St. Louis, Missouri – Warm springlike temperatures across Missouri will collapse rapidly tonight as storms and strong winds push through the region, sending temperatures plunging nearly 40 to 50 degrees within 24 hours and bringing January-level cold back to St. Louis by Monday.
According to the National Weather Service in St. Louis, thunderstorms are expected to develop by early Sunday afternoon and move east through the evening. The main threat will be damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, with a smaller chance for brief tornadoes as the line of storms sweeps across eastern Missouri and southwest Illinois.
Communities across the St. Louis metro, St. Charles County, and along the I-44, I-55, and I-64 corridors could see intense wind bursts capable of downing tree limbs and producing scattered power outages. Travel during heavier storms may also become hazardous due to sudden wind shifts and reduced visibility.
Once the cold front passes tonight, temperatures will tumble quickly. Monday highs are expected to reach only the mid-20s to low 30s, levels considered unusually cold even for mid-winter across eastern Missouri.
Cold air lingers into Tuesday with highs only climbing into the mid-30s to mid-40s before a gradual warming trend returns later in the week. Residents are urged to secure outdoor items and prepare for a dramatic shift from severe storms to winterlike cold in less than a day.
