November off to one of coldest starts in Kansas City history

You most certainly don’t need to be told it’s cold.

What you might not know is just how cold.

A record low temperature of 6 degrees was set Tuesday at Kansas City International Airport, breaking the old record low of 14 degrees for Nov. 18 set in 1903.

It’s also been the fourth-coldest start to November on record.

Through the first 17 days of the month, Kansas City has had an average temperature of 37.7 degrees — well below the normal average of 49.

For those keeping score, KCI has been below freezing since 4 p.m. Nov. 11. That’s six full days. And if Kansas City doesn’t reach the forecast high of 33 degrees Tuesday, make that seven full days.

It’s the earliest that Kansas City has had the most consecutive days at or below freezing to start the cold season, according to the National Weather Service.

And Kansas City is not alone.

Steve Leiker, who is in charge of the Salvation Army’s “Honk and Holler” outreach program, said the sudden cold stretch caught some of the area’s homeless off guard.

“It was pretty rough on them when the temperatures first dropped,” he said. “Many didn’t have gloves and coats and some needed blankets.”

The program serves the chronic homeless by providing food, clothing and help in getting off the streets through referrals to various programs.

The first night was the worst, he said, because some of the homeless weren’t prepared. The situation, however, improved by Thursday as outerwear was distributed among the homeless.

Coats and blankets from the recent Project Warmth drive also were delivered Wednesday to 70 agencies, allowing the items to get out into the community during the recent cold snap, said Amanda Waters, divisional director of community relations for The Salvation Army.

The Kansas City will start to see temperatures warm Tuesday as highs climb into the upper 20s and lower 30s.

Temperatures are expected to remain relatively steady as clouds move in Tuesday night.

Highs across eastern Kansas and western Missouri are expected to reach into the upper 40s and lower 50s by the weekend.

This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 11:40 AM with the headline "November off to one of coldest starts in Kansas City history."