Winter storm in Wichita: How much snow, and how cold could it get?
A mix of snow and the season’s coldest temps are forecast as Wichita’s latest winter storm is set to move in Tuesday.
The National Weather Service in Wichita has issued a winter storm warning that goes into effect at midnight Tuesday and an extreme cold warning that will go into effect at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Areas under the watch include central, south central and southeast Kansas.
Wichita could see light snow between midnight and 6 a.m. and heavy snow most of Tuesday, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. There’s a 90% chance Wichita will see more than 4 inches of snow and a 46% chance the area will get more than 8 inches, the National Weather Service said Monday afternoon.
Tuesday’s high is forecast to only reach 8 degrees with a low of -3. There will be a 30% chance of snow Tuesday night before coming to a halt, the NWS said.
“Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous,” the NWS said. “Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the Tuesday morning and evening commutes.”
Dangerous cold temps
Adding to the snow, wind chill values for Tuesday through Thursday could be as low as -15 to -25. An NWS meteorologist said these wind chills values will be the coldest we have seen so far this season.
Taking a closer look, Monday night to Tuesday could see a wind chill value of -17, and Tuesday night through Wednesday at -24. Wednesday night to Thursday is forecast at -17, and Thursday night to Friday at -9.
The highs for Wednesday and Thursday sit at 9 and 12, with lows of -8 and -2, respectively.
“In terms of magnitude, we saw this several years ago, but it is not something that is expected this time of year, at all,” NWS Wichita meteorologist Jerod Kaufman said.
The NWS encourages to dress in layers if you must go outside. The dangerous cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
Friday’s high is forecast at 22 with a low of 13. Saturday and Sunday highs are expected at a sunny 36 and 47 degrees, a forecast shows.
This story was originally published February 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM.