Blizzard Warning
Here is an updated forecast for me as of 3.29pm 12-24-2009
Blizzard Warning in effect until 6 PM CST Friday...
Tonight
Windy...snow. Blowing snow. Snow may be heavy at times. Snow accumulation of 6 to 7 inches. Lows around 14. Northwest winds 30 to 35 mph with gusts to around 45 mph. Wind chill readings as cold as 7 below.
Christmas Day
Windy. Light snow likely. Areas of blowing snow. Snow accumulation around 1 inch. Highs around 21. West winds 25 to 30 mph with gusts to around 40 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Wind chill readings as cold as 7 below.
Friday Night
Breezy. Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of light snow. Lows around 15. West winds 20 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Wind chill readings as cold as 3 below.
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UPDATE
Posted on Thu, Dec. 24, 2009
Blizzard warning issued for northeast Kansas
By BRAD COOPER
The Kansas City Star
If you haven’t left on your Christmas trip yet, you might want to reconsider.
Travel warnings are going out across Kansas today as a powerful winter storm rolls toward the metro area.
Light rain became a mix of freezing rain and sleet in Kansas City today, and it started turning into snow this evening.
The National Weather Service is advising people not to take to the highway, saying that travel will be treacherous through Friday afternoon.
The icy conditions have already started to affect driving locally.
Rescue crews pulled a woman from her car and took her to a hospital with life-threatening injuries this afternoon after her vehicle struck a road sign at I-435 and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan.
Kansas City, Kan. Fire Department spokesman Craig Duke warned drivers to be wary of icy overpasses and exit ramps. He said the fire department is answering an increasing number of calls as the day passes.
“It’s pretty bad,” Duke said. “We’re running calls left, right and center.”
Late this afternoon, the weather service issue a blizzard warning for northeast Kansas, including Topeka, Lawrence and Ottawa.
The Kansas highway department is already reporting snowy roads on U.S. 56 west of Gardner and on I-35 between Olathe and Emporia.
Snow also is reported to be covering parts of I-70 between Kansas City and Topeka.
The weather is already blamed for six highway deaths since Tuesday, including that of Derek Loux, a Christian singer from Grandview who was killed in Nebraska.
“This is an extremely dangerous situation we are facing and everyone should heed these warnings,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting of the Kansas National Guard.
By 5 p.m. today, 21 flights out of Kansas City International Airport had been canceled and another 13 had been delayed. Many of the cancellations affected planes bound Chicago, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee and Dallas.
Eight flights out of KCI after 5:30 tonight have been canceled.
About 30 inbound flights have been canceled as well.
Earlier today, heavy snow forced the closing of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. It wasn’t known when the airport will reopen. Air traffic at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was delayed more than two hours.
Meanwhile, traffic is starting to slow throughout the metro area as it approaches what would be the typical rush hour. Speeds on I-35 between Johnson County and Downtown are generally running under 50 mph, according to Kansas City Scout, the region’s traffic management system.
Similar conditions can be found on I-435 between Johnson County and south Kansas City as well as on I-70 between Downtown and Independence.
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