25 October, 20129:50 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for 34 counties along the southern third of Kansas – including the Wichita metropolitan area – until 9 a.m. Friday.
Temperatures are expected to drop to the upper 20s to around 30 overnight, delivering a hard freeze to the region.
Among the cities included in the freeze warning are Wichita, Hutchinson, Garden City, Dodge City, Medicine Lodge, Scott City, Larned, St. John, Newton, El Dorado, Kingman, Wellington, Anthony, Winfield and Arkansas City.
25 October, 20128:22 a.m.
A study of tornado intensity shows climate change isn’t making tornadoes stronger, a recent USA Today story reports. Among those quoted in the story are Harold Brooks, a research meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla., and AccuWeather Vice President Mike Smith, both frequent voices in my weather blog.
25 October, 20125:00 a.m.
The warmest temperatures of the day will come early in Wichita, forecasters say.
Readings will fall from the 50s into the 40s by late in the day, with skies gradually clearing as the day unfolds. It’ll be very windy, forecasters say, with steady breezes out of the north-northwest in the 20s and gusts nearing 40 miles an hour.
Temperatures will fall to the mid-30s overnight, with north winds easing to the teens under mostly clear skies.
Friday will be chilly, forecasters say, with highs in the low 50s under partly cloudy skies. North winds will be in the teens, with gusts climbing beyond 20 miles an hour.
The National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for more than a dozen counties in southeast and southern Kansas Friday night and Saturday morning – including the Wichita metropolitan area. Lows are expected to drop into the upper 20s, setting the stage for a killing frost.
For more information on current conditions, go to our weather page.