‘Cover everything you can’: Dangerously cold wind chill takes hold of Kansas City
Kansas City faces yet another day of bitter cold.
Wind chills will continue dropping to dangerous levels Saturday and could reach -20 to -25 over the weekend.
“This is where frostbite can happen on any exposed skin if you’re outside for 30 minutes or more,” said FOX4 meteorologist Alex Countee, who provides weather updates to The Star. “Continue to stay inside as much as possible. If you do have to go out at any point this weekend, you want to bundle up and cover everything you can.”
The high Saturday will stay in the single digits, 6 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Kansas City.
Saturday afternoon could feel anywhere from -10 to -15 degrees. By 3 p.m., Kansas City can reach -9 degree wind chill.
“We’re gonna have major weather problems throughout the entire weekend even into early next week, because we’re concerned about some dangerous wind chills,” Countee said.
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning will see much of the same bitter cold temperatures.
Heading into the work week, Monday temperatures could feel as low as -32 degrees in northeast Kansas and northwestern Missouri. At the same time, snow will move into the forecast starting Sunday. The snow, unlike the cold, will move out of Kansas City to the east by Sunday night.
Countee said a dusting to 2 inches of snow is possible in the area and 2 to 4 inches is possible south of the metro.
Headed later into the week, we will see “tremendous improvements, finally getting above 15 degrees,” Countee said. Wednesday will be the first time reaching those temperatures in about a week and a half. Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing Friday with widespread sunshine.
“We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “But we still have about three or more days of bitter cold to get through.”
The cold is not letting up, and Kansas Citians without homes are in need of warmth and care. Area warming centers and shelters are looking for volunteers and donations as the winter months take hold.
The Scott Eicke Warming Center at Bartle Hall is need of volunteers, who can sign up for a block of time online.
Donations needed at the Bartle Hall center include rubber gloves and winter gloves as well as handwarmers. It is also in need of more hand sanitizer and masks. Financial donations to help supply bedding can be made through GoFundMe.
Street Medicine KC, located at 1444 East 8th Street, told The Star it is most in need of financial donations at this time. The warming center, located at 1444 East 8th street, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Donations can be made through their website or venmo at @streetmedicinekc. The center is also in need of toilet paper, coats, men’s jeans, belts, size 12 and 13 shoes and “anything and everything warm.”
ReStart Inc, at 918 East 9th Street, needs new or used blankets, towels and sheets. Donations can also be made through their website, or on their Amazon wishlist.
A list of other Kansas City shelters can be found here.
The Star’s Anna Spoerre contributed reporting.
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.
