Winter Weather Advisory In Effect; Slick Spots Likely

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until noon on Wednesday for much of Eastern Kansas.

“It started out in the Kansas City metro area when they issued it yesterday and then has sort of moved on off to the west gradually as we’ve seen more moisture come in from the south,” said Meteorologist Dan Holiday. “This is a difficult forecast. It’s very, very, very tough to see this on radar.”

Ground observations of slick conditions are vital to get the message out to drivers.

“As long as you’re below 32 degrees, being in the 20s, it does not take much at all before the roads become just a sheet of ice,” said Holiday. “We saw that this morning, where precipitation wasn’t even supposed to form until later this afternoon in Wichita. It started early around 6:30 a.m. Then, before you know it, they had black ice and accidents everywhere.”

Bridges and overpasses are always first to freeze in these conditions.

“It looks like the freezing drizzle is going to be moving a little bit further to the southeast this evening,” said Holiday. “We have some that will come back tomorrow morning, maybe a little bit, but then temperatures warm above freezing.”

There will be an above freezing period Wednesday afternoon before temperatures drop back down Wednesday night. Moisture will likely be in the area until early Thursday.

Graphic courtesy: National Weather Service