Temperatures have settled in for the first wave of cold, after the leading edge of the cold air prompted moderate snowfall in parts of the state for about half an hour last night. We were in Hillsboro with the NWS Storm Fury on the Plains spotter talk, and this is what we saw looking out the window just before 6pm:
A secondary cold front crosses the region during the night tonight, leading to bitter wind chills early in the day tomorrow.
Even colder early Sunday:
Cold Weather and Pets: A Reminder
A look ahead
There is still tremendous inconsistency in the long-range models, but there is enough of a signal for the possibility of rain and even some severe weather in south central and southeast Kansas on Thursday. NWS and SPC forecasters both mention the chance in their discussions this morning. If this happens I’d say we’re looking at a fast-moving line of storms similar to what we had a few weeks ago. But it’s almost a week away so we’re going to have to see how models resolve over the weekend and on Monday. I’ll look at it again Monday morning and have an update for you.
Here are a couple of model images, for what they are worth this far out:
As always, don’t take these as gospel, especially this far out. No outlook area has been issued by SPC for Thursday yet because the model spread is so wide on possible location and timing of the conditions needed for storm formation.
and then