1 March 2023
Temperatures are starting to come down as the next storm system inches closer to the region. This system is taking a southerly track and will have the potential to produce snow in parts of the Sunflower State Thursday into Thursday night. This may carry over to early Friday morning for points East of i-135.
In the meantime, we have another pleasant afternoon to usher in the month of March as an area of high pressure tracks to the north of Kansas. High clouds will filter the sunshine across Wichita and South Central Kansas with skies just turning partly cloudy North Central and Southwest. The northwest part of the state will see skies turning mostly cloudy this afternoon well ahead of the approaching system. High temperatures this afternoon will range from the upper 40s in the northwest to the mild lower 60s in Wichita and south central portions of Kansas.
Rain and snow showers will approach the Kansas/Colorado state line Wednesday evening. Anything that falls will be light and spotty.
Otherwise, skies will be mostly cloudy Wednesday night with overnight lows ranging from the lower 20s Northwest to the above-freezing middle 30s south central.
More persistent snow falls in the northwest by very late tonight or Thursday morning. This will spread to the east during the day as rain showers blossom around the Wichita area. A mix of snow and rain will develop in the southwest Thursday.
Thursday will be a colder day overall with highs in the 30s and 40s, below-average for the beginning of March.
Temperatures will continue to cool Thursday night as low pressure redevelops over northeast Texas, so the backside of this system will turn to mainly snow. Some sleet could also mix in from time to time as this storm intensifies Thursday night and track northeast into Missouri.
Leftover snow is likely East of I-135 Friday morning. This band of snow looks to intensify as it moves closer to the Kansas/Missouri state line but accumulations are possible as far west as Wichita. Travel will be impacted Thursday night into Friday morning.
A Winter storm watch has been posted for portions of northwest Kansas Wednesday night through Thursday night for the potential of a few inches of snow.
Friday will feel more like Winter with a gusty northwest wind and temperatures remaining below average as the snow pushes east of us.
There is another weak system Friday night into Saturday morning. This will bring a few flurries and snow showers from west to east. Better chances of seeing this will be in the northern half of Kansas.
The pendulum swings warmer over the weekend with partly cloudy skies. Sunday is the warmest of the two. Above normal temps will extend into early next week. A potent cold front works across the area, dropping temps below average the remainder of next week.
Current Forecast for Wichita and SouthCentral Kansas
3/1/23 KSN Storm Track 3 Forecast from Meteorologist Jack Boston:
Wichita:
This afternoon: Partly cloudy. Hi: 62 Wind: NW/E 8-18
Tonight: Partly to mostly cloudy, breezy. Lo: 34 Wind: NE 10-20
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, windy. 50% chance of rain. Hi: 45 Wind: NE 10-25
Tomorrow Night: Mostly cloudy, windy. 80% chance of rain and snow. Lo: 30 Wind: N 15-30
Wichita Weekly
Fri: Hi: 49 Lo: 31 Mostly to partly cloudy, windy. 20% chance of snow (early.)
Sat: Hi: 57 Lo: 30 Partly cloudy, breezy.
Sun: Hi: 65 Lo: 39 Partly cloudy, windy.
Mon: Hi: 65 Lo: 35 Partly cloudy, breezy.
Tue: Hi: 61 Lo: 32 Partly cloudy, breezy.
Wed: Hi: 57 Lo: 30 Partly cloudy, breezy.
Meteorologist Jack Boston