No record highs for Wichita today, forecasters say, and it will definitely feel like spring again.
A sunny, muggy day looms, and some night-time thunderstorms are possible in the Wichita area. Highs will top out in the low 80s, with east winds gusting at times to more than 25 miles an hour.
Lows tonight will be in the mid-60s, with east-southeast winds touching 30 miles an hour in gusts.
Thunderstorms may linger through Friday morning, forecasters say, before skies begin to clear. Highs should once again reach the low 80s, with winds turning to the south and gusting to the upper 20s.
The weekend will see more chances for showers arrive in the Wichita area, with highs in the 60s.
For more information on current conditions, go to our weather page.
At least three cities across Kansas set records for high temperature on April 25 today, according to the National Weather Service.
Wichita reached 95, easily topping the previous mark of 90 set in 1901.
Medicine Lodge reached 96, bettering the 95 also set in 1901.
Garden City, meanwhile, hit 91. That’s one degree warmer than the mark set in 1989.
Expect more records to be reported when coop stations file their reports first thing in the morning.
Wichita is just one of several cities around Kansas that could set record highs today, forecasters say.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the low 90s under sunny skies in Wichita. That would topple the record for April 25 of 90 set in 1901.
The mercury is being boosted by south-southwest winds which are coming rapidly down the front range of the Rocky Mountains, forecasters say. The air compresses as it nears the surface, boosting temperatures. By the time those winds reach Wichita, they’ll only be in the single digits – but it’ll still be enough to hoist highs 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.
Lows tonight will also feel like summer, slipping only to the mid- to upper 60s as a few clouds move in. Thursday should see temperatures settle back toward seasonal norms as winds shift to the east.
There’s a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday afternoon and evening, forecasters say. Highs will reach the low 80s under mostly cloudy skies.
For more information on current conditions, go to our weather page.
April still has nearly a week left in it, and forecasters are already tossing triple digits into the forecast.
Pratt, Medicine Lodge, Coldwater and other parts of central Kansas are projected to hit 100 on Wednesday. Upper 90s are forecast in western Kansas and low 90s are expected in the Wichita area.
Predictably, temperature records will topple all over the Sunflower State. Wichita’s record high for April 25 is 90, set in 1901. Russell and Salina hit 94 in 1989. The record for Dodge City and Garden City is 90, set in 1989.
This graphic posted by the National Weather Service offers a glimpse of what to expect on Wednesday.
It won’t be a record for earliest 100-degree day in Kansas, though. Garden City hit 100 on April 22, 1989. But it’s still an early sampling of sizzle.
Summer hasn’t settled into the heartland two months early. Wednesday’s wicked temperatures are the result of downslope winds – air rapidly compressed as it comes rushing down the front slope of the Rockies. Temperatures climb dramatically, thanks to the friction between air molecules.
Winds will shift again on Thursday, allowing temperatures to subside toward seasonal norms. Mondays high, in fact, is projected to top out in the upper 50s.
The winds will pick up noticeably in the Wichita area today, forecasters say – and so will the temperatures.
Highs should climb into the 80s today under sunny skies, with south-southwest winds blowing steadily in the teens and gusting to nearly 30 miles an hour. Overnight lows will only drop to the low 60s, and then Wednesday may see record-setting highs in the low 90s.
Winds will again be out of the southwest, forecasters say, blowing steadily in the teens and gusting into the low 20s. Lows will again be in the low 60s Wednesday night, before temperatures begin to back off a bit on Thursday.
For more information on current conditions, go to our weather page.
A delightful spring day is forecast for the Wichita area.
Sunny skies and highs in the low 70s are expected, forecasters say. Winds will be very light and out of the north-northwest. Overnight lows will bottom out in the low 50s, with light winds shifting around to the south-southwest.
Temperatures will shoot up in the low 80s under mostly sunny skies on Tuesday, forecasters say. South winds will jumping, too – gusting to more than 25 miles an hour.
For more information on current conditions, go to our weather page.
More details are emerging from last Saturday’s tornado outbreak across Kansas. One tornado’s circulation began near the Boot Hill Casino on the west side of Dodge City in Ford County, passed over Dodge City High School while a band program was in progress and finally touched down six miles north-northeast of Dodge City at 1:57 p.m., according to the Dodge City branch of the National Weather Service.
The tornado was on the ground for nearly an hour, lifting at 2:54 p.m. 3 miles west of Burdett. The tornado traveled 33 miles and had a maximum width of 150 yards. Officials rated the tornado as an EF1, with winds of up to 105 miles an hour.
Storm chaser Will Campbell shot these images from K-4 in Ellsworth County, looking west toward the lake last Saturday. Campbell said he was within a half-mile of the tornado at his closest point.
The Wichita branch of the National Weather Service shared more details of the tornado that struck Oaklawn, McConnell and southeast Wichita late Saturday night.
The tornado touched down at 79th Street South and South Shady Creek Circle just south of Haysville at about 10:21 p.m., moved north-northeast through Oaklawn, traveled next to the Kansas Turnpike and hit the west side of McConnell, continuing northeast until it lifted northeast of Central and Greenwich Road just short of the K-96 bypass.
The tornado was on the ground for 21 minutes and covered 13.2 miles, according to the weather service.
Here are three photos of the tornado taken by veteran storm chaser Jim Reed. This first photo was taken from 47th Street South as the tornado was bearing down on Oaklawn.
The second and third photos were shot from just past the Hydraulic exit on I-135, facing east. All three photos were illuminated by power flashes, Reed said.
