Good morning bloggers,
Kansas City had a low of 17 degrees at 5:43 this morning. This is just a cold Canadian Air Mass that has settled over us today. We are now focusing on the high likelyhood of an Arctic blast within the next 10 days with chances for some snow. So, I am issuing my first Arctic Air Watch. There is no official Arctic Air Watch that the National Weather Service puts out, so this is just our way of preparing for a potential Arctic blast. Look below at the surface forecast map from the GFS valid Monday night at midnight. I will point out a few features below:

There are a few things that you should notice on this 120 hour forecast map:
- Look at the high pressure area just to the left of the A in Arctic. That is a 1040 mb Arctic high that is growing with pressures likely still going up. Its associated surface ridging reaches down to just northwest of Kansas City.
- There is a surface low over north Texas with an inverted trough/front extending up through Missouri. This will set us up for a chance of a cold rain/snow later Monday or Monday night.
- Just under the T in Arctic is a 474 thickness. That is very, very cold!
Now, look at the next map valid later next week. The GFS is forecasting Kansas City to be in the single digits. The white area is 20 degrees below zero or colder!

How does this all fit the LRC and what is about to happen? We will be talking about the forecast on NBC Action News the next few days. And, I am going into the LRC on www.LRCWeather.com as all of this fits perfectly with this years forecast weather pattern. A storm could affect us on Monday. Our first inch of snow should happen within ten days, possibly within three or four days.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Gary