Good afternoon everyone! Our disturbance continues to lift across the central portions of the region as of 3:45pm CST. Snows can be found along the northern periphery in northern KS, northwestern MO and southeastern NE while steady light rains remain the story further south across southeastern KS and southwestern MO. Light, scattered snow showers can be noted across northeastern NE and western IA. This system will continue to lift eastward tonight with snows tapering west to east.
Simulated radar through 9pm CST Friday: Steady snows continue to lift through the northeastern portions of KS and southeastern NE through late evening, exiting to the east around 11pm CST tonight. Locations across northern MO and southern IA work in additional snows from this system as the remainder of the day progresses, tapering off west to east with time tonight across these states. Rain showers will be persistent to the south of these rains in the southeastern corner of KS into southern MO as this system works eastward, with a drying trend expected across southeastern KS into tonight and southern MO by Friday morning. The vast majority of this convection will have pushed to the east of the area by 6am CST Friday morning. We’ll watch another weak pulse of energy dive southeastward from the Northern Plains tonight through the day Friday, bringing scattered “bursts” of snow to portions of northern/eastern NE, western/southern IA and eventually northern MO. This wave of energy is associated with the upper-level trough digging to the east, and it will gradually exit as well from eastern MO late Friday.
With the upper-level low swinging through the region Friday, winds will likely pick up, especially across the eastern two-thirds of the area. Winds will generally gust between 25-40mph before subsiding west to east as the trough pushes to the east Friday night.
Here’s an updated graphic regarding additional snowfall potential through tonight: The numbers shown below are a general benchmark of what to expect as some areas may end up with less while others end up 2″+. The areas with the best chances for additional accumulating snows are across portions of eastern KS into northern MO where 1-2″ of snow is expected to fall. Many areas currently are just above freezing, so some of the snow is likely melting on contact. However, there are some heavier bursts of snow that are resulting in accumulations on roadways, which is something to be mindful of as slick spots are likely. Temperatures will fall below freezing tonight in the areas impacted with snow, so any roadways not treated may develop patches of black ice.
As stated above, additional snow showers are expected across northern/eastern NE, IA and northern MO Friday. Overall, the snows will not amount to much, but scattered minor accumulations will be possible. There is a corridor from far northeastern NE/west-central IA to far northeastern MO that can see pockets of 1″+ given the quick-hitting piece of energy moving through.
Here’s a look at total liquid through 9pm CST Friday: In general, precipitation amounts should remain generally light with 0.1-0.3″ of liquid expected across eastern KS, far southern IL and locations north of the I-44 corridor in MO. Localized pockets approaching 0.5″ of liquid are possible. Elsewhere, precipitation amounts less than 0.1″ are likely.
The upper-level trough along with recent snows will help aid in temperatures dropping well into the 20s and even the teens in some spots Saturday morning. Any areas that can keep snow cover around into Friday night may see temperatures fall into the teens with 20s more likely in areas snow-free.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out! Have a great evening!