ALTON - A wind advisory has been issued for several counties in the St. Louis Metro Area, including Madison, until 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10.
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Strong winds could reach gusts up to 45 mph during the day Tuesday, according to an alert from the National Weather Service (NWS), who issued the advisory. The NWS advised people strong winds can make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles such as vans, SUVs, and semi trucks. The NWS also advised high winds can move loose outdoor items such as garbage bins and lawn furniture. Minor tree and building damage is also possible. Sustained winds on Tuesday, according to the NWS could be as high as 30-39 mph.
St. Louis NWS meteorologist Charlie Kelly said the high winds are being caused by a high pressure system following a frontal boundary over the area, which tightens the pressure gradient and causes excessively high winds. He said gusts in Central Missouri were reaching speeds in excess of 40 mph Tuesday morning. Those winds were only the beginning of a sequence of wild weather set to take place for the rest of the week.
Tuesday's high is set to be around 60 in the St. Louis area, which is creeping toward an 1890 record of 68 degrees, Kelly said. He did not expect record highs to be set Tuesday, adding temperatures above 60 are "very possible" in St. Louis during the month of December.
"I'm not confident we will challenge that record in the area today," he said. "We have a projected high tomorrow of 57, but temperatures Friday may only see a high in the lower 30s."
Those falling temperatures may combine with a storm system currently hovering somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. That system, while currently a miasma of unpredictability, may impact Riverbend residents by the weekend with what Kelly called a "mixed bag of precipitation."
"One thing we emphasize is things can and will change, but a mixed bag of precipitation is coming this way for the weekend," he said.
How that mixed bag drops its precipitation is still literally up in the air at this time. Kelly said the behavior and track of the low pressure system will play a key role in what sort of precipitation will fall between this Friday and Saturday as well as how much. He said snow, sleet and/or freezing rain is possible with this system, which is currently on track to hit the area Friday night into Saturday morning.
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