Relief from heat & drought possible across the 7-day
TUESDAY: Afternoon highs will reach 90 degrees with heat indices close to 100 under partly cloudy skies. There still is a heat advisory for Boone, Howard, Cooper, Moniteau, Cole, Osage, Callaway, Montgomery, and Gasconade Counties until 8 PM this evening. Storms are possible mainly north of I-70 by mid-afternoon. These will drop south with best chances of rain north of I-70 but more spotty south. There is a marginal severe threat for storms with possible large hail or strong wind gusts up to 60 mph. With scattered storm activity we could see some brief afternoon cooling.
TONIGHT: The chance of t-storms continues this evening with scattered storm activity possible. Overnight showers may see a bit of a lull, but isolated storms can’t be ruled out under partly cloudy skies. Temperatures tonight will drop into the low 70s with winds out of the southwest from 6-8 mph.
EXTENDED: Wednesday won’t be as hot, reaching the upper 80s with scattered afternoon storms. There is a marginal severe threat mainly west of HWY 63 on Wednesday for possible damaging wind or large hail with a few storms. This comes as we see a fairly significant shift in the weather pattern as the stubborn ridge of high pressure over the southeast breaks down through the week. This will give way to seasonal temperatures as temperatures begin to drop back into the low to mid 80s through the week. Upper level waves of low pressure will move through occasionally, sparking storm chances. As a surface low pressure area and cold front move through Thursday into early Friday, rain will become more widespread. Increasing rain chances will provide for some drought relief across the area within the next 7 days. Higher rainfall totals look north of I-70, which could range up to 3″-5″, and up to 1.5″ – 3″ south. With the area experiencing a drought of some kind for quite awhile, we can deal with a good amount of rain. However, if we begin to see training of storms and locations exceed 3+ inches of rain before the middle of the week, we could begin to see some flooding problems. This looks to primarily affect those along and north of I-70. Watch ABC 17 News for the latest forecast and check back here for updates.
