Cold front drops Wichita temp 18 degrees in 5 minutes; colder weather, winds coming

A cold front that moved across central Kansas on Thursday morning dropped the temperature in Wichita 18 degrees in five minutes — from 64 to 46 degrees — according to National Weather Service meteorologist Liam Holland.

Holland said the quick drop is significant.

The cold front is going to bring even colder temperatures and strong winds before it clears by Monday. The front will bring colder-than-usual temperatures for this time of year.

It arrived in Wichita around 10:50 a.m., the Wichita meteorologist said.

As the cold front sets in, north winds are supposed to pick up throughout Thursday, with winds in the 25-30 mph range and gusts of 40-45 mph peaking between 2-4 p.m., he said. Rain and possibly even some snow will be possible around that time as well, he said, but the most moisture is expected to the north and west of Wichita.

Winds will start to drop in the evening as the temperature continues to plummet as well.

The low Friday will be in the mid-20s with a wind chill in the teens during the morning commute. There will still be gusts in the high 20s at that time. It will warm up to a high in the 40s during the day Friday.

Saturday and Sunday mornings are expected to see the lowest temperatures of the cold front, with temperatures around 20 and then close to 15 degrees, he said, adding normal lows this time of year are more in the mid-30s.

Monday is supposed to rebound with a high in the 50s, he said.