Cool Weekend

A shift in the jet stream will allow cooler air to flow in from Canada this weekend along woth lower humidity. Lows will drop into the fifties both Saturday and Sunday morning while highs will stay in the lower and middle eighties. Record lows may be threaten on these two days especially Sunday morning. Here's a list of the records:

Saturday the 18th: 53 in 1984
Sunday the 19th: 57 in 1984

Weather Watch Hoisted

A severe thunderstorm watch has been posted for areas from Springfield east and south for Wednesday afternoon and evening. Downburst damaging winds and isolated large hail may occur in the this region. The left over spinning from a storm cluster last night will provide additional focus for storm in this area.

Hottest Ever Recorded in Springfield

On this date, July 14th, 1954, Springfield recorded its hottest temperature of 113 degrees. The next hottest temperature on the books is 108 degrees on July 12, 13 and 18 of the same year.

In fact, July of 1954 has 7 record high temperatures. Not surprisingly, July of 1954 ranks second only to 1934 on the warmest July ranking.

In 1986, (6th hottest) 5 records were established. The last record high broken in July 20th 2006 when we hit 103 degrees.

See other rankings of temperature and precipitation.

Cooler Weather Ahead!

The jet stream will change over the next few days to a more "amplified" (more north-south motion over a greater distance) flow over the U.S later this week. This means cool fronts will actually move through our region. One is due late Wednesday and a reinforcement of cooler air moves through Friday.

This means a return to the below normal temperatures we experienced early in the week of July 6th: lows in the lower sixties (or upper fifties?) and highs in the eighties. Don't forget the lower humidity too!

SUNDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT UPDATE

Wind are flowing from all kinds of different directions across Missouri and surrounding states which clearly shows that we have a couple boundaries around. There is a weak stationary front from Rolla to Kansas City that is currently causing a few light showers to develop along. There is another boundary across southwest Missouri. Notice the winds are coming from the southwest across Oklahoma and from the northeast from Chanute to West Plains. It is where the air converges that you have a boundary, hence lift. As the low level jet kicks in tonight we'll have to watch for further shower and storm development along those boundaries. The most unstable air is located in and around the southernmost boundary. Severe storms can't be ruled out, though we are no longer under a slight risk for them.

HEAT & PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND STORMS

The northwest flow aloft has been a blessing in ways because it has allowed disturbances to move in which has kept temperatures down. The unsettled pattern is expected to continue through Monday. Where the sun shines the most, temperatures will easily soar into the middle and upper 90s. That kind of heat combined with the humidity in place will make it feel like it's in the lower 100's. We'll remain on the periphery of the heat wave the rest of this weekend! The hottest air is set to move in early in the week before a front moves through on Wednesday and cools us down. Storms that pop up have the potential to become severe, especially tomorrow afternoon across the northeastern half of the Ozarks. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter size hail are the main threats. It appears that the Ozarks will stand a better chance of nocturnal rather than diurnal convection both tonight and tomorrow night due to the low level jet kicking in. The low level jet helps to transport warm and moist air northward and creates an unstable atmosphere at night.

Weekend and Beyond

The heat and humidity have both been buildly slowly this week with the offical high finally cracking ninety today. While it might get a bit hotter Friday, the temperature climvb is expected to be cut off by the development of clouds, showers and storms starting Friday and lasting through Sunday.

The heat which may require advisories will start Monday and last through Wednesday. Expect some middle nineties on these days and heat index values to common;y rise above 100.