So in reality this represents 5400 meters up…which is where the pressure is 500 mbs. For example the 540 line represents a height of 540 decameters. BTW for a deeper dive into this this also shows the altitude in meters of the height. The 500 mb chart is a constant pressure chart which means that at every point on the chart the air pressure is 500 millibars or roughly 1/2 of the average surface pressure. The yellows represent higher temperatures BELOW 500 mbs or about 18,000 feet, while the blues represent the opposite. This is the map at 500 mbs…the reason why we always show this map on the blog is it sort of represents the middle of the atmosphere and can help steer the weather here at the surface. Let’s go up to about 18,000 feet or so and show you how this comes together and what may happen. That is important because that tends to force colder air in Canada southwards. There are though some strong indications that we’re going to see a big ridge, once again, develop towards Greenland. Windy too with gusts to 25 MPH into the middle of the afternoon. Today: Variable clouds, breezy and mild with highs near 65°. It may be a chilly to cold Thanksgiving here in KC… We’ll work through those aspects over the coming week. Will they be directed toward the Plains or will we be on the western side of the colder air and the brunt would be more directed towards the Great Lakes region and the Northeast. The next 2 weeks may feature more ups and downs…there are questions though about the orientation of the incoming cold air masses next week at least. After a warm October, this month has been on the mildish side…we’re running 1° above average and the in the next few days (including a midnight high on Wednesday) we’re going to be increasing that average.

We’re halfway done with the month and about halfway done with meteorological fall. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.

Kansas city weather thanksgiving 2021