Well, it looks like a weak disturbance heading our way is producing a large area of showers across central Kansas. As a result, it’s possible that this area of rain will get to us this afternoon. The biggest question is if the dry air in place across eastern Kansas and western Missouri will be able to overcome the rain moving in from the west. In fact, we are already seeing this dry air take it’s toll on the rainfall. Unfortunately, given the extent of the rain, I think we do maintain a pretty good chance for showers later this afternoon. Sigh… I’ll update this blog post early this afternoon with my latest thoughts… UPDATE 1:15pm: Well, it looks like the dry air has indeed taken it’s toll on the rainfall. While there is still a chance some of it makes it all the way to the metro, this chance is low. If it DOES make it here, it wouldn’t amount to much more than a brief shower or sprinkle. None the less, the cloud cover from this decaying area of rain will stick around and temps will hold in the upper 60s to low 70s. Post from: Kansas City Weather Podcast

A pleasantly cool end to the work week Friday - Fog early, then becoming partly cloudy. High: 74 Friday night - Partly cloudy. Low: 53 Saturday - Partly to mostly cloudy. A very slight chance for showers. High: 75 Sunday - Partly cloudy. A chance for showers and t-storms late. High:80 Monday [...]

Gustov says goodbye, but the cool weather sticks around Thursday - Cloudy with a chance for showers in the morning. Becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. High: 70 Thursday night - Partly cloudy. Low: 53 Friday - Partly cloudy. High: 76 Saturday - Partly cloudy. High: 78 Sunday - Partly cloudy. A [...]

More chances for rain before we finish the week on a good note Wednesday - Mostly cloudy with showers and t-storms likely. High: 67 Wednesday night - Mostly cloudy with a chance for showers and t-storms. Low: 57 Thursday - Partly cloudy with a chance for showers and t-storms. High: 70 Friday [...]

Our cold front continues to progress through the metro area this afternoon. It’s clearly evident in the radar imagery from the national weather service by the line extending from Raytown to the southwest. Thunderstorms have been firing for the last few hours mainly north of the front, producing torrential rainfall with over an inch in some areas of northwest Missouri. Also behind the cold front is some dramatically cooler air. The falling rain is only making this more evident with 70s directly behind the front… low 60s and upper 50s in southwest Nebraska! This will definitely have me rethinking temperatures for tomorrow. The convergence along the cold front will continue to weaken this evening as the remainants of Gustov continue to bring winds out of the northeast ahead of the front. Moisture from Gustov has made it to the I-44 corridor in southwest Missouri. The track of Gustov’s remainants will play a big part in our weather from tomorrow evening through Thursday. Right now, it appears that the deeper moisture will stay to our southeast, and keep the significant rain chances there as well. We may still see some moisture from Gustov, but it appears it will be fairly limited. None the less, stay dry (and warm?) the next few days. Post from: Kansas City Weather Podcast

After a long stretch of beautiful weather, rain chances dominate the next few days Tuesday - Partly cloudy with a chance for showers and t-storms in the afternoon. High: 88 Tuesday night - Mostly cloudy. Showers and t-storms likely. Low: 61 Wednesday - Mostly cloudy with showers and t-storms likely. High: [...]

