Thursday Morning Forecast (04/30/2026)
Thursday: Scattered Clouds, 61°F
Thursday Night: Chance For Thunderstorms/Showers (20%, 40%), 42°F
Friday: Decreasing Clouds, 61°F
Friday Night: Mostly Clear, 41°F
Saturday: Sunny, 62°F
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General Discussion:
A strong low over the great lakes situates the forecast area directly beneath the jet stream and jet streak in a zonal pattern. Such a pattern will result in settled weather over the weekend. Because the air being advected is northwestern in origin, cooler temperatures will also be introduced. That being said, the possibility that this calm weather trend is disturbed by thunderstorms and showers does exist Thursday night into early Friday morning.
-Mathews, Houlihan, Rhodes
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Forecasters: Mathews, Houlihan, Rhodes
Date Issued: 04/30/2026 1600Z
Technical Discussion:
Key Messages:
- Potential for Thunderstorms (20%) and showers (40%) Thursday night
- Temperatures cooler than seasonally average
A strong low is currently situated over the great lakes region. Colombia finds itself directly beneath the jet stream in a zonal pattern until Saturday 06Z, where a positively tilted trough attached to the low begins to enter the area. This trough features an axis stretching from the great lakes to northern Texas. By Saturday 15Z, the axis will be fully settled above the area and the base of the trough will begin to pass by as our forecast period comes to an end.
The period is largely defined by persistent significant relative humidity value at the 700mb level, as the moisture from the pacific northwest is advected by the aforementioned northeastern low with a brief stint of dryer air Friday 8Z into Saturday 00Z. These significant values coincide with negative omega values, ensuring cloud cover over the area within this time frame.
Upper level divergence remains relatively low throughout the entirety of the forecast period, resulting in a lack of surface convergence and a pattern of settled weather. This trend has the potential to be disturbed, however, Thursday night. Forcing from increased vorticity will be persistent over the area, with the maximum vorticity experienced Thursday 21Z and Friday into early Saturday. NAM 3km soundings over the area valid for Thursday 21Z show a peak in CAPE values just under 1000 J/kg and CINH of 0 J/kg. As far as the moisture profile for this time is concerned, there is slight disagreement between models (GFS, NAM, and NAM 3K) about the depth of column saturation. Despite this, all models show sufficient moisture for possible precipitation at this time. There exists a chance for weak thunderstorms at Thursday 21Z (20% confidence) and showers following (40% confidence), with these conditions ceasing to affect the area by Friday 6Z.
This weekend will be characterized by a northerly wind component, which will cause temperatures about 10 degrees below seasonally average for the area (highs of 70s and lows of 50s) with highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 40s.
-Rhodes
Wednesday Afternoon Campus Weather Forecast – April 29, 2026
Wednesday Afternoon Campus Weather Forecast
April 29, 2026, 5:00 PM CDT
Wednesday Night: Mostly Clear, Low: 40°F
Thursday: Increasing Clouds, High: 65°F
Thursday Night: Decreasing Clouds, 20% Chance of Showers, Low: 42°F
Friday: Mostly Sunny, High: 61°F
Friday Night: Partly Cloudy, Low: 41°F
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General Discussion:
A less active weather pattern is in place across Missouri and is expected to last into the weekend. April ends with temperatures in the low to mid-60s, slightly below average (near 70°F) and largely dry conditions, outside of a small chance (20%) of very light showers tomorrow night.
– Trotter
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Forecasters: Alferink, Trotter
Date Issued: Wednesday, April 29, 2026 5:00 PM CDT
Key Messages:
- Zonal upper-level flow is expected to continue through the end of the work week.
- Largely dry conditions are expected through the weekend, with light showers possible (20% chance) Thursday evening with the passage of a weak cold front.
Technical Discussion:
An upper-level zonal flow pattern is well-established above Mid-Missouri this afternoon, and this pattern is expected to linger through the weekend. The nearest major troughs are over the Hudson Bay of Canada and off the coast of California. Models agree that the current upper-level pattern is persistent, with both NAM and GFS concurring that the trough off of California will fill in before it emerges into the Great Plains.
The only chance for precipitation in the next few days is tomorrow night, with the simultaneous occurrence of a 250mb jet streak, 500mb vorticity, 700mb moisture, and a weak surface cold front bringing a low chance (20%) of light showers tomorrow night (00-06z Friday). Clouds will increase on Thursday ahead of the chance of rain, then break up early Friday. Otherwise, largely clear or partly cloudy conditions are expected through the end of the work week. Despite the cold front, temperatures will be nearly identical from day to day and night to night – highs in the low-to-mid 60s, lows in the low 40s. Future forecasters should monitor the possibility of showers later this week.
– Trotter