Next winter system soon to arrive

The Pacific Northwest is getting hammered with more rain and mountain snows Wednesday/Thursday. Flooding is a threat around Seattle with 2-3" of rain expected through Thursday night. That will likely move 2022 to the #1 spot for "wettest start to any calendar year" for that area.

I point out this system because it's going to track through the northern Rockies and then begin its decent into the central Plains. Every model run in the last couple of days continues to shift the system a bit farther south. That's why the forecast in the last 24 hours has changed and we are mentioning snow for several areas of the state.

If the track holds up, the heaviest snow with this system will fall across eastern Nebraska, northeast Kansas, and into Missouri.

Low pressure systems that track in from the northwest are 99% of the time nothing more than light precipitation makers. They don't normally have the moisture supply that other systems coming from the southwest tend to have. As far as timing is concerned, it should be after dark Friday night for things to get started. Initially, it looks like some rain will fall. Here's a snapshot of 10-11pm Friday:

Then early Saturday morning:

Saturday afternoon should see it tapering off from north to south. Early indications point to a TRACE-1" for much of our immediate area, but from Smith Center to Salina to Emporia (east of that line), it could easily be 1-3". This means KC will have a fresh blanket of snow prior to everyone gathering for the Chiefs game on Sunday.

A return to winter:

Wind is something we will have Friday night and Saturday. Gusts will likely be around 30 mph straight out of the north. Wind chills are going to be pretty ugly Saturday morning and into the early afternoon. 

Wind Chills 6am:

Wind Chills 1pm:

Have a great day. Enjoy the mild weather while we have it.