Buckle up and get ready for a crazy weather day in KAKEland! Mother Nature has given us a whole grocery list of weather to deal with today. Wind gusts will be even higher today, smoke will continue to linger, fire weather is a big concern today AND severe weather is possible for some starting this afternoon. Let's break down this crazy day and start with the smoke. 

Smoke is still present across KAKEland this morning thanks to the wind staying out of the southeast. You can smell the smoke and clearly see it on our cameras across the state this morning. While not fun to breath in, it does result in beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The smoke will continue to linger a bit today resulting in bad air quality, so please limit your time outdoors. But farmers likely won't be burning today due to even stronger wind gusts. So hopefully conditions will improve throughout the day.

Friday was definitely on the breezy side, but wind gusts today will be downright dangerous! Wind gusts will range from 50-60 mph out of the southeast during the day. This is raising the concern for fire weather across the state, but mainly in western KS. PLEASE avoid use of open flames and be careful today. Winds like this will make it extremely difficult for fires to be put out. 

Our concern shifts a bit from strong winds to the chance for strong to severe thunderstorms as we head into the late afternoon today (3-5 PM). A line of thunderstorms will develop along a dryline. These storms will press eastward into central and eastern KS as we head into the evening. They will likely intensify as they move eastward, potentially turning severe.

 

 

Threats include wind gusts at or above 65 mph, quarter sized hail or larger, and even the small chance for an isolated tornado. Since storms will be developing into a line today, our greatest concern out of that list will be strong winds. 

Conditions to start to quiet down as we head into overnight tonight. Storms move out quickly by late evening leaving us dry. Winds will still be breezy but won't gust anywhere above 30 mph for most of KAKEland. 

Meteorologist Brittany Foster

@BrittFosterWX