Severe weather threat today - rain finally arrives

Severe threat this afternoon... Enhanced risk for southwest KS

The storm system is finally here, bringing a chance for wind and hail to western Kansas this afternoon. Once storms develop, they will move east/northeast. This big storm system will definitely test our patience. The total rainfall we are forecasting should come in different rounds, so please don't expect to get all of the rain in the first shower that passes your location. This continues to look like a slow moving storm and should bring at least two if not three different rounds of moisture to the area. Just like spokes go around a wheel, there will be these spokes of energy that go around the huge storm that is coming from the west. And with each one that passes, we will get another chance for some rain.

Rainfall from 1 p.m. Thursday to 7 p.m. Sunday

1. Most of the rain Thursday afternoon will be focused in western Kansas. 
2. Chances will move east late Thursday night and Friday.
3. Dry air coming into western Kansas Friday will bring a temporary end to the rain and allow the sun to shine for awhile.
4. The next round should come into the area heading into Saturday. 
5. A few lingering showers are possible Sunday

This won't be a drought buster, but we have to start somewhere. Fortunately, we will have other chances for moisture coming in the middle of next week. It's too early to figure out how much we'd get, but it's probably not going to be heavy like what we expect to see the next few days.

courtesy Rechelle Ochsner - south of Tribune

Just a couple of hail and wind producing storms Wednesday evening in northwest Kansas. We did get a picture of what looks like a brief tornado south of Tribune. The picture was taken at such a distance that it's hard to tell exactly what was happening, but we think it could have been a brief landspout (a type of tornado that is not associated with the typical supercell storm)