Warm up and another dry front!

Here is a look at the surface map this morning:

Winds are out of the south and southwest at around 5 mph. It is fairly cold this morning with temperatures in the teens in northeast Missouri, and the rest of the area mainly in the 20's. A warm front should pass through this morning with increasing clouds and winds. Winds should increase to around 10 to 20 mph after the front moves through. These stiff southerly winds will push in warmer air, and I think highs will be in the 5o's across the entire area with 60's just southeast of Kansas City.

Dont get too caught up with this warm up, as there is a strong cold front that will blast through this evening between 5 and 7 PM. Temperatures will crash tonight from the 50's to the teens and 20's. We will likely also be dealing with winds gusting maybe up to 40 mph. There is potential for a few flurries tonight.

I think highs on Saturday wont get out of the 20's in areas northeast of Kansas City, and 30's from Columbia southward. Saturday will aslo be breezy with winds 10 to 25 mph. This will likely make windchill values dip into the teens.

Then the big dip in temperatures comes in Saturday night as the arctic high moves right over us, winds calm, and skies clear. This will create a favorable enviornment for radiational cooling. Lows Saturday night will push single digits likely down to I-70, and I see potential for a few readings below zero in extreme northern Missouri.

Sunday will be a transitional day as warm air will be heading back into the area, and by Monday, we will be back into the 50's. This warm blast will likely last through Thursday.

The storm that will be causing the warm up today is taking a track to bring Illinois, including Chicago another significant snowstorm. Northern Illinois is under a Winter Storm Warning, and I think 4-8 inches will be possible in this area. We have seen this all season as snowstorms develop to the north of us, and the same storm system just swings a cold front through, and we end up with a dry big temperature swing. There is potential for a storm near us next week, and this looks to be the case again.

Alex Pickman