How much will we get? Snow begins to pile up in Wichita and will fall through afternoon

A light now started in the Wichita area early Thursday morning and heavier snow took over just before 8 a.m., according to National Weather Service meteorologist Vanessa Pearce.

Pearce said the moderate to heavy snow will continue throughout the morning, then taper off. It is expected to stop altogether around 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

She said, as of 8 a.m., about 2 inches of snow had fallen so far at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. She expects the area to get between 6 to 8 inches of snow.

The visibility at the airport switched from one-eighth of a mile to a quarter-mile about an hour ago, she said at around 8 a.m.

The most snow reported in NWS Wichita office coverage area so far is 3.3 inches near Rosalia, she said.

Wichita saw rain around 11:20 p.m., followed by sleet and freezing rain that continued until the snow moved in around 4:30 a.m. to 5 a.m., she said.

Pearce said the Wichita office has received fewer reports of accidents than expected with this type of snow. She thinks that’s because fewer people are on the road.

GPS trackers allow people to see what city streets have been plowed within the last 15 minutes, 60 minutes and 24 hours. The map is available at wichita.gov/snowremoval. A list of roads that the city plows is also available here.

Kandrive.org allows people to see road conditions and any accidents on Kansas highways.