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Here's a quick evening update. Looks like the clearing line is making very slow progress towards the metro. Should arrive by morning, but eastern viewers may wake up to clouds before the sun makes an appearance. As a result lows in the metro will be somewhere around 30, eastern areas probably 32ish and west of Lawrence mid 20s. Highs should be in the mid 40s on Sunday assuming the sun is out for several hours. The timing of the rain for Monday looks like midday or during the afternoon for KC. Then the rain will be with us on and off thru Tuesday or very early Wednesday. Temperatures this week should stay below average in the 40s.
Another storm is possible in the Thursday-Friday timeframe and we will discuss that more on Sunday along with possible rain totals for early this week. Thanks for stopping by the blog this weekend!
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Watch NBC Action News HD this weekend from 8-9 a.m. and at 5 & 10 p.m. for the latest on our next storm system!
The weekend is here! We have a lot to talk about and the weather pattern is starting to look very exciting in the next 7 days. The highlights(or lowlights) will include below average temperatures, 2 storm systems, and our continued eye to the first official snowflakes of the season.
Let's first discuss something that I am growing a little tired of...the wind! The gusty winds really started back on November 2 with strong south winds when we were enjoying highs in the 70s. This past Thursday it was still windy, but winds switched to the west and eventually the northwest as low pressure moved to our north. The seemingly never ending wind machine has caused me to dig up some wind related information for you. To say it has been windy may be an understatement.
First let's look at the past 6 days. Here is the average wind speed(mph) and peak wind speed for each day. The data is for KCI.
- November 2 9.6/28
- November 3 15.9/31
- November 4 18.3/38
- November 5 19.6/40
- November 6 15.1/40
- November 7 15.0/35
So how windy should a typical November be in Kansas City? Looking back at the past 30 years of data shows that November is on average the 3rd windiest month in Kansas City. Here is a look at the top 5 months in relation to average wind speed(mph).
- March 12.3
- April 12.3
- November 11.2
- January 11.1
- February 11.1
The forecast for today includes gusty winds once again which could top out around 25-30 mph. The northwest winds will keep the chilly air in place and that means highs in the 40s today and Sunday. I think if there is a 'best' day this weekend it should be Sunday since there will be some sun and temperatures will be a few degrees warmer.
Already by Sunday afternoon clouds will begin racing back towards the area with our next storm. This storm will likely bring rain back to the area by early Monday. Right now it appears that it should stay all rain in Kansas City. This is one of those Fall storms that may drive us a little crazy just because surface temperatures may be in the 30s to low 40s, but 850mb temperatures will be near 0C at some point during this storm. At the moment it looks like a cold and wet Monday! The surface map below is from the 12Z NAM.
Keep in mind if you are hoping for snow, we would need the blue 540mb thickness line to be over or south of our area. Also, not shown...but at this time the 0C 850mb freezing line is north of the Iowa border. Two signs that this particular model run is pointing to all rain.
Now a quick look at a late season hurricane in the Carribean. This is major Hurricane Paloma. Maximum sustained winds were 140 mph during the Saturday morning update. We will show video from the Cayman islands later today on our newscasts. The Atlantic Hurricane season runs thru November...although tropical activity can occur after this month is over.
Thank you for stopping by the blog and please check back often because we are going thru a quickly changing weather pattern! And don't forget that our winter forecast will air on Monday, November 24 during the 10 p.m. show. Mark your calendars, set a reminder in your PDA, and tell your friends and relatives so everyone knows what will occur this winter season!
Jeremy