A taste of spring up next after Wednesday’s fresh coat of snow

Wednesday’s harsh cold and fresh coat of snow may have put many Wichita residents in a bad mood, but that shouldn’t last long.

Both the snow and the cold temperatures are going to be gone soon, thanks to temperatures in 50s by Friday and the 60s – perhaps even 70s – next week.

“We’re going to be going into a hefty warming trend,” said Andy Kleinsasser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita.

Commuters will be thrilled by that development after the slick mess that was Wednesday.

Snow that began falling “at the worst possible time” Wednesday morning spawned 40 accidents in the Wichita area, officials said.

Because the snow storm started out as rain, city crews were not able to lay down a pretreatment brine, said Alan King, director of public works and utilities. The rain would have washed off the brine.

Snow began accumulating before the morning commute gathered steam, meaning ramps and elevated routes were slippery. Street crews began applying salt and sand as soon as the snow began accumulating.

The timing and nature of the storm was “the worst of all worlds,” King said, because of the impact it had on traffic.

Ten accidents resulted in injuries, a Sedgwick County emergency dispatch supervisor said.

Officially, Wichita recorded 1 inch of snow. Mount Hope in northwest Sedgwick County logged 2 inches.

Wednesday’s snowfall raised Wichita’s seasonal total to 18 inches, Kleinsasser said. The warming trend on the horizon doesn’t mean Old Man Winter is gone for good, he said, no matter how much people may want that to be the case.

“We hope that’s the case,” Kleinsasser said. “But given the last few years,” which included snow and an ice storm well into April, “I’m not going to say anything until May.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 6:54 AM.