Still Cold, Another Chance of Snow Late Monday.

As mentioned in yesterday's forecast discussion, I had a concern for some very light freezing drizzle during the overnight hours. Sure enough, my pickup is covered with a very thin coat of glaze this morning. Also, there were some brief snow flurries during the overnight hours, but have received no reports of any additional accumulations. That will likely change late Monday and Monday night as another shot of energy aloft will be moving across the state and will likely wring some additional snow/snow flurries during that time frame. Right now, the data suggests another inch or two will be possible, mainly for the more northern counties from along the hwy 412 corridor into southern KS.

After that, we should be dry for awhile with another chance of precipitation along about Friday/Saturday, but temperatures are expected to have warmed enough by then for that to be an all liquid event. Speaking of temperatures, the good folks at the OK Mesonet compile a lot of very useful data across the state and the map on the right is a good example. It shows the hours below freezing over the course of the last week. The second map shows the number of days in which the high temperature did not make it above freezing so far this winter. By way of comparison, there were zero days in which the daytime high temperature did not make it above freezing over the last two winters. That in itself is rather remarkable as we typically average 10 days each winter in which we do not get above the freezing mark.

This current stretch of below freezing temperatures is expected to last for several more days. Although we will have a brisk south wind today, the cloud cover and snow pack should keep temperatures from making it above the freezing mark this afternoon. Another shot of cold air will arrive tonight with a brisk northerly wind all day Monday. Together with the clouds, another chance of snow mentioned above, and the snow still on the ground, temperatures will remain in the 20s all day.

Temperatures on Tuesday will be tricky. Earlier in the week, it looked to be much colder that morning, but the data now suggests the clouds will not be clearing out till that morning and a more westerly wind overnight becoming SW during the day is normally a warmer wind for us. However, despite lots of afternoon sunshine, there will still be an extensive snow pack, so temperatures will struggle to make it above the freezing mark.

Lots of sunshine is expected on Wed, but our winds will be shifting back to the NE as another weak boundary moves across the state. This will hamper the warm-up but, we should still make it above freezing that afternoon. A more southerly wind on Thursday should also get afternoon temperatures above the freezing mark.

Fri/Sat look to be milder with highs in the 40s, but moisture will be returning and right now it looks like a chance of rain showers as temperatures are expected to be warm enough by the time the deeper moisture arrives for a chance of liquid precipitation.

As always, stay tuned, keep warm, and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot