Severe weather chance & an early eclipse forecast

If you count the rain showers we will see today in Kansas, we have at least 3 more rounds of rain that will impact our state this week. It's still badly needed in several areas. We've spent a great deal of time talking about the rainfall deficit for Salina (6" below normal), but that's because we don't have much of a database for other towns in our state. But it clearly represents the dry areas in central Kansas.

The rainfall we get today isn't going to add up to very much. But that's because we don't have much of a front or low pressure system in the area. That comes tomorrow (Thursday). The cloudy, cool, damp day in central and eastern Kansas will keep most areas in the 70s, which is quite comfortable by August standards.

Chance for severe storms Thursday!
We should get some sun to return tomorrow (Thursday) ahead of the next cold front, our temperatures still won't be back to normal. There's a fairly strong cold front that will be pushing through the area, so I think you'll see a decent round of rain moving from northwest to southeast Thursday evening.

 AND... it could repeat again heading into Friday night. The one concern I have is that with much cooler temperatures, will the air still hold enough humidity to allow the rain to make it from one side of the state to the next. I'm fairly confident it will, but let's continue to watch the next few model runs. The rainfall forecast posted below is through Saturday afternoon. And the heaviest should end up across the west and some parts of southern Kansas.

Early eclipse forecast:
It's not looking very promising for the weather during the eclipse. Early model forecasts show some rain possible in Nebraska with clouds elsewhere along totality. We will continue to look at this with each passing model update, but early signs might be a bit frustrating to you if you're planning a trip to see the celestial event.