ST. LOUIS – Strong winds increase ahead of our next storm system moving in Wednesday. This has prompted a couple of warnings: Fire Weather Warnings and Wind Advisories for the entire viewing area.
Southwesterly winds sustained at 15-25 MPH with gusts of 45-50 MPH are to be expected through the evening. This will lead to another day of critical fire weather concerns given how dry the air is as well as vegetation. Avoid outdoor burning, as these conditions will lead to dangerous, rapidly spreading fires.
A cold front pushes east and will try to squeeze out some rain for the bi-state later in the day on Wednesday. This system lacks a lot of energy—a few scattered showers and a couple of rumbles of thunder are anticipated for areas east of the Mississippi River.
Better severe-weather forcing is east of us and will not be an issue Wednesday. As the low spins to the east overnight, colder air is drawn in from up north, which will transition the wrap-around moisture into a few snowflakes overnight. With record-warming temperatures Tuesday, the ground is too warm for any of this to stick, other than a coating on grassy/elevated surfaces.
Noticeably cooler on Thursday in comparison to recent days but that is short-lived. We return to the 60s Friday into the weekend. Our next chance of rain Friday night has backed off in recent model data, but we’ll keep an eye out for trends over the next couple of days. Widespread rain returns late Saturday into Sunday.