The week of February 16, mid-Missouri is likely to see one of the roughest stretches of weather for the winter season.
Not only will a large arctic air mass cause temperatures to plummet, but we are also expecting several snow chances.
This includes our next impactful winter storm.
A band of light snow is expected to move into northern Missouri from late Sunday night through early Monday, producing a dusting just south of I-70 to 1-2″ of snow along and north of I-70 with pockets of 3″ possible. Although snow accumulation will be light, some slick roads will be possible near and north of I-70 early Monday.
Then, our attention turns to our next weather maker from Monday night through Tuesday night that will impact all of mid-Missouri with travel impacts due to light to moderate snowfall. There are Winter Storm Watches and Warnings currently in place where highest snowfall accumulation is expected with winter Weather Advisories where lower amounts of snow are expected.
As we move into Tuesday, the aforementioned arctic air mass will be over mid-Missouri, causing a deep layer of cold air above the surface and with northeast winds gusting to near 20 mph, dangerously cold wind chills will start the day Tuesday. Wind chill (feels like) temperatures will drop to 10-20 below zero in areas north of I-70 and as low as 15 below zero farther south. Thursday morning will also see wind chill temperatures as low as 20 below zero. Below are the 8 AM projections for those days.
Above this cold layer, a disturbance in the upper atmosphere will move in from the Rockies.
As this moves through, it will bring in a strong front that will provide the kick that the atmosphere needs to start producing precipitation. A band of snow showers will develop north of I-70 Monday evening and spread to the south overnight Monday. Snow may taper off Tuesday morning behind this band before more spreads over mid-Missouri from the west-southwest through the afternoon and into the evening hours Tuesday, gradually ending through the overnight hours.
Because temperatures are so cold, we are likely to see a light and fluffy snowfall.
Fluffy snow takes up more volume than more wet/dense snow due to the presence of little air pockets, meaning that we are likely to see some decent accumulations.
The heaviest snowfall looks to fall in the southern half of Missouri with amounts becoming much lighter north of I-70.
Below is an idea of how much snow we could see but these amounts could change as new data comes in. You’ll want to check back for updates. Nevertheless, even a few inches of snow will be impactful on roads. Difficult travel is expected in southern Missouri where there could be bands of 10+ inches.
One thing to keep in mind is that as the Arctic air moves south Monday night into Tuesday, there will be drier air with it. Moist air aloft riding over this drier air will produce snowfall but due to the thicker layer of drier air as you head north, snowfall amounts will decrease. So there will be a sharp difference in snow totals across the KRCG TV viewing area. Forecast amounts could still change as the system is still developing. Still, it is likely that this system will be impactful no matter what. With the possible snow accumulation and the brutally cold temperatures, it will be important to stay weather-aware this week.
Be sure to stay tuned to KRCG 13 as well as download the KRCG 13 news app and KRCG 13 Weather Authority app in order to stay up to date on all of the latest.