Snow, freezing rain, sleet in NWS Wichita forecast for central and southeast Kansas

Meteorologists predict a snowy Tuesday across the Wichita area, along with freezing rain and sleet.

The National Weather Service office in Wichita issued a winter weather advisory on Monday, warning of the impending storm in central and southeast Kansas. The advisory is effective 3-11 a.m. Tuesday, though Kansans should plan for the effects of the storm to last longer, possibly into Wednesday.

“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the NWS advisory states. “The hazardous conditions could impact the (Tuesday) morning commute.”

The Tuesday morning storm is expected to result in as much as 1 inch of snowfall and around one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation.

“A mixture of light snow, freezing rain, and sleet is expected to develop across the area and spread northward early Tuesday morning,” the weather service said in a hazardous weather outlook issued Monday morning. “Some ice and sleet accumulations are possible mainly for locations along and north of a Kingman to Wichita, to Eureka line. Ice and sleet accumulations around a tenth of an inch are possible.

“Precipitation onset along Kingman, Wichita and Eureka line is expected a few hours before the morning commute Tuesday with freezing rain expected here during the commute. Areas along and north of a Great Bend, Ellsworth and McPherson line will see the precipitation onset closer to or just after sunrise Tuesday.”

In Wichita, the city has a 90% chance of precipitation Tuesday morning. The NWS forecast calls for chances of snow before 4 a.m., then sleet before 5 a.m., followed by freezing rain before 8 a.m., then rain afterward. The high temperature will be around 46 degrees.

Rain with a chance of snow stays in the forecast through Tuesday night as the predicted overnight low temperature drops to around 31 degrees. The precipitation chance is 90%. That drops to 30% on Wednesday, with snow in the forecast before 1 p.m.

The NWS forecast was current as of noon Monday.

The NWS Wichita advisory included the counties of Butler, Chase, Greenwood, Harvey, Kingman, Marion, McPherson, Reno, Rice, Sedgwick and Woodson. Additional areas of the state may be under advisories from other regional offices of the weather service.

The Kansas National Guard and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management said in a news release that the storm will start Monday in the northwestern part of the state and move eastward. Some areas of the state could get as much as 3 inches of snow and two-tenths of an inch of ice.

State officials ask drivers to be extra careful when on the roads in wintry weather, and also to take precautions for the coronavirus pandemic.

“If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to make sure your home and vehicle emergency kits are well-stocked,” Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement. “This storm hits us right in the middle of the holiday season when many people are on the road. I urge you to avoid travel, if possible, but if you must travel, be sure to leave early and listen to your local weather stations to keep updated on road conditions.

The weather service said another storm system will move across the region on Thursday and Friday. South-central and southeast Kansas could receive measurable snow.

This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 12:42 PM.