Hurricane Gustov continues on it’s track toward the Louisiana coast and will be set to make landfall tomorrow. Gustov will likely make landfall as a dangerous category 3 hurricane and while weaker than Katrina just 3 years ago, the track just west of the Mississippi River is a big concern. As I said yesterday, the "worse case scenario" for New Orleans from a land falling hurricane has always been a significant storm surge moving up the river, as these levees are thought to be more easily topper. The flooding from Katrina cam from Lake Pontchartrain from broken levees…which was unexpected (which is why the initial briefing from New Orleans was a very positive one after Katrina made land fall). Gustov is expected to be close to the prime location for storm surge flooding up the Mississippi. Any further west from the expected track would be bad news for New Orleans. Damage from strong winds are of course a concern as well. Here is a part of a statement from the Slidel, LA forecast office. IN THE AREA NEAR LANDFALL OF THE EYE…EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WINDS WILL CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE…AND ALL MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DESTROYED. HOUSES OF POOR TO AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION MAY BE SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. MODERATE TO MAJOR DAMAGE COULD OCCUR TO WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES. MANY GABLED ROOFS MAY FAIL ALONG WITH SOME EXTERIOR WALLS. ALUMINUM AND LIGHT STEEL ROOFS WILL BE TORN OFF BUILDINGS AT INDUSTRIAL PARKS. PARTIAL ROOF AND EXTERIOR WALL FAILURES ARE LIKELY AT LOW RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS…ESPECIALLY THOSE OF POOR TO AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION. SOME WINDOWS IN HIGH RISE OFFICE BUILDINGS WILL BE BLOWN OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE ADDITIONAL MAJOR DAMAGE…AS WELL AS INJURIES AND A FEW FATALITIES. NEAR TOTAL POWER LOSS IS EXPECTED WITH NUMEROUS LINES AND POWER POLES KNOCKED DOWN. THE AVAILABILITY OF POTABLE WATER WILL BE DIMINISHED AS FILTRATION SYSTEMS BEGIN TO FAIL. NUMEROUS TREES…ESPECIALLY SMALL TO MEDIUM TREES…WILL BE DOWNED…SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. It certainly doesn’t paint a good picture. Believe it or not, this statement is not as strongly worded as the one prior to Katrina’s landfall. None the less, you can see that Gustov is expect to create incredible damage once again to some areas hit 3 years ago. Gustov will likely slow dramatically, but likely not until after landfall. Some of the computer models have hinted that the storm could stall less than 50 miles off shore and wobble west before making landfall closer to Texas. This has always been my gut feeling with this storm, but it simply doesn’t not look like the slowed motion will happen until later. Say a prayer for those on the Gulf coast tonight and tomorrow. By the way… NO KC WEATHER PODCAST TONIGHT. Post from: Kansas City Weather Podcast

More beautiful, all be it warm, weather for the weekend. Watching Gustov for mid-week moisture. Sunday - Mostly sunny. High: 89 Sunday night - Mostly clear. Low: 67 Monday - Partly cloudy. High: 90 Tuesday - Partly cloudy. A slight chance for showers and t-storms. High: 88 Wednesday - Partly cloudy with a chance for showers and t-storms. High: 84 Thursday - Partly cloudy with a chance for showers and t-storms. High: 82 NO AUDIO PODCAST TODAY Post from: Kansas City Weather Podcast

New Orleans is taking initiative and evacuating the city in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Gustov. If I remember correctly, this is at least one day earlier than with Hurricane Katrina. Great to see! Gustov is now a dangerous category 4 hurricane and may approach category 5 status tomorrow. While Gustov would likely undergo some weakening before it makes landfall, it would still make landfall as a dangerous hurricane. In addition to the wind (which will cover a large area), a NW track into eastern LA coast has the potential to bring a significant storm surge up the Mississippi River, which has always been the "worse case" scenerio for a landfalling hurricane for New Orleans. The track of Gustov would bring landfall somewhere in Louisiana Monday afternoon, likely near the central LA coast. However, there is still a good deal of uncertainty regarding the track just prior to landfall . None the less, I’m glad to see people evacuate. The mayor of New Orleans ignored advice to evacuate from meteorologists for a day when Katrina was approaching the city. It’s safe to say that Katrina has made the authorities take a land falling hurricane seriously. UPDATE: A FIRST look at some of the newest computer models hint that motion will slow prior to landfall, and Gustov could remain in the Gulf for a while, drifting west. While certainly possible, I’m not sure if I’d bite on it quite yet. Post from: Kansas City Weather Podcast

A beautiful holiday weekend. Watching Gustov in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday - Mostly sunny. High: 84 Saturday night - Mostly clear. Low: 62 Sunday - Mostly sunny. High: 87 Monday - Partly cloudy. High: 89 Tuesday - Partly cloudy. High: 88 Wednesday - Partly cloudy with a chance for showers and [...]