30 September, 20097:05 a.m.
A sunny, windy day is forecast for the Wichita area today – but strong storms could roll through the region overnight, forecasters say.
Highs should reach the low 80s, with south-southeast winds increasing from the teens to the the mid-20s, and gusting to more than 35 miles an hour.
Showers and thunderstorms are possible tonight in the metropolitan area, with the primary threats being hail as large as golf balls and winds of up to 60 miles an hour.
Lows are expected to dip into the mid-60s. South winds will be gusty, surging into the mid-30s.
More showers are possible before 9 a.m. Thursday. Skies will remain mostly cloudy, with highs in the low 70s. Winds will remain breezy out of the south-southwest in the upper teens and gusting to nearly 30 miles an hour.
29 September, 20097:05 a.m.
Sunny skies and highs in the mid-70s are in the forecast for the Wichita area today.
Winds touching double digits will shift from the east-northeast to the east-southeast during the day, forecasters say.
Wednesday should be partly sunny and warmer, with highs reaching the upper 70s to low 80s. Showers and thunderstorms are possible Wednesday night and Thursday, forecasters say.
28 September, 20097:15 a.m.
After a cameo appearance by summer on Sunday, with sunny skies and a high of 91, autumn returns today to the Wichita area.
Forecasters say highs today will be nearly 20 degrees cooler than Sunday, topping out in the low 70s. Skies will continue to be sunny, though, with gusty north-northwest winds topping 20 miles an hour.
Lows tonight will dip nearly to the 30s, then Tuesday will offer more sunshine and highs in the upper 70s.
25 September, 20093:59 p.m.
The National Weather Service has canceled the severe thunderstorm warning for Wichita and portions of the metropolitan area.
The warning had been scheduled to last until 4:30 p.m., but the storms weakened until they no longer met the criteria for a severe thunderstorm. The storms are still capable of producing spells of heavy rain, however.
25 September, 20093:40 p.m.
As anyone with a window can see, the skies above Wichita are dark in mid-afternoon.
Not surprisingly, the National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for portions of Sedgwick, Sumner, Butler and Cowley counties until 4:30 p.m. A line of storms stretching from Wichita to Belle Plaine is capable of heavy rain and damaging winds of up to 60 miles an hour.
Among the cities included in the warning are Andover, Augusta, Winfield, Rose Hill, Mulvane, Derby, Leon and Winfield.
25 September, 20092:12 p.m.
An updated forecast from the National Weather Service cautions that showers and thunderstorms are likely this afternoon and tonight in central and south-central Kansas – including the Wichita metropolitan area.
“Some of the storms may become strong in south central Kansas with small hail up to penny size along with some gusty winds to 50 mph. The storms will generally move northeast at 35 to 40 mph and produce rainfall amounts between one-quarter and one-half inch.”
Along with Wichita, cities included in the cautioned area are Russell, Great Bend, Ellsworth, Salina, McPherson, Marion, Hutchinson, Newton, Kingman, Anthony and Harper.
25 September, 20097:11 a.m.
Residents of the Wichita area may want to keep the rain gear within easy reach later today, forecasters say, because scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in the area.
While the storms are not expected to be severe, they could well dampen prep football games and Wichita’s Final Friday festivities. Highs should reach the mid-70s, with winds out of the southwest gusting to the mid-20s.
Saturday should be sunny, with highs in the upper 70s and light winds out of the west-northwest. More sunshine is expected Sunday, with highs surging toward 90.
24 September, 20097:09 a.m.
Sunny to partly cloudy skies and highs in the low 70s are expected for the Wichita area today, forecasters say.
But don’t forget the jacket this morning: the temperature was only 50 degrees as 7 a.m. neared.
Winds will stay in the single digits today and Friday, generally out of the west and south.
Friday will offer more sunshine during the day with highs in the 70s, but forecasters say showers enter the forecast by evening.
23 September, 20097:15 a.m.
Temperatures in the low 40s will have Wichita residents reaching for their jackets this morning – or wishing they had.
The crisp beginning to the day will make way for mostly sunny skies and highs close to or touching 70, forecasters say. Winds out of the west will barely tickle the anemometer over the next couple of days.
Thursday should be much like today, forecasters say, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low 70s.
22 September, 20098:15 a.m.
Michael Pearce, the Eagle’s outdoors writer, stopped by my desk on Monday to comment on the intense lightning he witnessed early Monday morning northwest of Wichita.
He also wrote about it on his outdoors blog for the Eagle. It’s a good read.