This week will be a tale of two seasons. Highs will climb well into the 90s early in the week, then drop into the 60s by the end of it. Thunderstorms are possible as the cooler air arrives, and some could become severe.
Record-breaking heat
With breezy southwesterly winds, temperatures will surge into the 90s on both Monday and Tuesday. The average high this time of year in Kansas City and St. Louis is about 70 degrees, so early-week highs will run a good 20 to 25 degrees above normal.
Tuesday’s highs will be similar, with a slight uptick in St. Louis. The good news is that humidity levels won’t climb, so it won’t feel like a July day. It will just be hot.
Daily record highs are likely to fall in both markets this week. The graphic below shows the record values for Monday and Tuesday in both Kansas City and St. Louis.
Tuesday’s severe threat
Tuesday looks to stay hot ahead of an approaching cold front, which should arrive from late afternoon into the evening. Kansas City has the best chance of storms.
A Level 2 out of 5 severe risk is in place for Kansas City on Tuesday. Storms developing ahead of and along the front could become strong to severe, with damaging winds and large hail possible.
Storms will move eastward during the evening. Some models bring them into the St. Louis metro well into the evening, while others track them north of the metro, which would keep conditions mostly dry overnight as clouds increase…