Updated: Wichita, surrounding areas expected to see snow Tuesday. Here’s when, how much
Winter weather is expected to show back up in south central Kansas on Tuesday — and earlier than forecast on Monday.
Residents can expect to see a mix of light rain and snow between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the NWS tweeted Tuesday morning. The tweet showed that the winter weather had moved up sooner than was forecast on Monday. It’s expected to turn to snow from 1 p.m. Tuesday and persist until 1 a.m. Wednesday, leaving between 1 to 3 inches of snow.
NWS meteorologist Kevin Darmofal said it is expected to be more of a “wet snow” instead of blowing snow.
“That’s a good thing,” Darmofal said Monday. “We don’t really expect anything in the way of like blowing and drifting snow.”
Wichita is forecast to see around 2 inches of snow. The northwest portion of Sedgwick County is looking at about an inch, while southeast Sedgwick County is closer to 3 inches, Darmofal said.
The greatest amount of snowfall is expected in the Flint Hills in Butler and Greenwood counties.
“Just east of Wichita they could see 3, maybe 4 inches of snow locally,” Darmofal said.
Temperatures and wind chills will not be a concern during the advisory. The high for Tuesday is expected to be 36, with wind gusts between 5 to 8 mph. Temps are expected to drop to 28 by nighttime.
“Winds aren’t going to be all that strong,” Darmofal said. “So there’s not going to be much of a wind chill effect.”
Roads could be slippery during the evening commute. Drivers are urged to drive with caution.
Snow is forecast to keep falling overnight Tuesday before stopping early Wednesday morning. The advisory is set to expire at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, it’s expected to be sunny with highs of 38, 39 and 50 for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, respectively, a detailed NWS forecast shows.
That will change as Saturday’s high of 50 will drop to 25 by Sunday with a 20 percent chance of snow.
“Nothing significant right now, it’s just going to be mainly really cold,” Darmofal said.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 6:34 PM.