Clouds have certainly been persistent this week, and we found that to be true again today. We began the day with a blanket of fog and low clouds. The low clouds eroded away by late morning, but the high cloudiness wouldn’t budge. That will change overnight with high cloudiness finally edging out of the area by morning.
Friday will start bright and cold and that’s the way it will stay. Friday will be our sunniest day of the week, but temperatures will remain on the cold side, only warming into the low to mid-40s.
Clear skies will open the door to a very cold night Friday night. Temperatures will slip into the upper teens and low 20s northeast of Springfield with lows in the low to mid-20s elsewhere.
The cold will come with increasing clouds Saturday, especially during the afternoon. The cold will also come with breezy southeast winds. Temperatures will only manage to climb into the low to mid-40s again for highs.
Rain showers will spread in Saturday night with temperatures falling into the 30s. It could get interesting closer to St. Louis where lingering dry air will allow temperatures to fall a little below freezing as the precipitation moves in. A light wintry mix of freezing rain and sleet looks possible in places from Vienna, MO, southeast to Eminence, MO, before sunrise Sunday. Slick roads look possible too. The risk of wintry precipitation will be brief with temperatures quickly slipping above freezing Sunday morning.
Showers will continue on and off throughout the day Sunday. Temperatures are a little tricky. Areas to the east and northeast likely won’t warm up too much, only climbing into the low to mid-40s. Further west winds will become more southerly over Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas, ushering in warmer air. Temperatures from Joplin southeast to Harrison may warm into the low to mid-50s.
A steadier rain will develop Sunday night into Monday. The surface low of the storm may redevelop over Northern Arkansas Monday morning before lifting northeast toward Illinois. This would lock in colder temperatures over most of the area with temperatures falling back through the 40s. North of the interstate temperatures will fall back into the 30s. This may lead to a changeover from lingering rain over to sleet or snow across Central Missouri before precipitation ends Monday evening.
Clouds will linger into Tuesday afternoon across much of the area with clearing skies later in the afternoon. Temperatures will remain chilly with highs near 40°.
The next storm will sweep through on Wednesday. The air in place may be cold enough to produce a risk of rain and snow with the higher chances for snow closer to Central Missouri. Right now, precipitation amounts look pretty light.
Sunshine is expected to return Thursday with temperatures beginning to climb higher. The week will end on a warmer and quiet note ahead of the next storm the following weekend.
