Christmas Day to feel spring-like with storms

If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, your best bet is to head north. While the Northern Plains will be dealing with a potential blizzard, here in Mid-Missouri we are gearing up for some spring-like weather. Of course it wouldn’t be spring-like if there weren’t some storms involved and that’s exactly what we’ll get.

As you wake up on Christmas morning, you can expect to not only hear the pitter patter of your kids/pets feet, but you’ll hear the sound of rain on the roof. These showers will be associated with a warm front that will lift northward through Mid-Missouri overnight and into tomorrow. Thankfully, these showers won’t have the potential for severe weather, however, there could be a few rumbles of thunder and some heavy rain.

Through the afternoon hours, most of the rain will end from south to north, with just drizzle left over. Temperatures will rise rapidly into the upper 50s and lower 60s and a muggy day will be in store for the region. This is when our focuses shifts on a rapidly evolving cold front. This frontal boundary will be tracking into Mid-Missouri by Christmas night and bring with it a round of strong storms. Areas along and west of Highway 65 are under a marginal risk of severe weather as these storms track through the region. The only threat with these storms will be damaging winds (as there is a lot of wind energy associated with it), pea size hail, and no tornado threat.

The storms look to arrive near the Highway 65 corridor as early as 6 PM and track into Columbia/Jefferson City by 8-9 PM. Thankfully, the storms will weaken as they track to the east. By midnight most of Mid-Missouri should be in the clear with falling temps to carry us into Monday, which is also the start of Kwanzaa.