Bitter cold, light snow turn roads icy in Kansas City; schools cancel in-person classes
Bitter cold and light snow will haunt Kansas City Monday leading to hazardous conditions as roads become icy, FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter said.
“We’re going to be talking about single digits or lower teens for afternoon highs with the feels-like wind chill temperature in the single digits, possibly even below zero most of the day.” said Ritter, who provides weather updates to The Star. “And we’re going to throw in some additional snow for your Monday.”
Temperatures were in the single digits at Kansas City International Airport Monday morning. Wind chills fell to 11 degrees below zero.
Some schools in the Kansas City area turned to virtual learning or canceled classes altogether because of the weather conditions.
Those canceling classes included Independence, Grandview and Harrisonville school districts.
Meanwhile, Park Hill, North Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, Center, Belton, Ray-Pec, Raytown, Grain Valley Schools, Blue Springs and Kearney school districts turned to virtual learning.
Snow chances will increase during the middle part of the day, she said.
“As a result, we are weather aware today,” Ritter said. “With some light snow already falling this morning, we’re going to have very slick conditions. You’re going to have to pad in some extra time for wherever you’re headed today, not just your morning commute.”
And with the bitter cold, the roads are not expected to get much better throughout the day.
“In fact, if we tack on some extra snow could be a little worse,” Ritter said. “That continues into our drive home with snow chances starting to wind down but the bitter cold is not going anywhere for the rest of the week.”
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office urged drivers to take it slow.
“The roads are snow packed & frozen causing vehicles to slide off the road,” the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.
RideKC said most buses were on regular routes and schedules. Independence buses, however, were on snow reroutes.
RideKC Freedom and Micro Transit were in Phase A with possible delays of 30 to 60 minutes.
The National Weather Service in Kansas City said the prolonged stretch of sub-freezing temperatures will continue into the middle part of February. Several days will have wind chills well below zero.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we did this story
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.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 8:11 AM.
