The Midwest needs some time to dry out this week after many areas received record rainfall. Many parts of Missouri and Illinois received over a FOOT of rain in two days. Several rivers are projected to reach record flood stages this week. Below is the radar estimates for parts of southeastern Missouri.


Locally, we had a refreshingly warm start to spring, which officially started at 12:48 this morning. Highs today were generally in the mid 60s with low 70s off to the southwest. Another nice day tomorrow with highs in the mid 60s by noon, and then a clod front will pass through the area and beginning to tone temperatures down a little. We will be in the middle 50s by evening, on our way down into the 30s. Highs on Saturday my not get out of the 40s depending on cloud cover. Saturday night into Sunday a weak disturbance will slide down out of Nebraska and may be strong enough to squeeze out a few rain or snow showers. There is a small chance that you could start out your Eastern morning with a bit of snow! At the moment it does not look like anything significant, but we'll keep out eye on it. After that the warm weather returns next week, before a stronger storm looks poised to affect the region later in the week.

Enjoy the warm weather tomorrow!!

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Here are some rainfall totals from the St. Patrick's Day rain.

We'll need the luck of the Irish today if we want to get St. Patrick's Day Parade in dry, and it doesn't look like it's going to come through this time. Rain moved in early this morning and is here to stay for the most part. It may let up at times during the day, but otherwise, look for a steady light to moderate rain continuing through at least noon, most likely into the early afternoon. We may see more redevelopment this evening as a stationary boundary tries to lift north across the region. It may make it as far north as the southern reaches of Kansas City before it begins to progress southward again. This boundary will be the focus for more heavy rain and thunderstorms this evening. There may even be some strong storms along this boundary, although severe storms are not very likely. Total rainfall will likely be between .5 and 1" of rain, with areas that experiencing thunderstorms receiving upwards of 1.5".


The data this morning continues to hint at a possible storm this weekend for Easter Sunday. So make sure to keep up to date as we track this next storm that could possibly affect the region this weekend.

Sunday and into Monday were two of the craziest days across the country this year. In Manhattan, Kansas, temperatures dropped from the 70s into the 40s in less than 30 minutes. Here in Kansas City, temperatures fell almost 20 degrees in 20 minutes. We had extreme winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain and then a little bit of sleet/snow as the precipitation exited the area. In Dallas, Texas, it was 71° at midnight yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon, it snowed in Dallas. That shows you just how intense this storm system is. Now, areas across Missouri and Illinois are receiving upwards of 6 inches of snow, with over 8 inches reported in Springfield. As the storm pulls away, it will continue to drag in colder air, keeping temperatures well below average for the rest of the week.

There are to slight chances for snow this week. One early Wednesday, and then again on Friday. Some minor accumulations are possible, but nothing is looking very impressive at this point. The bigger story will be the temperatures. While not record breaking, they are going to be well below average this week. Average highs are now into the 50s, and the warmest day this week will be tomorrow, with a high in the middle 40s. Another cold surge arrives Thursday afternoon, dropping our temperatures into the 20s for Friday, and bringing the chance of snow.

There will be an update later today with some graphics.

Today is probably going to be one of the most exciting weather days of the year. We are starting out this morning with temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s, that are already rising on southerly winds gusting over 40 mph. These winds are transporting copious amounts of moisture northward into the region, with dew points near 60 degrees already this morning. With lots of sunshine, and the southerly winds, high temperatures should make in into the middle 70s! Then, a cold fronts will come crashing through, dropping temperatures as much as 20 degrees in an hour, along with showers and thunderstorms. There is a slight risk for severe weather to day with any of the storms that for along the front. Behind the front, more heavy rain is possible, with rainfall amounts of an inch plus possible.

Overnight, colder air will filter into the region, and begin to change the rain over to snow. Areas from St. Joe northward should should see the transition between midnight and 3am. Around the metro, the switchover should occur between 3 and 6am. North of I-70, 1-3" of snow are possible, south, a dusting to maybe an inch.