Kennett residents brace for chilly temperatures before weekend rain arrives

KENNETT, Mo - The National Weather Service (NWS) at Memphis forecasts dry days and nights for the Kennett area through Saturday, and temperatures will remain cold with a warming trend expected for Wednesday, a NWS forecaster tells The Delta Dunklin Democrat.

Andy Sniezak, a meteorologist with 34 years' experience at Memphis, says he expects "a little bit of rain coming into the Missouri Bootheel as early as late Saturday night and the chance of rain continuing" into Sunday.

"And even into Monday," Sniezak says. "The good news is it will be all rain.

"Temperatures Tuesday will be very low again," he continues. "In the teens. Wind chills will be in the single digits again."

However, a warming trend forecasted for Wednesday is welcome news for the area.

"We'll see temperatures start to warm up in most places in the Mid-South," Sniezak says. "Most places will get above freezing Wednesday afternoon.

"We'll continue this warming trend into the weekend," he continues. "Then by Saturday, we'll see temperatures start to get close to normal readings for this time of year."

Last year on Jan. 21, NWS forecast for Kennett indicated mostly clear weather with a low around 3 degrees and a high near 17. There was a chance of showers and thunderstorms, with heavy rainfall possible. The wind chill values were as low as -10. The wind came from the northwest at 7 to 9 mph.

So, Sniezak says some rain is forecast for the weekend, "temperatures will cool off a little bit" but highs will remain above freezing into Monday.