ST. LOUIS – St. Louis has set a new record high temperature for not only the day but also for the month of February.
The temperature reached 86 F just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, breaking the previous February record of 85 F on Feb. 29, 1972. The previous record high for Feb. 27 was 79 F in 1981.
However, the record-setting warmth is crashing to an end—at least for a day.
A dramatic cold front will continue to usher in a winter chill on Wednesday. Temperatures will be 50 degrees colder than the last couple of days, with a gusty northwest wind.
Then another switch: warm air will start to build for the weekend. The 70s should return into next week.
The changing weather brings storms across the metropolitan St. Louis area Tuesday night, but the risk remains low. The chance for a couple of strong storms southeast and east of St. Louis will be in the 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. timeframe.
The main threat will be isolated hail and damaging winds. However, there is a chance for a brief tornado or two between Perryville, Missouri and Mount Vernon, Illinois.
