‘A real mess’: New year’s storm could bring freezing rain, sleet, snow to Kansas City
A system of freezing rain, sleet and snow will likely pummel the Kansas City metro area just in time for the new year, according to FOX4 meteorologist Joe Lauria.
‘We’re concerned about this ice, sleet-storm potential, and if we end up with more freezing rain, that could be a power outage area for some parts of the area,” said Lauria, who provides weather updates to The Star.
Tuesday saw snow and ice, creating some slick conditions on the road.
“It was not a pretty day,” Lauria said.
However, Lauria said he is concerned with the storm system moving into the area late New Year’s Eve night and continuing into New Years Day.
The freezing rain could last for six hours and brings with it a heavy ice and some power outages in parts of the metro.
“Then as we head towards the middle part of Friday morning, kicking off the new year, the atmosphere will start to turn colder and we could see everything convert over to sleet and then snow for a few hours into Friday afternoon,” Lauria said.
He said Friday’s weather system, which could even include thunder sleet or thunder freezing rain, will create “a real mess.”
Lauria warned that Friday’s travel conditions will be bad.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if between the ice, the sleet and the snow we end up with over two inches of not nice stuff on the ground by Saturday morning,” he said.
But, Lauria said, things are looking up Sunday, which is supposed to be dry and partly-sunny with a high in the mid-30s.
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The Star produced this weather update in partnership with the local FOX4 television station. The station’s meteorologists create forecast videos multiple times a day for the newspaper to include in its weather reports.
