KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You have certainly noticed the cold air in Kansas City over the last 36 hours. In fact, Thursday was our coldest day so far of 2023 with a high temperature of only 29 degrees!
Friday morning’s low was 10 degrees and we once again struggle to hit the freezing mark this afternoon. This is the type of cold where any moisture moving through could result in light ice.
To that end, the National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory on Friday afternoon just after 1, and it’s in effect until 11 p.m.
The big question or “IF” for this afternoon is will moisture present at all levels of the atmosphere.
Above is a forecast profile for the atmosphere this afternoon at 4 p.m. in Kansas City. At 15,000 feet up is where snowflakes normally form, but there will be no moisture present in the mid-levels of the atmosphere this afternoon, so snow is out of the question.
However, as we move closer to the surface, around 6,000 feet, we do have moisture. But temperatures there are barely above freezing, so rain drops would be the precipitation type forming. Based on this information alone, I would forecast isolated showers or drizzle for this afternoon.
The catch of course is that temperatures near the ground will be at or just below freezing. So any precipitation falling would likely try to freeze on contact with the ground or form into a small pellet of ice (sleet). That results in this pink shading on our Microcast for this afternoon, which is an icy precipitation type, however it is very light.
All that said, I will be watching for moisture in the lower levels of the atmosphere and surface temperatures later this afternoon for a chance of light freezing drizzle or sleet. This looks most likely east of the 435 Loop on the Missouri side.
Could a few spots see impacts? Possibly, but with the precipitation staying likely very light and temperatures marginal, impacts are very unlikely.
If there is any moisture present on roadways or elevated surfaces overnight, there could be an isolated patch of ice by sunrise Saturday with lows near 20. But the weekend gets much warmer with highs near 50 degrees on Saturday afternoon. Look ahead to the full FOX4 Weather Team weekend forecast.
