Better rain chances next week

As we head into the second half of February, the weather pattern looks mild with better rain chances as the upper level winds come in more from the west and southwest, carrying moisture in from the Pacific Ocean. Outlooks through the end of the month give us a better chance of above average temperatures and rainfall.

A large part of Mid-Missouri is currently in a moderate drought with severe drought to the east-southeast. In order to bring us back to normal, we need anywhere from 3 inches of rain west of HWY 63 to 8 inches in our southeast counties in the next four weeks.

We are seeing the potential for a half inch of rain to as much as three inches from February 18-21 with highest totals expected south of Interstate 70. While this won’t be enough to bring us out of our drought, the weather pattern is expected to bring more rain chances the last week of February.