Editing Kansas City, Kansas (section)

===Climate===
{{See also|List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks|List of tornadoes striking downtown areas|1980 United States heat wave}}
Kansas City lies in the [[Midwestern United States]], as well as near the geographic center of the country, at the confluence of the longest river in the country, the [[Missouri River]], and the [[Kansas River]] (also known as the Kaw River). The city lies in the [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen ''Dfa'') zone, with four distinct seasons and moderate precipitation, and is part of USDA plant [[hardiness zone]] 6.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Images/300dpi/MO.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224001607/https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Images/300dpi/MO.jpg |archive-date=February 24, 2014  }}</ref> Being located in the center of [[North America]], far removed from a significant body of water, there is significant potential for extremes of hot and cold swings in temperature throughout the year. Unless otherwise stated, normal figures below are based on data from 1981 to 2010 at Downtown Airport. The warmest month of the year is July, with a 24-hour average temperature of {{convert|81.0|°F|1}}. The summer months are hot but can get very hot and moderately humid, with moist air riding up from the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. High temperatures surpass {{convert|100|°F}} on 5.6 days of the year<!--140 occurrences in 25 "valid" years--> and {{convert|90|°F}} on 47 days.<ref name = "NWS Pleasant Hill, MO" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theweatherprediction.com/thermo/interpret/ |title=Interpretation Of Skew-T Indices |publisher=Theweatherprediction.com |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917202112/http://www.theweatherprediction.com/thermo/interpret/ |archive-date=September 17, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The coldest month of the year is January, with an average temperature of {{convert|31.0|°F|1}}. Winters are cold, with 22 days where the high is at or below the freezing mark and 2.5 nights with a low at or below {{convert|0|°F}}.<ref name = "NWS Pleasant Hill, MO" /> The official record maximum temperature is {{convert|113|°F|0}}, set on August 14, 1936, at Downtown Airport, while the official record minimum temperature is {{convert|-23|°F|0}}, set on December 22 and 23, 1989.<ref name = "NWS Pleasant Hill, MO" /> Normal seasonal snowfall is {{convert|13.4|in|cm|0}} at Downtown Airport and {{convert|18.8|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} at Kansas City International Airport. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 31 to April 4, while for measurable ({{convert|0.1|in|cm|abbr=on|disp=or}}) snowfall, it is November 27 to March 16 as measured at Kansas City International Airport.<!--Downtown is missing data for five seasons in the 1990s--> Precipitation, both in frequency and total accumulation, shows a marked uptick in late spring and summer.

Kansas City is situated on the edge of the "[[Tornado Alley]]", a broad region where cold air from the [[Rocky Mountains]] in Canada collides with warm air from the [[Gulf of Mexico]], leading to the formation of powerful storms, especially during the spring. A few areas of the [[Kansas City Metropolitan Area]] have had some severe outbreaks of [[tornado]]es at different points in the past, including the [[May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak|Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020824021557/http://www.wdaftv4.com/almanac/watorndo.html Kansas City Tornado Almanac], wdaftv4.com. Retrieved September 2006.</ref> the [[May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence]], and the [[Tornado outbreak sequence of May 2019|Tornado Outbreak Sequence of May 2019]]. The region can also fall victim to sporadic [[ice storm|ice storms]] during the winter months, such as the [[2002 Central Plains Ice Storm|2002 ice storm]] during which hundreds of thousands lost power for days and (in some cases) weeks.<ref>[http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/special_packages/star_history/calamities_crime/12508862.htm KC powerless as icy barrage pummels the area, leaves behind disaster zone]. Retrieved September 10, 2006.</ref> Kansas City and its outlying areas are also subject to flooding, including the [[Great Flood of 1951]] and the [[Great Flood of 1993]].
{{Kansas City weatherbox}}