Friday’s storm system aided by a tropical storm

By the end of this work week a cold front will be on mid-Missouri’s door step, which will bring a chance for widespread rain and thunderstorms by Friday afternoon.

Currently, tropical cyclone developing in the Gulf of Mexico will move inland turning into a low pressure system that will aid in moisture advection into mid-Mo. The interaction between the cold front and tropical storm system will allow storms to fire up here in mid-Missouri.

This supply of moisture from the gulf will help Friday’s storms become widespread and produce potentially heavy amounts of rain. Precipitable water values (PW) measure the amount of moisture present in the atmosphere. Moderate PW values are around 1.3″. Heading into Friday PW values are upwards to 2.5″, providing an ample supply of moisture for heavy rainfall.

These storms are looking to begin Friday morning as the cold front begins to drop from the northwest, with the best chance of storms towards Friday afternoon. As of now, models are struggling to come to an agreement when the front will be pushed out of mid-Missouri. We may see some lingering showers and storms into the Saturday and Sunday with this system. Rainfall totals may be up to 1.5″.