Heavy rainfall expected to give way to mild temperatures late next week

Fall temperatures will arrive in northeast Kansas late next week, but first the area will have to endure another round of heavy rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Lawrence already received a drenching of rain on Friday and Saturday. Bryan Baerg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka, said the weather station at Lawrence Municipal Airport had recorded 0.74 inches of rain from 8 p.m. Friday through 2 p.m. Saturday, although heavier rainfall was reported in south Lawrence. Heavy rain was also falling later Saturday afternoon.

A resident also reported a funnel cloud in southwestern Douglas County on Friday night, but the weather service was unable to confirm the report and there were no reports of storm damage, Baerg said.

Nearly 42 inches of rain have been recorded so far this year at Lawrence Municipal Airport, Baerg said. That is 11.24 inches above average. By this time last year, Baerg said, Lawrence had received only 18.05 inches.

Lawrence will receive a brief respite from the stormy weather on Sunday and Monday, Baerg said. Clouds will lift during the afternoon hours Sunday, and highs should be in the 80s Sunday and Monday. But on Tuesday and Wednesday, Baerg said a slow-moving front would pass through northeast Kansas, bringing a chance for heavy rainfall.

Baerg said the weather should cool down once the front passes. He said Lawrence should expect highs in the 60s and overnight lows in the 40s and 50s starting on Thursday and lasting through the rest of the week.