Wind advisory posted until Monday evening

COLUMBIA — Drivers in lightweight vehicles and people working outdoors  should be prepared for high winds Monday.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for Boone County and areas to the south and west from noon until 7 p.m. Sustained winds of 30 mph are forecast, with gusts to 45 mph.

Trash cans, grills, and outdoor furniture should be secured, and drivers of lightweight vehicles should take care as the wind gusts will make driving difficult, the Weather Service advised. Those working at construction sites should ensure all structures are braced and that building materials are tied down.

Benjamin Sipprell, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in St. Louis, said the high winds will result from a differential created by low pressure over northeast Colorado and western Nebraska and high-pressure over Canada and the Northeast. This differential creates swift winds at high altitudes.

 As the day progresses and the sun warms the ground, warm air at the surface will rise and mix with the high-altitude winds, Sipprell said.

The winds are forecast to subside this evening, with showers and thunderstorms likely after 1 a.m. The Weather Service expects 1 to 2 inches of rain throughout mid-Missouri on Tuesday, with small pockets of higher amounts likely. Hail and damaging winds are a possibility and flash flooding of creeks, streams and low-lying areas is a concern, Sipprell said.

The entire week is expected to be wet. Sipprell said that a “traffic jam” of upper atmosphere high and low pressure systems will bring wet weather on and off as disturbances move through the Mississippi Valley through the week.