textproduct: Springfield

KEY MESSAGES

- Cold and breezy today through Monday with wind chills in the single digits tonight through Monday morning.

- Will have to monitor for Elevated to Significant Fire Weather conditions on Tuesday with gusty SW winds up to 35 mph and min RH in the 20-30% range.

- Above average temperatures return Tuesday through the rest of the week. There is a 40-60% chance of rain Thursday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 1231 PM CST Sun Feb 22 2026

Mid-level ridging is pushing in from the west as a deep trough is churning over the northeast. This trough has brought in another shot of cold air today with highs only expecting to reach the mid 30s across the area even with sunny skies. Pressure gradient has tightened a bit as we sit in between a ridge and a trough and northwesterly winds have become gusty up to 30 mph. Winds will start to decrease from west to east later this evening but will stay elevated especially east of Highway 65 tonight closer to the track of the low pressure system. Winds out over the eastern Ozarks are forecast to stay near 25 mph for most of the night while over in SW MO we'll see winds near 10 mph tonight. Lows tonight will be the coldest of the week in the teens with wind chills in the single digits.

Monday will be similar to today with sunny skies but cooler temperatures in the 30s. Northerly winds will be slightly calmer tomorrow with gusts up to 15 mph across the area as the trough continues to push east over the east coast. Monday night will feature partly cloudy skies with lows in the mid 20s. Winds will turn out of the south and remain light overnight.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/

Issued at 1231 PM CST Sun Feb 22 2026

Tuesday will be the day we need to watch for Elevated to Significant fire weather conditions as a dry air mass settles in and a mid-level ridge builds over the central US. Min RH values will be in the 20-30% range with southwesterly winds gusting up to 35 mph across the area. This could be close to our Red Flag Warning criteria and we'll have to continue to monitor for those conditions.

For the rest of the week, highs will reach the 60s and almost to 70 degrees across the area. With warmer temperatures comes gusty southwesterly winds. Temperatures will still be warm even though we have a cold front coming through on Thursday and is forecast to bring our next round of rain. The next chance for rain is forecast for Wednesday night as the next low pressure system moves through. Right now, we have POPs in the 40-60% range starting Wednesday night and continuing into Thursday morning. Not expecting much precipitation from that event with most places getting less than 1" in rainfall accumulation with perhaps a few rumbles of thunder. Dry weather is expected for the rest of the week.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/

Issued at 1119 AM CST Sun Feb 22 2026

VFR through the period with gusty northwesterly winds up to 25 knots. Clear skies will persist and winds stay elevated near 10 knots through the period and switch out of the north-northeast for Monday.

SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

KS...None. MO...None.