Solid drought buster in the making

Hope your week is off to a great start. Our weather is rather uneventful for at least another day or two, and then in typical holiday weekend fashion, thunderstorms will return to the Plains.

Right now, we are sandwiched in between a low pressure to the east and one to the west. This is a blocking pattern (much like a traffic jam) where nothing can move around and therefore there won't be much of a change in the weather through Wednesday.

The month of May has been relatively "cool" compared to the average. That has helped to keep the severe weather days in check. Look at the map below and you'll be able to see just how much of the country is experiencing below normal temperatures this month.

Thunderstorm chances begin: Wednesday night in the west

These won't likely be anything to worry about as they begin weakening almost as fast as they move into Kansas. My expectation is that they will be drying up as they move along, and whatever rain is out there, it will likely be scattered at best.

Thursday afternoon-night:

This time period has a pretty strong likelihood of developing some storms. And it most definitely wouldn't be a shock to see some strong or severe storms in this period. The rich, Gulf of Mexico moisture will be trying to push in during this time and that's what will help to setup the increased rain chance. Just look at the dew points (measure of how much moisture is in the air) and they are climbing into the 60s for many areas from Kansas south. When they get that high, you have more than enough moisture to get heavy rainfall and some severe weather.

Friday - could be some leftover showers early in the day, but most of the day is looking drier. Even into the evening and overnight, the chances for storms will be low. That could be one of the days in the holiday weekend that is mostly void of storms.

Saturday -

A few storms are possible moving into the evening and overnight. It is looking like the majority of storms will be in Nebraska and down in Oklahoma, but I'm fairly certain there will be some rain and thunder moving our way.

Sunday - A cold front is advancing across the state. This will run into some rich, Gulf moisture and we will likely be up against another round of storms focused mostly over the eastern 2/3 of the state.

I started showing this on the air Monday night, but adding up the potential of rain between Wednesday and Memorial Day is rather encouraging for areas that have been missed repeatedly. It's NOT a guarantee, but given the multiple chances for storms and the higher humidity moving into the area, we should have a good 5 day stretch with storm chances and locally heavy rains. Areas that have had quite a bit of rain in the last few weeks should monitor for flooding. 

Have a great day and thanks for coming by to read up on Kansas weather and how the holiday weekend will be impacted by storms. If you plan to camp this weekend, you'll want to be ready for some of this active weather.