Bitterly cold air, ice & snow chance this weekend

The cold weather pattern continues through the weekend, ending with the coldest weather yet this season as temperatures plunge to near zero by Sunday morning and only climbing into the teens Sunday afternoon.

Ahead of the arctic air, a low pressure system will move in from the southwest Friday night, tracking across mid-Missouri. Southerly winds drawn into the system will lift warm, moist air to the north, and temperatures will rise Friday night. Low level moisture will cause patchy drizzle to form, becoming more widespread Saturday morning as the low pressure moves to the northeast and colder air moves in with the arctic front.

Temperatures could still be near freezing north of I-70 Friday night as drizzle develops. Although the moisture will be light, there could be enough to cause ice on roads before temperatures warm above freezing. Drizzle is also possible Saturday morning through early afternoon as temperatures quickly drop and could lead to a glaze of ice on roads.

Freezing drizzle will transition to light snow Saturday afternoon as the column of air becomes saturated above 5000 feet. Minor accumulation is possible through Saturday evening. At this time it looks like an inch or less is possible but it’s still early to determine amounts.

Due to the pressure difference between the arctic air and the departing low pressure system, winds will increase from the northwest Saturday to 15 mph, gusting to 25 at times. This will generate wind chills which will drop below zero Saturday evening and as low as 18 below zero north of I-70 by early Sunday morning as winds decrease to near 10 mph.

Although we’ll have sunny skies Sunday, it will be bitterly cold with high temperatures only reaching the low to mid teens and wind chills in the single digits in the afternoon.

Please check back for an update on the winter weather this weekend here and on our ABC17 News Facebook page. Also, follow ABC17 Stormtrack on Twitter for continued updates.