The wildfire threat will be elevated this evening.
We are staying on top of grassfires in Sedgwick and Sumner counties in Kansas and one in Kay County, Oklahoma.
Winds will be strongest prior to sunset, gusting from 35 to 45 mph. A Wind Advisory is in effect until 7 PM Thursday.
This is tied to our next cold front coming into the picture. Ahead of the front, highs reached record territory. Wichita hit 93 degrees today, beating the old record of 89 degrees set in 1939.
In addition, there will be a small window for showers and thunderstorms. Development is expected after 6 PM from Northwest Missouri, building back southwest down the line along the Turnpike closer to Wichita.
The Wichita Metro has a brief shot from 8-10 PM Thursday for a rainy rumble. A storm or two farther northeast along this line could become severe for damaging hail and to a lesser extent, damaging winds.
Any rain will exit to the southeast later in the overnight.
Cooler air sinks south on Friday. Lows range from the 30s to the 50s overnight.
Winds will relax the first half of Friday. Temperatures will warm to the 60s and 70s for highs Friday into Saturday.
A touch of frost is also possible north and west into Saturday morning. Winds will switch around and accelerate late this weekend. The warmth builds on Sunday with much hotter temps next Monday into Tuesday.
Winds will become a problem and gust from 30-50 MPH, announcing the arrival of the next cold front. A few showers are possible to the northwest on Tuesday ahead of a significant dip in the jet stream that will give us a pattern change to close out October.
This system organizes for a better shot of showers and storms into next Wednesday.
Colder air that is more seasonable will follow to end next week. More rain is on the table for next Friday.
KSN Storm Track 3 Forecast from Chief Meteorologist Lisa Teachman:
Wichita:
Tonight: Partly cloudy to mostly clear, breezy. 20% chance of showers and storms. Lo: 52 Wind: SW/N 10-20
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, breezy. Hi: 72 Wind: N/NE 10-20
Tomorrow Night: Mostly clear. Lo: 43 Wind: NE 5-15
Wichita Weekly
Sat: Hi: 69 Lo: 45 Mostly sunny.
Sun: Hi: 77 Lo: 60 Mostly sunny, breezy.
Mon: Hi: 85 Lo: 64 Mostly sunny to partly cloudy, windy.
Tue: Hi: 84 Lo: 61 Partly cloudy, windy.
Wed: Hi: 78 Lo: 45 Partly cloudy, windy. 20% chance of showers and storms.
Thu: Hi: 65 Lo: 46 Partly cloudy to mostly sunny.
–Chief Meteorologist Lisa Teachman