Hearne: Bone Suckingly Dry & Gonna Stay That Way, Lezak Says

Global drying, anyone?

After a whopping 44 inches of snow last winter, Kansas City is bone dry and will likely stay that way into spring, predicts KSHB TV weather wonk Gary Lezak.

"In my winter forecast November 16th I predicted we’d have a very long dry spell and we’re in one right now," Lezak says. "We were in one then and then we had 1.8 inches of rain which helped a little."

But not nearly enough…

"We have a chance of getting two storm systems between December 20th and New Year’s Day," Lezak says. "But it will be close to 30 days of dry spell by then with no measurable precipitation – rain or snow. Today is the 15th day of the current dry spell and there isn’t a storm system in sight."

Here’s where we got in trouble, according to Lezak’s LRC weather analysis system. The weather patterns – in the current case dry weather – sets up in the fall and cycle through the winter and spring.

"Meaning it will be mostly dry through this winter but we’ll have a few storm systems," Lezak says. "Last year we had 12 winter storms and 44 inches of snow. This year I’m only seeing four to six chances of winter storms."

For homeowners, "I would recommend  watering the plants this winter," Lezak says. "Every week or two through the winter people should water while we’re going through this dry spell."

And while it may be dry with far fewer storms, that’s not to say there won’t be any snow action whatsoever.

"I’m still forecasting 13 inches of snow," Lezak says. "And even though it’s 30 inches less than last year, that still leaves room for a 5-incher, a 3-icher, a couple 2-inchers and a 1-incher maybe. And that still leaves room for an ice storm."

How about the temps?

"It’ll be mostly mild," Lezak says. "The best chance of an arctic outbreak will be in late January and early February this year."