Good afternoon everyone! Light rains continue to track slowly eastward as of 3:45pm CDT across eastern NE/KS, far northwestern MO and western IA in association with an upper-level low progressing through the area. This storm system will continue on the eastward trajectory through the remainder of the day into tonight, with additional rains set to impact the other portions of MO and IA. While this radar may depict some light precipitation falling across eastern IA and some other portions of MO, current observations do not shown any of this precipitation reaching the ground which suggests drier layers of the atmosphere still remain.
Simulated radar through 7am CDT Friday: The Western Plains that previously saw rains will continue to dry out and see improving weather. However, a few isolated showers may develop in the NE Panhandle before fading overnight. The main feature we’ve been watching will slowly track eastward with showers persisting in eastern KS/NE while additional development takes place in MO into the evening hours. Areas of rain will remain rather light across IA into tonight. By 7am CDT Friday, the core of the rains will be lifting out of MO and IA, but areas of lingering drizzle will remain (discussed later).
As discussed in this morning’s update, watch for areas of fog Friday morning in the central portions of the region. Any fog that develops in these areas overnight/Friday morning should diminish as the sun rises and we head deeper into the morning.
Showers will become less numerous over the eastern portions of the area through the day Friday. The bulk of the rains will exit around 7am CDT Friday, but low-level saturation will remain resulting in low-level clouds and drizzle to linger in the circled region Friday morning. Drier air will slowly work eastward heading into the afternoon hours with most remaining drizzle being confined to the far eastern portions of the area (eastern IA/MO).
Simulated radar from 7am CDT Friday through 7am CDT Saturday: With the majority of the rains exiting, the only threat persisting through the day Friday will be areas of drizzle with the low-level moisture hanging onto the eastern portions of the area (especially along the Mississippi River). These areas will stay socked in with low clouds and light drizzle through the course of the day with a gradual clearing in drizzle west to east across IA and MO as the day progresses. We’ll have to watch for another weak pulse to clip northern/eastern IA Friday afternoon into Friday night that could bring some additional drizzle risks. Otherwise, by Saturday morning, most of the drizzle will have since exited. Areas off to the west in KS and NE will stay virtually dry.
Here’s a look at total precipitation through 7am CDT Saturday: Additional rainfall amounts of around 0.1″ are likely in eastern KS/NE with up to 0.1″ at best in IA. Rains will be slightly heavier in central and especially eastern MO where 0.25-0.5″+ of rain is expected. Through this timespan, western NE/KS will stay dry but a pocket of up to 0.1″ of rain is possible in the NE Panhandle.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out! Have a great evening!