textproduct: Wichita

KEY MESSAGES

- Chances for showers late Sunday through early Tuesday generally along and west of the Flint Hills.

- Additional chances for isolated to scattered showers late next week.

- Temperatures remaining near or slightly above average through the next 7 days.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 249 PM CDT Sat Oct 24 2026

TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...

An amplified pattern remains over much of the CONUS this afternoon with a deep trough over the Desert Southwest and a strong mid/upper ridge centered over the western Gulf coast and the mid- Mississippi River Valley. At the surface, a cold front is sagging into northern and western Kansas, but it is beginning to slow in its southward progression this afternoon. As the aforementioned deep layer trough continues it's slow trek eastward, cloud cover is expected to increase, and eventually, scattered showers should begin to develop across the High Plains later this afternoon into this evening. Moisture from the eastern Pacific will continue to be pulled northward into the central plains as broad synoptic ascent overspreads much of the region on Sunday. However, much of this forcing will be confined to western Kansas and western Nebraska. Therefore, the widespread coverage of showers will generally be limited to along and west of US-281 throughout the day on Sunday. However, moisture will slowly slide eastward by Monday morning, and is forecast to linger across the forecast area through Tuesday morning. A couple rounds of showers could occur as far east as the Flint Hills in this timeframe. That being said, rainfall totals through Tuesday morning will not be all that meaningful with less than 0.10" anticipated for most locations along and west of the Flint Hills. It's possible some locations along US- 281 see totals up to 0.25", but instances of this will be isolated. Temperature-wise, above average temperatures will continue through Sunday before a weak cold front arrives on Monday. Afternoon highs both Monday and Tuesday will be near average for this time of year with temperatures generally in the low 70s, and overnight lows will be a tick on the mild side, remaining in the mid to upper 50s each night.

WEDNESDAY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND...

Mid to long range guidance remains consistent with showing a series of subtle mid/upper troughs traversing across the central plains through the remainder of next week. This will leave the door open for additional rain chances, especially for Friday and Saturday. With the return of southerly low-level flow after Tuesday, a brief warm up is likely for Wednesday and Thursday, but another weak cold front arriving Friday and Saturday should help to knock temperatures back down closer to average for this time of year.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 614 PM CDT Sat Oct 24 2026

A frontal boundary will push southward into central Kansas this evening and cause the winds to switch around to the north for KRSL and KGBD. The front will then stall out and lift back northward during the day on Sunday with winds switching around back to the south. Otherwise VFR conditions will prevail for all sites over the next 24hrs with only some high clouds floating overhead.

ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.