Even colder Saturday, and then the story changes

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Even colder temperatures are on the way to Kansas heading into Saturday, but a warming trend isn’t far off and a return to some spring-like weather is likely soon.

Lighter winds return to the area overnight and early Saturday. Lows will fall to the teens and 20s with a clear sky. Sunshine, mixed with some afternoon clouds will show up in the afternoon with highs in the 30s. North winds will be gusty throughout the afternoon, with some topping 20 mph.

A large high pressure sets up Saturday night, allowing for the coldest night in the near future with lows dipping down into the teens. The back half of the weekend should start warming once again, and most of the state will be back up to near 60 by the early stages of next week.

Another storm system will approach by midweek, which will bring showers and a few storms to the Plains.The wintry mix that’s been moving across Kansas is set to push out of the state late in the evening and during the overnight. However, the cold temperatures and strong north winds will continue much longer.

As the clouds clear from the state in the early morning hours Friday, low temperatures will fall to the 20s with northwest winds decreasing a bit, but still likely to be 15-25 in most areas. Wind chills early in the day will be single digits and teens. Expect a decent amount of sunshine Friday morning and afternoon with highs mainly in the 40s.

The wind does go down quite a bit for Friday night and Saturday. The coldest day in the near future is Saturday with highs in the 30s and low 40s.

After a cold Sunday morning, milder weather will start working its way back to the region. The end of the weekend should have highs in the 40s and 50s, which is still below average for mid-March.

WICHITA AREA FORECAST

Tonight: Clear. Wind: NW/N 5-15. Low: 24.

Tomorrow: Sunny to mostly sunny. Wind: N/NW 10-25; gusty. High: 40

Tomorrow Night: Clear. Light winds. Low: 16.

Sun: High: 47 Sunny to mostly sunny.

Mon: High: 56 Low: 29 Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. Breezy.

Tue: High: 62 Low: 40 AM showers, then partly cloudy. Windy.

Wed: High: 74 Low: 50 Partly cloudy and breezy.

Thu: High: 60 Low: 53 Mostly cloudy; scattered showers and storms.

Fri: High: 57 Low: 39 Partly cloudy.