A severe wintry weekend with freezing rain, snow, and extremely low temperatures might be in store for the Kansas City area. However, according to weather analysts, there is still a great deal of uncertainty on when a winter storm will occur and how much snow it will bring.
According to meteorologist Adrian Campa, the New Year’s Day was pleasant yet chilly, with plenty of sunlight and seasonable highs. There will be a weak cold front moving over the state on Thursday. Kansas’s far northeast may see a few flurries, but the majority of the state should stay dry. Until Friday, the temperature will remain in the 40s.
A stronger system with an infusion of frigid air will move across the state as the weekend approaches. In the 20s, temperatures will be much lower, and wind chills will be close to or less than zero. This system’s path is still changing, but it will dictate the type of precipitation that we see more of.
How Much Snow And Ice To Expect?
- In the Central Plains and Midwest, particularly in the darker purple shaded regions of the map below from northeast Kansas into portions of Missouri, the southern halves of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and possibly northern Kentucky, there is a good chance that this storm will bring a stripe of snow measuring six inches or more.
- The areas from central and southern Kansas into the Ohio Valley and Appalachians may be most affected by ice in the form of sleet and freezing rain. Although it’s a little early to give specifics, we can’t rule out at least some damaged tree limbs and/or isolated power outages, and travel consequences are expected.
Cold Temperatures coming for Central and Eastern U.S.
Additionally, according to the NWS, “frigid arctic air” is predicted to move through the Central and Eastern United States during the weekend as high pressure builds over the Great Plains.
Meteorologists from AccuWeather are cautioning that a series of arctic air outbreaks are “poised to plunge into the central and eastern United States,” with each outbreak potentially bringing colder air further south than the one before it. According to AccuWeather, this might result in an increase in energy use and the possibility of freeze-related damage in the Southern United States.
