Evening commute looks fine; freezing rain, sleet to begin after sunset
.jpg "Getting home Thursday night after work was neither fun nor fast. Friday night's commute is expected to be much better.
Traffic on Interstate 35 headed into downtown Kansas City was stop-and-go at 4:30 p.m. Thursday after an afternoon snow left streets slick, snarling traffic in all directions around downtown.")
Update: Commuters for the most part should get a reprieve from slick roads for Friday night’s drive home.
An updated forecast shows that temperatures likely won’t fall below freezing until sunset, according to Jared Leighton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill.
There could be some lingering slick spots, but for the most part it likely wont be freezing until most people are home from work, Leighton said.
Precipitation isn’t expected to move into the area until after sunset. Even then, it will start as rain.
As temperatures drop, the rain will shift to a mix of freezing rain and sleet.
Most of the area will be under some kind of freezing precipitation by 9 p.m.
After midnight, the sleet is expected to turn into snow.
It’s difficult to predict exact amounts that will fall across the area because a shift in temperatures by a degree or so could mean the difference between rain, freezing rain or snow.
Generally, 1/10th of an inch of ice is expected across the metropolitan area. The snowfall total is likely to be around 2 inches in the Kansas City area.
Highs Saturday are expected to be in the low to mid-30s, with only a couple of hours above freezing.
Precipitation is expected to end by noon Saturday.
To reach Robert A. Cronkleton, call 816-234-4261 or send email to bcronkleton@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published February 20, 2015 at 7:53 AM with the headline "Evening commute looks fine; freezing rain, sleet to begin after sunset."