Sunsets, rain totals, and another round coming

Doppler estimated totals from storms Wednesday night

In typical Kansas rainfall fashion, most of you didn't get any rain at all, some had a little, and others had rainfall coming down at over 4 inches per hour. While covering the severe storms in Wichita Wednesday night, our measuring equipment at the station had a rainfall rate of over 4 inches per hour that lasted for just a few minutes. The wind was also a bit crazy with McConnell AFB recording a wind gust to 71 mph. There were some reports of tree damage around Douglass and near Augusta in Butler county.

Rainfall totals ending at 7 a.m. Thursday:
3 NW Emporia: 3.15"
Topeka: 2.01"
Jabara Airport: 0.94"
Wichita: 0.89"
Winfield: 0.89"
Newton: 0.47"
Hill City: 0.25"
Hutch: 0.12"
Great Bend: 0.08"
Russell: 0.07"
Salina: Trace

Thursday evening storms will form in the west and move east

After midnight (early Friday morning), storms will be rolling into central Kansas

The focus for storms was basically east Wednesday night, but for tonight, the focus will shift back to the west. The next round is forecast to develop this evening in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. It should move east/southeast heading into the night. Some strong wind will be possible, but we are not forecasting widespread severe storms.

I shared some sunset pictures Wednesday night on the air, but a few more came in later in the night. The developing storms Wednesday evening helped create a dramatic sunset for those in central and south central Kansas. Some of the best color I've seen in a little while.

Beautiful sunset Wednesday evening. Picture from Kerra Whitaker

Kelly Nachtigal - Newton

Election Day heat & then storms

Don't forget to get out and vote today. Some of you (by the time you read this) may have already done so trying to beat the afternoon heat. It's not going to be terribly hot today, but like yesterday, most of the area will be back in the mid 90s by the end of the day.

Some of the moisture over the Rockies will push into Kansas this week. The low over Las Vegas is weak.

I mentioned yesterday that we will see increasing storm chances for the remainder of the week. Figuring out where the storms will be is going to be the biggest challenge. Here's what we are looking at:
Tuesday evening:
A few storms possible in northwest Kansas after 5 or 6 p.m. Not expected to be severe or very widespread

Wednesday:
A stray shower in central Kansas during the morning with better chances for isolated activity develop during the late afternoon and evening hours. Focus will be over central and eastern Kansas.

Thursday:
Morning rain moving out of eastern Kansas, then afternoon sunshine. More storms are forecast for eastern Colorado and western Kansas heading into the evening and night. It's not very clear yet how long they will hold together.

Friday:
Another chance for a few early a.m. storms, especially across northern Kansas. Then other isolated storms may develop Friday evening around the area. Some heavy downpours are likely, but severe storms are not.

The pattern through the next 7 or 8 days will favor storm chances at night. Again, figuring out the location will be a bit of a challenge, but we will continue to take a closer look as the week continues. The good news is that we have chances for rain and the risk for severe storms is very low.

Rainfall amounts won't be overly impressive this week. Just two pockets of the state where it looks like the rain might be a little heavier, including northwest Kansas and the far eastern areas of the state.

Forecast for rainfall from today - Friday evening

August heat, storms, and a short family getaway

Welcome to August. Summer is still not over, but with kids heading back to school, most of us are in the mindset that it's winding down. August is (on average) the third wettest month out of the year. Our average rainfall is about 3.50-4 inches, and our normal high goes from 92 at the start of the month down to 89. Last year, we had almost 5.50 inches of rain in just the first 5 days. Normally, we don't expect a lot of change in the summer weather around here in August, but with July having some cool spells, will we see that come back this month? There is a chance the cooler than average weather will be back in the middle or end of August, but here at the beginning, temperatures are going to be near or slightly above normal.

This week looks to stay hot with highs in the 90s. It could be a lot hotter, but I don't see widespread triple digits for the area anytime soon.

Rain chances will be increasing for western Kansas Tuesday evening. That looks to be the first chance this week for rain. Everyone else will be looking at chances for storms by Wednesday.

If you get missed by the storms Wednesday, there should be some much better chances by the end of the week. We will focus on that Tuesday.

Millie and I will be back on the air this evening. We had a very short, family getaway to Breckenridge, Colorado over the weekend. It was a chance to spend some quality time with my family and we had a great time. Below is a picture with my two oldest nephews up along the Continental Divide. I think we have a couple of hikers in the making (maybe the next Lewis and Clark)