Friday Morning Forecast

Friday: Increasing Clouds. 42°F  

Friday Night: Mostly Cloudy. 27°F    

Saturday: Cloudy. 41°F

Saturday Night: Cloudy with a Chance of Snow and Rain (60%). 35°F

Sunday: Mostly Cloudy. 35°F

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General Discussion: 

Temperatures will be slightly higher today at 42°F, but will still dip below freezing, 27°F, overnight.  Clouds will be increasing throughout the weekend as a low-pressure system moves into the region Saturday night, which brings a 60% chance of precipitation.  Precipitation will likely start as snow and will transition to rain.  If traveling Saturday night and Sunday, be sure to check the latest forecast and be prepared for wet surfaces and the possibility of ice as ground temperatures will likely be around freezing.

-Neumiller

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Forecaster: Trotter, Osborn, Neumiller

Date Issued: Fri 12-05-25, 9:00 AM CST/1500 UTC

Technical Discussion:

Key Messages:

• An Alberta Clipper system will pass through Missouri late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
• There is a 60% chance of precipitation, likely starting out as snow, but quickly switching over to rain. Negligible snow accumulation and small amounts of rain (less than 0.05”) are expected.

Friday morning – Saturday afternoon

This morning, mid-Missouri is experiencing light southerly winds around the western side of a ridge of high pressure just to our east. These winds will allow our high temperature for the day to climb well above freezing (42°F), a welcome thaw after a bitterly cold work week. While the sun will be visible for much of the day, clouds will steadily build in, with mostly cloudy conditions expected overnight tonight as some mid-level moisture enters the region. These clouds will linger during the day on Saturday, ahead of the next weather system which arrives Saturday night.

Saturday night – early Sunday morning

An Alberta Clipper system will form today in Canada, and quickly make its way down south, arriving in the mid-Mississippi valley late Saturday night. There is uncertainty about exactly what path the low pressure center of the system will take; the GFS brings the center over Columbia early Sunday morning, the NAM takes it through Iowa, and the HRRR plots a course near Kirksville. The exact path of the low will determine exactly what kind of precipitation will fall, so a southerly shift in the low’s path may abruptly change the forecast. We expect southerly winds to warm temperatures throughout the night (with an evening low of 35°F) ahead of the passage of the center. There is a 60% chance of precipitation, starting around midnight as snow, but as the low is likely to pass to our north, we expect warm air advection in the lower levels to begin melting snow before it reaches the surface by sunrise. Snow accumulation will be minimal, with only small amounts of precipitation (less that 0.05”) expected. Future forecasters should keep an eye on the position of the developing low, as its position critical in determining what exactly will happen when this system arrives.

The rest of Sunday

After the passage of the clipper system, winds at the surface will shift, coming out of the north, advecting cold air into the region. Temperatures will slowly sink throughout the day, with the day’s ‘official’ high likely occurring before sunrise. Temperatures will be in the mid-30s in the morning and the low 30s in the afternoon.

-Trotter