20 January 2024
Another abominable morning in Kansas with temperatures dropping below zero for many and single digits for the rest. It will stay bitter all morning with a wind chill advisory in effect until 11am.
Arctic air will be stubborn to go away today and we spend our Saturday below freezing. Winds switch around to the east and southeast, and that is a sign of our impending warming trend.
Winds will pick up tonight and that will help to prevent temperatures from dropping as far, but it will lead to more of a wind chill that will make outdoors very unpleasant.
A mixture of sun and clouds with south winds getting quite gusty for Sunday. That south wind will show arctic air the exit as highs jump into the 30s and even 40s.
The week ahead shows no sign of any more of this extreme cold, with highs expected to rise near and even slightly above seasonal averages.
The subtropical southern branch of the jet stream is gathering strength and will be the main weather maker for us this week as the arctic air gets bottled up in Canada. A series of disturbances is lined up to move across Kansas this week, with the first arriving on Monday.
A wave of showers will advance through central and eastern Kansas Monday. While temperatures should be warm enough to keep this mainly as rain, we will be within slapping distance of freezing during the morning as we hit our daily low. If it manages to cool to 32, we may see some icy spots develop for the morning commute.
Rain spreads north through the day and may transition over to some slushy snowflakes in northern Kansas Monday night.
Another round of showers moves through on Wednesday, though the latest trends have been drier with this one.
More showers may be possible on Friday, with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures near average for most of the week ahead.
KSN Storm Track 3 Forecast from Meteorologist Jack Maney:
Wichita:
Today: Partly cloudy. Hi: 20 Wind: NE/SE 5-15
Tonight: Partly cloudy, breezy. Lo: 15 Wind: SE 10-20
Tomorrow: Partly to mostly cloudy, windy. Hi: 37 Wind: SE/S 15-25
Tomorrow night: Mostly cloudy, windy. Lo: 28 Wind: S 10-25
Wichita Weekly
Mon: Hi: 38 Lo: 33 Mostly cloudy, breezy. 30% chance of rain.
Tue: Hi: 42 Lo: 34 Mostly cloudy. 10% chance of rain.
Wed: Hi: 45 Lo: 33 Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of rain.
Thu: Hi: 46 Lo: 33 Mostly cloudy. 10% chance of rain.
Fri: Hi: 47 Lo: 34 Mostly cloudy. 10% chance of rain
Sat: Hi: 45 Lo: 31 Mostly cloudy.