Coldest air yet to move this way

October is going to end on a cold note for much of our area. We've already had a killing freeze for most of central and western Kansas. That happened back around the 10th/11th when we also had some light snow impact the area.

Well now, we are looking to next week when an even colder batch of air begins moving this way. Here's what will happen:

• A front will move through early Sunday, bringing temperatures down (but this won't even be the coldest yet

At 4pm Sunday, many areas will be seeing 30s and 40s for highs. That's a good 20° below average.

• The strongest front on the way will move through Tuesday morning, sending us even deeper into the cold, Canadian air. October will end on a pretty chilly note.

There will be a huge buckle in the jet stream (the steering winds at roughly 20,000-30,000 feet) and this is what will set us up for the cold. This particular pattern is also quite dry, so it's not likely that we will see much in the way of rain or snow throughout this area to finish off the month. When the winds come out of the northwest, most of the moisture gets pushed away from our immediate area. At this point, we may be waiting about another two weeks for a pattern to bring us some rain.

Hard freeze likely for everyone! We are expecting that by Tuesday AND certainly Wednesday, almost all areas will have an end to the growing season. Be sure to make sure your house/garden/vehicles are ready for the cold. This should be the biggest drop so far this fall.
Just look at some of these afternoon temperatures next Tuesday. BRRRR!

Tomorrow (Friday), I will update you on when we might begin to see another chance at some moisture.