Looking at the weather map this morning, sunny skies dominated the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest. But here in the Heartland, a large swath of showers and thunderstorms covered eastern Kansas and much of Missouri. Though no major fronts are moving across the region, light winds from the surrounding areas are converging over the Central Plains.
High pressure over the Northwest and a low pressure system over the Northeast are pumping cool, dry air southward across the Northern Plains. Conversely, low pressure over the Southern Plains and high pressure over the Southeast are combining to produce a flow of warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. While pressure gradients are low and the winds are weak, these moving air masses are merging along the Kansas-Missouri axis, producing a concentrated area of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Since there are no strong fronts or steering winds in the region, this blob of precipitation is moving very slowly, waxing and waning as it creeps eastward over the same areas. While we certainly need the moisture, flooding will likely develop along streams and across low-lying terrain.
