Severe Storms May End Out The Year

If this Christmas felt unusually warm, you are absolutely right. St. Louis finished about 23 degrees above average, topping out near 65 degrees. That warmth will not last much longer.

By lunchtime tomorrow, temperatures could briefly surge toward 70 degrees. Shortly after, a powerful cold front moves through, and once it does, temperatures will fall rapidly. By around 4 AM Monday, we could be in the upper teens. That is a drop of more than 50 degrees in roughly 15 hours.

Along this front, we will be watching the potential for strong to severe storms. While large hail looks unlikely, damaging winds over 58 mph are possible, and an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, especially northeast of St. Louis. The biggest question will be how much instability can develop before storms form.

Storm timing currently looks to be between 10 AM and 2 PM. Earlier prefrontal rain could limit how intense storms become. Any remaining rain, or even a few flurries, should move out by 7 to 9 PM, leaving cold air firmly in place behind the system.

No matter how storms evolve, this will be a fast moving and windy system, with gusts up to 35 mph both ahead of and behind the front. As always, stay safe, stay smart, and stay aware.