Tracking cooler air and a wintry mix

TODAY: Wednesday is a mixed bag when it comes to temperatures. We are starting mild, and even sunny in some spots, but a cold front will move in from the northwest this morning. This will bring an increase in clouds, but also a drop in temperatures. This will make for a fairly steep temperature gradient from the northwest to the southeast, placing afternoon temps in the 30s/40s and 40s/50s respectively. This now means that if you're headed to KC for the victory parade, you'll want to dress for 30s.

TONIGHT: After Columbia, for example, reaches mid-40s for a high on Wednesday, temperatures will fall through the night to low 30s by Thursday morning. This comes as rain starts to move in around midnight.

EXTENDED: This rain persists through the daylight hours, likely trying to mix over to freezing rain or sleet in areas along and north of I-70 like Columbia, Boonville, and Moberly. Elevated surfaces like decks or even bridges could get slick quickly, with roads possibly having time to get slick as well but to a lesser extent. The greater likelihood of slick roads with freezing rain will be near Macon and northward. Then snow will start to mix in, around 6-8 a.m. Snow fall should be light, and accumulations are looking minimal. Communities near a line from Sedalia to Mexico will have a chance at up to a trace of snow, with communities north of this line seeing a chance of up to one inch. Snow showers are done by the mid-afternoon, but clouds stick around, and breezy winds keep temperatures falling through the day, into the 20s by the afternoon. Sunshine returns on Friday, and we warm to nearly 40. Sunshine and south flow kick temps into the 50s Saturday, and 60s on Sunday. Warmth carries into early next week, but rain chances dot the forecast.