Think it's spring? Think again!

Laurie Sisk/Tribune photo Two ducks enjoy a swim in Fern Lake on Tuesday afternoon. Colder temperatures for the next few days should make their swims considerably chillier.

Meteorologist Doug Cramer of the National Weather Service in Springfield, Mo., said Tuesday that Fort Scott is included in a region that is "somewhat front and center" of the latest band of winter storms that are expected to hit Thursday through Sunday night.

"As we kind of see it right now, Southeast Kansas into Missouri will probably get more snow than most other areas with this system." Cramer said.

The NWS predicts that Fort Scott will see periods of rain and snow, possibly mixed with sleet before 1 p.m. Thursday, followed by periods of rain and snow with a high near 36 and wind chills as low as 21. The NWS said there is a 90 percent chance of precipitation with estimates between a half and three-quarters of an inch, with about the same amount expected on Thursday night.

Laurie Sisk/Tribune photo Front to back: Alexis Loden, 13, Hevyn Loden, 11, Lathaniel Loden, 9, Melissa Loden and Keaira Loden, 10 take a Spring Break hike through Gunn Park on Tuesday afternoon.

"I think we are going to see some snow up in the Fort Scott area," Cramer said. "It's going to be coming in Thursday morning. We are looking at the potential for several inches of snow, particularly Thursday."

Cramer said that system is coming in from the Pacific Ocean, which early Tuesday afternoon was just off the coast of Oregon.

There will be a lingering chance of more snow as a second winter weather system rolls into the area during the weekend, with snow chances continuing through Sunday night.

"We are going to take one system at a time," Cramer said. "There is another storm system that will be coming in through the weekend, more specifically, that will really start to impact us Saturday night and into Sunday. We still need to analyze that one a little further before we get too detailed with that forecast," Cramer said.

The spring snowstorms that are expected to hit the area may be uncommon, but certainly not rare.

"It can happen. March snows - we tend to see those, but this one is little different because we are getting late into March. I don't think this is a rare event by any means," Cramer said.

He said that especially cold temperatures to the north are aiding the chances of snow.

"There is an anomaly that is helping to cause this," Cramer said. "We have some unusually cold air up across the Dakotas and Minnesota and southern Canada and it's that air mass that is going to continue to spread southward toward eastern Kansas and Missouri and provide cold enough temperatures for the snow to occur."

He said the second system of winter weather also is coming in from the Pacific and was just off the Aleutian Islands Tuesday afternoon.

He suggests people continue to monitor future forecasts.

"Sometimes those snow accumulations will adjust and change a little bit with time," Cramer said. "We'll be in touch with all the school superintendents, helping them with their decisions on school days and things like that.