Weather Wise

Colors of the season will inevitably start to emerge in area foliage over the next month or two. The quantity, quality and longevity of fall foliage can vary from year to year, largely depending on the weather. 

The early September scorcher gave way to much soggier times across Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas earlier this week, as waves of shower and thunderstorm activity tracked through the region Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Strong storms recently broke the heat and a few tree limbs in and around St. Joseph, meanwhile, parts of Kansas City are still recovering from a vicious thunderstorm that took place in August.

As of Friday, Sep. 4, St. Joseph has had 7 consecutive days of 95 + degree heat. As of Friday, Sep. 5, St. Joseph has had 7 consecutive days of 95 + degree heat. This number will likely continue rising, as a stagnant pattern remains anchored in place through the weekend and early next week. If the streak continues through Saturday, that would mark 8 days, the longest stretch of 95+ degree temperatures in St. Joseph since a 13-day scorcher in August of 2003. 

One of the biggest changes that takes place in August is a rapid loss of daylight. Between later sunrises and earlier sunsets Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas lose over an hour of daylight throughout the month of August

A memorable lightning show took place locally last week, when severe storms rolled one after the other just south of St. Joseph on Tuesday night, Aug. 18 and early Wednesday morning Aug. 19.

August derecho slams parts of the Midwest this week

The heat index is a commonly used measure of apparent temperature that accounts for humidity when the mercury reaches 80 degrees or higher.