Another comfy day across Kansas with highs in the 70s and 80s!
While we had sunshine dominating, it was still a hazy day for many. Check out the thick haze Friday afternoon from one of our Wichita SkyView cameras!
Air quality has been impacted today with some parts of eastern Kansas seeing unhealthy levels. This is because of wildfire smoke that has been filtering into the state riding on northeasterly winds.
The smoke has traveled all the way from Canada. The area of high pressure passing to our north has steered this smoke our direction. While this weather feature has brought pleasantly mild air into the region, it has also allowed for the wildfire smoke to become quite thick across the Midwest and the Plains.
Our attention tonight will turn toward shower and storm development that will slide into Western Kansas out of Colorado.
Some stronger wind gusts cannot be ruled out near the state line to the west before this batch wanes overnight.
There may still be some activity over Northcentral Kansas early Saturday, but most will stay quiet and dry. Lows tonight will be cool in the 60s with some upper 50s thrown into the mix.
Saturday will offer up mild temps in the 80s.
New storms will blossom over Western Kansas Saturday evening. Some of the activity in the west could be strong to severe.
All hazards are on the table, including a possibility of a tornado near the Kansas/Colorado state line.
Damaging wind gusts and a few hailstones may also get tossed to the surface before losing its punch.
This round should hold together enough to give our central and eastern counties a shot for leftover rain and rumbles into early Sunday.
Sunday’s highs may be a touch cooler in areas impacted longer by leftover clouds and rain. Still, highs in the 70s and 80s cannot be beat for early August.
More storms will gel Sunday evening in the west and weaken farther east into early Monday morning.
The heat dome to the southwest bops back our way next week. Temperatures gradually warm to the 80s and eventually 90s. Hottest temps will occur farther southwest.
We will need to watch the outer rim of this high where a higher likelihood of storms will travel around it. We may be under enough of the influence of this high pressure system to keep most of the area hot and dry next week.
KSN Storm Track 3 Forecast from Chief Meteorologist Lisa Teachman:Wichita:Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lo: 62 Wind: NE 5-15Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. Hi: 82 Wind: NE/SE 5-15Tomorrow Night: Partly to mostly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 65 Wind: SE 5-15
Wichita WeeklySun: Hi: 79 Lo: 64 Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of showers and storms.Mon: Hi: 83 Lo: 65 Partly cloudy. 20% chance of showers and storms.Tue: Hi: 87 Lo: 71 Mostly sunny.Wed: Hi: 92 Lo: 74 Mostly sunny, breezy.Thu: Hi: 95 Lo: 75 Mostly sunny, windy.Fri: Hi: 96 Lo: 76 Mostly sunny, windy.
-Chief Meteorologist Lisa Teachman…