Wichita’s New Year’s Day snow breaks 96-year-old record

A 96-year-old record for snowfall was broken Friday in Wichita.

The New Year’s Day weather also caused the Wichita Police Department to initiate the Emergency Accident Reporting Plan at around 8:40 a.m.

The snow started to fall at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport measuring station after 2:53 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

At around 9:20 a.m., the NWS tweeted a video from the snowy airport, saying the Jan. 1, 1925, record of 4.2 inches had been broken. The NWS reported 6.5 inches shortly after 1 p.m.

The Kansas Department of Transportation showed highways in the Wichita area were all completely covered with snow around 10 a.m. A crash was also reported on I-235 near MacArthur around that time. A Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher said someone hit a light pole, but no one was injured.

She said the wrecks in the Wichita area started around 6:30 a.m. She estimated there had been 25 slide-offs and accidents as of 10:15 a.m. No injuries had been reported.

The emergency plan implemented by the police department Friday allows drivers in a non-injury accident, where the vehicles are still driveable, to exchange information and later fill out an accident report. The accident reports can be filled out at a QuikTrip, Kwik Shop, online at wichitapolice.com or at any police station during regular office hours.

In preparation for the snow, Wichita crews started to treat arterial roads with a salt and sand mix at around 6 p.m. Thursday. The snowplow effort Friday can be tracked at wichita.gov under the public works and utilities page.

This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 11:35 AM.