Insider Blog

Mid-Missouri is getting ready for its first freeze of the season tonight. An area-wide freeze warning remains in effect through 8:00 A.M. Saturday, with overnight low temperatures plummeting below the 32-degree mark. This rapid temperature drop triggers immediate physical reactions in both nature and your vehicle. While a light frost might just leave a shimmering

If you live in Columbia or surrounding Boone County, you are likely accustomed to the familiar tone of the outdoor warning sirens on the first Wednesday of every month. However, the routine test on Wednesday, November 4th, caught many residents off guard. Instead of the usual steady hum, the sirens emitted a fluctuating wail, sparking

On Tuesday, although not warned due to unfavorable atmospheric components, a quick-hitting severe system swept through Randolph County, leaving behind a highly localized trail of destruction. Today, the National Weather Service deoplyed to the area to conduct a ground survey. By matching the specific structural and environmental damage to their established wind-speed indicators, the meteorologists

Rain is expected in Mid-Missouri on Election Day, but will it affect voter participation in the midterms? National research indicates that while weather can influence turnout, the overall effect is projected to be minimal. A famous 2007 research paper titled “The Republicans Should Pray for Rain: Weather, Turnout and Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections” examined

If your drive home from work feels like it is about to get a lot darker, you aren’t imagining things. Daylight Saving Time officially comes to an end at 2:00 A.M. this Sunday, November 1st. While gaining an extra hour of sleep over the weekend is always a welcome treat, the trade-off is a jarring

Mid-MO customers may get a fright at the store this season, as several sources report Halloween chocolate prices jumping 15% higher than this time last year. Angela Mann, a local resident, says she only bought one bag of chocolate this year, and she didn’t shop in stores. “It was probably $10 a bag cheaper, and

Mid-Missouri has been basking in unseasonable 70- to nearly 80-degree heat this week, but an organized cold front arriving this weekend will make a noticeable difference in how it feels outside. While many of us will just swap short sleeves for sweaters, local wildlife is reacting on a deeper, biological level. This sudden plunge in

Record-breaking tides are swamping both coasts of the U.S., and in some places water levels have climbed higher than they did during some historic hurricanes. A mix of naturally high tides, rainfall, and onshore winds is lifting ocean levels feet above normal. Flooding reached 2.25 feet above normal in South Port Everglades on Monday, surpassing

Night owls in Mid-MO got to see a spectacular view on Sunday night thanks to a few clouds and the timing of the full moon. If you were out catching a glimpse of the Hunter Moon (the full moon that occurs in the month of October), another striking feature in the night sky quickly stood

If you stepped out the door early this morning, you almost certainly at least grabbed a light jacket. But by the time you were driving home this afternoon, you were probably rolling the windows down or cranking up the air conditioning. Mid-Missouri started the day in the crisp low 50s, and rocketed straight up to

The newest Drought Monitor, released Thursday, doesn’t look good for fall foliage. After a brief round of mid-month rain, drought only receded slightly, and even increased in some places. The U.S. Drought Monitor is released every Thursday and includes data through the preceding Tuesday. That means if rain falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, it

We’re over halfway through meteorological fall, but most of the season still hasn’t felt like it. On the heels of the hottest September on record, we’re off to a top 10 warmest start to October in Mid-MO. Columbia’s average temperature of 65.5 degrees through the 19th ties for 7th warmest on record in the first

If you’re walking along the many trails in the area, you might notice an extra crunch under your step recently. The Missouri Department of Conservation says that’s because trees are producing extra nuts and fruits this year. George Kipp, the Private Land Forestry Program Supervisor with MDC, says it all started with the wet spring

If you have been waiting for vibrant red and purple leaves to take over Mid-Missouri, this weekend is the ultimate make-or-break moment. We are officially entering our prime window for autumn color, but the drastic temperature plunge heading our way tonight will dictate exactly what kind of show we get. Currently, we are seeing mostly

Fall in Missouri has felt more like July, and the heat is shaping the harvest across the Show-Me state. Theo Rieckhoff, director of market development and commodities for the Missouri Farm Bureau, says the effects vary to the north and south, and across farm operations. “It’s a little bit different story depending on where you’re

Mid-Missouri has seen little rain this past week, but the Missouri River is about to rise anyway. The water is coming from the north and west, where a deluge has hit parts of Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. Rain totals across Mid-Missouri over the past seven days were low, ranging from a trace east of Highway

As October arrives, cooler mornings and changing foliage usually signal that autumn is settling in across Mid-Missouri. For gardeners, farmers, and anyone with sensitive outdoor plants, the calendar turning often raises an urgent question: how much longer do our green spaces have before the season’s first damaging frost? Climatologically speaking, the window is rapidly approaching.

Columbia is set to record its hottest September ever by a very comfortable margin, driving up energy costs amid high inflation and swirling data center concerns. Through September 28th, the average temperature was 77.1 degrees Fahrenheit, besting the previous record of 75.8 degrees set back in 1897. This September ran about 7.5 degrees above normal,