After a week of pleasant but windy conditions, the KMMO listening area is on track to have a cold and damp start to March.

The National Weather Service is calling for a downturn in temperature by Sunday, as precipitation makes its way into the area. Meteorologist Spencer Mell says the snow and ice in the forecast may be brief, but they will still cause hazardous road conditions.

The temperature may begin to increase Monday, as will the chances for rain.

Mell says early projections call for as much as ten inches of rain and precipitation over the next month. The rain will come as welcome relief for area fields, as the most recent US Drought Monitor has all but Caldwell, Carroll, DeKalb, Livingston, western Chariton, western Linn, southern Daviess, and a majority of Ray counties outside of drought or abnormal dryness. Close to 56 percent of Missouri is in some stage of drought, including a majority of Cooper, Howard, Macon, Moniteau, and Randolph counties.