textproduct: Springfield

KEY MESSAGES

- Elevated fire weather concerns today.

- Record high temperatures possible again Wednesday and Thursday.

- Precipitation chances (30-60%) return Thursday night into Friday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 216 AM CDT Mon Mar 23 2026

Surface high pressure will move into the Great Lakes region today and continue to build over that area through mid-week. Several mid-level shortwaves will work their way underneath the ridge and attempt to bring us a few sprinkles today and tomorrow. Current temperatures are quite a bit cooler early this morning due to the passage of a cold front yesterday. Temperatures are in the upper 40s to lower 50s with clear skies. Northerly winds have been elevated for most of the night with gusts near 25 mph. Highs today will reach the upper 50s to lower 60s with partly cloudy skies. Winds will flip out of the east by late morning and slowly diminish through the day. Widespread elevated fire weather conditions will occur today with min RH values in the 20-30% range by this afternoon. We nearly miss significant fire weather conditions because the timing of the driest RH values are at the same time winds are starting to diminish under 20 mph. Outside burning is still discouraged unless conducted by experienced fire personnel. Wind gusts will continue to be breezy near 15 mph for tonight with lows in the 40s. Also, a shortwave will move through the area tonight and may bring us a few sprinkles. PoPs are <15% and no accumulating or widespread precipitation is expected.

We warm up a bit more on Tuesday with highs in the 60s and partly cloudy skies. Winds flip out of the southeast and will remain gusty near 15 mph. Moisture slowly starts to build back in and min RH's sit in the 30% range. There may be a few spots of elevated fire weather concerns on Tuesday, but it'll be less widespread than today. Lows on Tuesday will be in the 40s.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 216 AM CDT Mon Mar 23 2026

Record high temperatures may be broken again by mid-week as mid-level high pressure starts to build over the Desert Southwest. Highs for Wednesday and Thursday will be in the 80s and 90s once again. However, a cold front looks to move through on Thursday night. Southwesterly winds increase ahead of the front up to 35 mph especially near I-49. Min RH's will also be in the 30% range and we'll have to monitor that day for Red Flag Warning conditions. Luckily, this front is forecast to bring us some rain. Model guidance has thunderstorms forming as the front moves through overnight Thursday into Friday. Right now, MUCAPE is 1100-1500 J/kg over central MO. There could be a few rumbles of thunder especially in that area, but it's too soon to know those thunderstorms will be severe. Rainfall amounts will be light with most locations seeing <0.5" with the higher amounts falling over the eastern Ozarks. Rain is forecast to start late Thursday evening and continue through the night. Rain hangs around for awhile on Friday with 20% PoPs through most of the day. This will likely include clouds hanging around for most of the day as well which would leave us with highs in the 50s. The spread in high temperatures is still quite large looking at model guidance. We could still see highs in the upper 60s or the lower 50s. This may be due to how long the rain/clouds linger on over the area on Friday. Either way, it'll be cooler than the 90s that we'll experience on Thursday!

Surface high pressure sticks around through the weekend and highs will be pleasant in the 60s with lows in the 30s and 40s which is closer to average for this time of year. No rain is expected this weekend and skies will be partly cloudy to mostly sunny. Though, a very dry air mass will be in place this weekend dropping our min RH values into the 15-25% range with south- southeasterly winds gusting near 20 mph. Another weekend where we'll have to watch for significant fire weather concerns.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1205 AM CDT Mon Mar 23 2026

VFR through the period with gusty northerly winds up to 25 knots tonight. Winds turn northeasterly for Monday and will stay elevated near 20 knots. High clouds move in for most of the day on Monday.

CLIMATE

Issued at 1200 PM CDT Sun Mar 22 2026

Record High Temperatures:

March 25: KSGF: 83/1910 KJLN: 88/1910 KVIH: 80/1959 KUNO: 79/2012

March 26: KSGF: 82/2020 KJLN: 86/1910 KVIH: 83/2020 KUNO: 86/2020

SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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