Heavy rains still a threat for many areas

We are getting an updated drought map today (Thursday) and while areas east of I-135 probably don't need any more rain now, we can't overlook the drought across the west. Erasing drought (as most of know) isn't something that happens overnight. We are seeing severe drought expanding to include almost all of southwest Kansas.

The next couple of nights should offer up hope of drought easing moisture. Storms should form in eastern Colorado and western Kansas and move east. I am very hopeful there's more rain in these storms than what our models have been showing. And unfortunately, southwest Kansas may not have that much rain coming, but we will see how things work out.

Severe threat Thursday evening:

This is mainly going to be in eastern Kansas. Some parts of southeast Kansas will have some hail and wind, but I am more concerned about flooding because these areas are saturated.

 

 

Overnight and into Friday:

 

More heavy rains are going to develop across central and western Kansas. These will move to the east and will NOT be severe, but offer up some good moisture in places that have been missed lately.

More good moisture coming Friday night into early Saturday. There's a storm in the upper atmosphere that will pivot through the area, so I'm feeling pretty confident that a good dose of rain will move out across western/central Kansas heading into Saturday morning. Again, not eliminating drought, but certainly helping out.

Potential rainfall through Saturday afternoon/evening

Once we hit Sunday, the pattern changes and there won't be any rain to speak of until later next week.

Speaking of that... I'm expecting more active weather just before the start of the Memorial Day weekend. We will dive into those details very soon. And wait until you see what the next 30-45 days has in store for the Plains...