Tracking a blustery afternoon before evening storms
TODAY: Partly cloudy and breezy with gusts from 30 to 40 mph. Highs in the mid-80s. Evening storms may bring heavy downpours and strong winds.
TOMORROW: A boundary will creep across Mid-MO on Sunday. Areas north of I-70 stay warmer and drier near the 70s, while those to the southeast see more rain and cooler temperatures.
EXTENDED: Areas along Highway 65 are under a Wind Advisory between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Saturday where winds will be in the 45 mph range during the day. An approaching cold front will trigger storms late in the day into tonight across eastern Kansas and western Missouri, bringing the threat of damaging winds and an isolated tornado in those locations. Despite the warm temperatures and strong wind shear over our area during the day tomorrow, the environment is expected to be severely lacking in instability to sustain severe storms. By the time storms arrive near midnight, they'll start losing strength, but we'll still have the chance to see 40-50 mph winds and heavy downpours as storms work east. The Storm Prediction Center has areas west of Highway 63 in a level 1 marginal risk for severe storms Saturday night, with the higher threat west of Mid-Missouri in a level 2 slight risk. Given the low risk for widespread severe, we will not be issuing a Weather Alert Day at this time, but if the front were to speed up, we may see higher chances of severe storms so stay aware of changing conditions. How long rain sticks around into Sunday will depend on the speed of the cold front moving southeast. The best chance of storms during the day into the evening Sunday will be along and ahead of the front that will be sliding south of Highway 54 by afternoon. Rain amounts look to range from 0.5" to 1". Next week is quieter to start off with temperatures in the low to mid-60s without any rain until after midweek as temperatures begin to warm up.
