By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
The snowstorm advancing from the West will likely miss the Joplin area today, but the subsequent bitter cold will not.
“We could have some rain breaking out Tuesday morning, but it will be pretty warm. It will be difficult to get snow out of this,” said Doug Cramer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service forecast office in Springfield, in a telephone interview Monday.
A few flakes could fall late tonight as the low-pressure system retreats into the Great Lakes region.
“As the low pressure passes through, it will suck in behind it really cold air that is in southern Canada at the moment,” Cramer said. “The cold air will drop completely south, making a direct beeline for the nation’s midsection.”
Tonight’s forecast calls for a low of 23 degrees. From that low, the mercury will have only a short climb to reach Wednesday’s forecast high of 24. A low of 13 is forecast for Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
“This will be extreme cold with wind chills in the single digits to near zero degrees,” Cramer said. “We’re expecting decent winds on the backside of this system.”
The high Thursday is expected to be near 34 degrees. The mercury probably will rise into the lower 40s by Friday and Saturday. There is a possibility of drizzle or flurries on Friday and Saturday.
The snowstorm that is approaching Missouri likely will go north of the Joplin area today. The St. Joseph area and parts of northwest Missouri could see a foot of snow today.
Extreme cold is one of the leading weather-related causes of death in Missouri. Since 1990, 130 deaths have been attributed to extreme cold. An often overlooked danger is wind chill. The wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin by combined effects of wind and cold. As the wind increases, heat is carried away from the body at an accelerated rate, driving down the body temperature. Animals also are affected by wind chill.
