Parade of cold fronts allows for potential first freeze
This week mid-Missouri is in store for drastic temperature changes from day to day as we will see two different cold fronts drop into the area. The first front will push through on Monday. This will shift winds out of the northwest allowing for breezy conditions both Monday and Tuesday. Wind gusts could reach up to 30 mph.
Winds out of the northwest will pump in cooler Arctic air. Temperatures on Monday will be on target for average topping out in the mid 60s, but Tuesday will see the major impacts of the cold front as daytime highs only reach into the low 50s.
A building ridge will provide for a brief warm up Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday looks to be the hottest day of the week as highs rise back towards 70 degrees. This warm up will be brief as another cold front tracks into mid-Missouri by Friday. This front will reinforce the much colder air Arctic air into the area as high temperatures only reach into the 40s for this weekend.
With the northwesterly flow, overnight lows will be dropping significantly as well. Wednesday morning overnight lows will hover just above freezing, providing the first chance for widespread frost. Saturday morning looks even colder when temperatures drop below freezing. This is likely when we will see our first widespread freeze of the season.
Typically, in Columbia, the first freeze of the season occurs around October 20th. The current forecast shows the first freeze holding off until Saturday, October 28th, arriving just over a week later than average.
