so it will prevent the growing season from coming early. Look below at the forecast surface temperatures for next Monday, March 4th:
20 to 40 degrees below zero will be just sitting over Canada waiting to blast us with Arctic air. And, notice another Arctic air mass forming over Alaska. These air masses will be forming in positions that will have to come down and invade the United States during the next few weeks. There will be warm ups in between, but overall March should end up below average on temperatures and above average on precipitation. Remember, Kansas City's biggest snowstorm in KC recorded history happened during the month of March, in 1912, when 25 inches of snow fell on March 22nd/23rd. This is the type of weather pattern that may produce a heavy snowfall in our region. The LRC would suggest two or three potential set ups for major winter storms next month.
Here are the seasonal snowfall totals from the region (blogger reports). This is a winter to remember.
- St. Joseph, MO: 46.2"
- Trenton, MO: 41.2"
- Platte City, MO: 39.0"
- Fort Leavenworth, KS: 38.2"
- Cameron, MO: 33.5"
- Topeka, KS: 32.4"
- Parkville, MO: 25.3"
- Kansas City, KS: 24.0"
- Smithville, MO: 24.0"
- KCI Airport, MO: 23.6"
- Olathe, KS (151st & Mur-Len): 23.0"
- The Plaza, MO: 21.3"
- Overland Park, KS (135th & Quivira): 20.1"
- Grandview, MO: 17.0"
- Blue Springs, MO: 15.0"
- Harrisonville, MO: 11.6"
- Kingsville, MO: 10.9"
- Clinton, MO: 10.6"
- Pleasanton, KS: 5.5"
March predictions:
- It will snow at least three more times
- It will hit 70 degrees on three days
- Kansas City will be below average on temperatures
- Kansas City will have above average precipitation
Gary