Watch NBC Action News HD this weekend from 8-9 a.m. and at 5 & 10 p.m. for updates on our upcoming snow chances!
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A quick update on the snow chances for tonight. Best chances are still near or north of I-70. The greatest accumulation will occur along and north of highway 36. I'm showing detailed snowfall forecast graphics on the news tonight at 5 & 10 pm. But in general there could be 1-3" of snow, especially near and north of highway 36. The best chance of 3" would be a little closer to the Iowa border. From KCI to just south of St. Joe there may be a good dusting to 1". And south of I-70 maybe a dusting, but if the snow pushes farther south a half inch isn't out of the question. And once again some spots will end up with just some snow showers or flurries and a trace. This will be a very light and fluffy snow since it will most likely be in the teens when the snow occurs. These snow estimates are for this evening thru Sunday. I'll keep updating things as more data becomes available.
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The weekend is here! I hope everyone that has been wishing for snow enjoyed the quick shot of snow Friday evening. Snow totals were as expected in the trace to half inch range. KCI officially measued 0.1", but I'm guessing with the wind blowing the snow around it was tough for anyone to get a really accurate measurement.
The big weather story today will be the cold. Arctic air spilled into the region yesterday and we will be in its grip today. Morning lows dropped into the single digits this morning, including +4 at KCI. With sunshine I think we recover into the teens this afternoon, probably 17-19 in the metro. Below is the forecast temperature map from the RUC. Notice that some areas in the upper Midwest will once again not even reach 0!
The cold air is going to stay locked in place for a few days. Sunday highs should be around 20, and then into the 20s on Monday. But keep in mind our average high is now heading back up and approaching 40!
At the start of Saturday, our average monthly temperature was just over two degrees above average. Back in early January I predicted that we would end this month between average and -1.0 for the departure from average. With the colder weather anticipated over the next 5 days or so, I am confident this forecast will hold or be very close.
Now how about snow chances. We have several in the next 7-10 days. Our next chance will come tonight into Sunday. The best chance for snow will be near and north of I-70. I think 1" of snow is possible near the Missouri/Iowa border. Totals around 1/2" near highway 36, and maybe another dusting in Kansas City. A little shift could change things slightly either way. Below is the GFS precipitation forecast for tonight into Sunday. The light green shade represents areas that should see some snow.
With a general trough in the West early next week several disturbances will move east on our upper level flow. Each little wave could bring the area chances of snow. I think at least one of these could bring the area more than just a dusting or 1/2". But I want to see a little more data to see the trends before getting too excited, but at this point we are pretty confident there will be more snow chances early this week, and probably another Thursday or early Friday.
Thank you for stopping by the #1 source for weather information in Kansas City! I will add more thoughts later today on our upcoming snow chances. As of today KCI has picked up 7.7" of snow this season, so we have some catching up to do.
Jeremy