Overnight storm left more than 5 inches in Wichita

Sunday morning’s snowfall brought Wichita another 5.3 inches of snow, making this the sixth snowiest winter on record.

So far, Wichita has had 29.8 inches of snow this winter, nearing the fifth snowiest — at 30 inches — in 1972, according to Kevin Darmofal, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita.

The snowiest winter on record for Wichita was the 39.7 inches that fell during the winter of 1911 and 1912.

The spring snowstorm led to higher snowfalls in southeast Kansas, where Moran in Allen County received 8 inches. Other snowfall amounts included 7 inches at Lawrence, 6 to 8 inches at Topeka, 4 inches at Great Bend and 3 at Salina. More than a foot of snow fell early Saturday in northwest Kansas.

The snow will help keep temperatures cooler for the first part of this week, Darmofal said. Temperatures will remain in the 30s Monday, climbing to the 40s Tuesday and 50s by Wednesday. On Easter weekend, temperatures will be in the mid-60s with a chance of rain Saturday night.

The moisture is helping dampen the effects of a severe drought, Darmofal said, but it will take another 6 inches or more of moisture to return the area to normal.

Even though the storm has left Kansas, it isn’t finished. Winter storm warnings and advisories were issued for Sunday and Monday as far east as Pennsylvania.

This story was originally published March 24, 2013 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Overnight storm left more than 5 inches in Wichita."