Wrecks, school closings reported as storm blows through Wichita

As the rain turned to sleet in the area overnight in the Wichita area, some school districts started notifying parents early Thursday that school would be closed.

Closed schools include:

▪ Maize USD 266

▪ Valley Center USD 262

▪ Andover USD 385

▪ Renwick USD 267

▪ The Independent School in Wichita

▪ Goddard USD 265

▪ Wichita Montessori

Wichita and Derby school districts both said some bus routes might be running late this morning due to weather conditions, but the districts remain open.

As school started announcing closings, drivers were facing icy conditions.

A vehicle slid off I-135 southbound near the 25th Street North exit. An accident with injuries was reported northeast of Cheney on U.S. 400. Two wrecks were reported at around 6:30 a.m., one at I-35 at Kellogg and another at 31st and Oliver, according to scanner traffic.

About 15 minutes later, crews responded to a wreck at K-96 and Greenwich.

Just after 7 a.m., a crash was reported on the westbound Kellogg ramp to northbound I-135. Scanner traffic indicated multiple vehicles behind the wreck had crashed into the guardrail. A school bus also slid, but no students were on the bus, according to reports.

At around 8:30 a.m., the Kansas Turnpike said the I-35 southbound ramp to exit 42 was back up because of a crash in Wichita on I-135 northbound at K-15.

At the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, incoming flights from Houston at 9:50 a.m. and Chicago at 10:07 a.m. have been delayed. An outgoing flight to Atlanta at 5:50 a.m. was delayed along with a 11:16 a.m. flight to Chicago. Crews were de-icing planes around 6:30 a.m., according to scanner traffic.

The National Weather Service in Wichita said there was more freezing rain than snow reported in Wichita Thursday morning. Blowing snow in north-central Kansas and mixed precipitation along I-35 will change to all snow later this morning, they said.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 6:35 AM with the headline "Wrecks, school closings reported as storm blows through Wichita."