‘Really difficult storm’: Snow to keep falling in Wichita, frigid wind chills to follow
More snow is expected to fall for the next few hours in Wichita, which is currently under a blizzard warning until Sunday evening. The arctic blast will lead to frigid wind chills overnight and has created havoc on the roadways. Wichita Public Schools have canceled classes for Monday, Jan. 6.
The blizzard warning was issued shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday and will expire at 6 p.m. Areas affected include central, south central and southeast Kansas, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita.
As of noon, 2.1 inches of snow was recorded at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport, but more light to moderate snow is expected to fall for the next few hours.
“I still think we can get an additional one to three inches or so of snow,” NWS meteorologist Brian Baerg said Sunday.
Weather conditions have been reduced to just snow as the sleet and freezing rain has moved east. An NWS detailed forecast shows widespread blowing snow until 5 p.m., with total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches.
Although the snow is expected to stop, “wind gusts will continue into the overnight hours, so we’ll still have blowing snow that will continue to reduce visibility even into the overnight hours,” Baerg said.
Baerg acknowledged that this storm was significant in terms of the harsh conditions.
“A really difficult storm between the winds... we had the transition from freezing rain, sleet and now snow, so roadways across much of central, south central and a lot of eastern Kansas, they have a layer of ice beneath the snow,” Baerg said. “To combat on top of that, it’s making it more challenging for our snow removal folks over at KDOT to get the roads cleared.”
A rare occurrence
At 2:28 a.m., the NWS Wichita office said ”thunder sleet” was spotted on the west side of the Eisenhower Airport.
Thunder sleet is a rare weather event that occurs when sleet and thunderstorms happen at the same time, according AccuWeather.
“We had a thunderstorm that moved through [the area], and instead of it being rain that was falling, it was sleet,” Baerg said. “So that’s why we characterize that as thunder sleet.”
Baerg added: “In the summertime we get a thunderstorm... but we’re just colder [now], so instead of it being liquid rain, it’s sleet.”
Baerg could not recall the last time Wichita saw thunder sleet.
Closures, power outages
Weather conditions led to the closing of some businesses in Wichita. A list is available here.
Wichita Public Schools, the largest school district in the state, has canceled classes for all students on Monday, Jan. 6 due to weather conditions, the district said in an email Sunday afternoon.
Students were set to return Monday after the winter break.
“All non-attendance centers will be closed as well,” the email read. “Employees assigned to snow removal crews and SSC-based security officers will receive specific instructions from their supervisors.”
As of 9:15 p.m. Sunday, an Evergy outage map reports that there are 52 current power outages affecting 1,763 customers in Wichita.
“Restoration times are delayed as it is taking much longer for the crews to get to the outage locations due to the terrible road conditions and poor visibility,” Evergy said in a winter storm update. “Crews are taking safety precautions and using safety equipment to avoid frostbite as the temperature is expected to drop below zero this afternoon and into this evening.”
The energy provider serves over 1.6 million people in Kansas.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has closed all state highways in the following counties: Marshall, Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, Riley, Pottawatomie, Jackson, Atchison, Wabaunsee, Shawnee, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Douglas, Johnson, Lyon, Osage, Jewell, Republic, Washington, Mitchell, Cloud, Clay, Lincoln, Ottawa, Ellsworth, Saline, Dickinson, Geary, Morris, McPherson, Marion and Chase.
I-70 is also closed in both directions from the Missouri state line in Kansas City west to the Ellsworth County line in western Kansas. Eastbound I-70 is also closed from Hays to the Missouri state line, according to Kansas Department of Transportation.
Looking ahead into the forecast, bitterly cold wind chills are expected Sunday night with values as low as minus 11 degrees. The actual temperature is forecast at a low of 2 degrees, according to a detailed NWS forecast.
Monday’s high is forecast at a high of 16 with wind chill values as low as minus 14. Those values will drop to minus 5 at night.
This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 2:36 PM.