First day of spring in Kansas City will actually feel like it; temps to soar into 60s

Spring officially begins Monday and it will actually feel like it in Kansas City, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures will soar into the 60s on Monday, a welcomed change following a weekend of below normal temperatures that brought bitterly cold wind chills.

The warmer temperatures are in stark contrast to Saturday, when temperatures only reached 27 degrees. That just missed the record coldest high temperature for March 18 of 26 degrees, set in 1965, the weather service said on social media.

Conditions were warmer on Sunday, reaching 44 degrees. But that was still well below 57 degrees that Kansas City typically sees this time of year.

The warmer temperatures on Monday, combined with low humidity and strong southwest winds gusting between 30 and 40 mph, will create an elevated risk of any fires spreading rapidly.

Outdoor burning is “highly discouraged” on Monday, the weather service said.

Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected Tuesday through Friday. As much as a half inch of rain is expected from storms on Tuesday.

A few strong to isolated severe storms may be possible Wednesday night. The bulk of rainfall from these storms are likely to occur across central to eastern Missouri. Widespread flooding is not anticipated at this time.

Temperatures will fluctuate for the first week of spring primarily between the 50s and 60s, although conditions may warm into the 70s on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center released its initial outlook for April. There’s no indication whether this spring will be above or below normal in terms of precipitation or temperatures, the weather service said.