Wichita sees 0.7 inches of snow Tuesday; low temperatures will stick around overnight

Wichita may have only seen 0.7 inches of snow Tuesday morning, but that amount and this late in the season was enough to be the second-latest measurable snow in records dating back to 1918.

The latest measurable snow was 0.2 inches on April 23, 2013, according to meteorologist Roger Martin of the National Weather Service in Wichita.

“So we smashed it so to speak,” he said.

Tuesday’s snowfall in Wichita broke a 103-year-old record of 0.1 inches on April 20, 1918, records show. The measurement was taken at the Wichita Eisenhower National Airport, where snow fell from around 4 a.m. to roughly 10 a.m., he said.

The snow in the area is expected to dry up this afternoon, but snow could stick around through Wednesday and even Thursday in parts of Kansas that recorded higher amounts, he said.

“Northern Kansas had the brunt of that” snow, he said.

Here is how much snowfall was recorded across Kansas:

• 7 inches in part of Russell County
• 7 inches in Hays
• 4.5 inches in Salina
• Roughly 4 inches in Manhattan
• Between 2-5 inches in the Kansas City metro area
• 3.5 inches in Topeka
• 3 inches in Hutchinson
• 2 inches in Great Bend
• 2.3 inches in Dodge City
• 1.3 inches in Goodland

Southeast Kansas saw less than an inch of snow, he said.

The good news, depending on your liking for the late-season cold, is that no more snow is expected in the Wichita area. The bad news is temperatures are expected to drop lower overnight Tuesday than they did Monday.

“Widespread 20s” are expected with the Wichita area seeing a possible low of around 28 degrees, Martin said.

The “hard freeze” is not uncommon this time of year but the widespread snow was abnormal.

“That I would put as pretty remarkable,” he said.

After the cold overnight Tuesday, the rest of the week should gradually warm up, he said.

Sporadic showers are forecast Thursday and Friday in the Wichita area, he said. Hail is even possible in the area Friday morning but would be more likely along the Oklahoma border.

Temperatures should reach the 60s and 70s this weekend and be in the 80s by Monday and next Tuesday.

This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 11:25 AM.