Bitter cold, blowing snow continue to threaten Kansas City after winter storm exits
Massive snowfall was never the major concern for a winter storm that cut through the Kansas City area Thursday.
Rather, it was the bitter cold and strong winds which threatened the metro along with northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas with the possibility of near-blizzard and whiteout conditions.
The dangerously cold arctic air sent temperatures crashing as the front pushed its way through the area. At Kansas City International Airport, temperatures were hovering around freezing at midnight. Six hours later, they had plunged to 3 degrees.
The National Weather Service captured the rapid dive in temperatures on a timelapse video, which showed temperatures drop from 33 degrees shortly after midnight to just under 9 degrees at 4:45 a.m.
The drop didn’t end there. By 6:45 a.m., the temperature was at 2 degrees, the weather service said on social media.
The storm was accompanied by strong winds prevailing at 15 to 20 mph out of the north, with gusts around 35 mph. That made it feel much colder.
The wind chill at KCI at noon was -25 degree. Most cities in the metro saw similar wind chills, although Gardner, Lee’s Summit and St. Joseph had wind chills below -30 degrees, according to the weather service.
Snow from the quick moving storm started to end about mid-morning in Kansas City.
“The west side of the KC metro should be done with snow soon,” the weather service said about 10:30 a.m. “East side, and areas east will be done pretty shortly.”
Strong winds and some blowing snow, however, is expected to continue until Friday.
At one point, a rare snow squall warning was issued by the National Weather Service in Wichita for Interstates 35, 135 and 235 and U.S. 254 near Wichita. The warning also was for U.S. 169 near Chanute, U.S. 54 and U.S. 77 near El Dorado and U.S. 54 and U.S. 77 near Augusta, all in Kansas.
Blowing snow had created whiteouts that made travel dangerous, possibly life-threatening, the weather service said. That snow squall warning was in effect until 10 a.m.
As for snow totals, about 1.2 inches of snow fell at Kansas City International Airport, the weather service said . Meanwhile, 2.1 inches of snow was measured at the weather service’s offices in Pleasant Hill.
The weather service asked on social media for people to report how much snow fell in their area. That prompted on person to respond: “That’s funny you think I’m stepping a foot outside this door before Christmas.”
Freezing drizzle preceded storm
Drizzle and flurries reached the Kansas City area hours before the snow started to fly. Because freezing drizzle resulted in slick conditions across central Kansas Wednesday afternoon, the weather service warned that slick bridges were possible Wednesday evening.
Snow from the storm moved into the northwest Missouri around 9 p.m. Wednesday, causing road conditions to deteriorate rapidly as roads became slick and visibility dropped, the weather service said.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, the weather service advised that it had received several reports of slick roads and reduced visibility across the region. Crashes were being reported across the Kansas City metro area.
“Looking around on the @KansasCityScout cameras, we can see that many of them have iced over due to freezing drizzle ahead of the snow,” the weather service said about 2:15 a.m.
The freezing drizzle began transitioning to snow shortly before 5 a.m. The heaviest snowfall came during the morning rush hour, causing roads conditions to deteriorate as the snow came through.
“Busy morning for our troopers!” the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop A said on Twitter. “So far today, from midnight to 8 a.m., troopers responded to 96 calls for service (52 occurred in one hour from 6 to 7)!”
Of those calls, only one person was injured, the highway patrol said.
Troopers noted that too many people were out and about for non-essential reasons, they were driving too fast for conditions and many were driving without headlights and taillights on.
In Johnson County, a vehicle traveling at a high speed crashed into the back of a sheriff’s office vehicle. The lieutenant was not injured in the incident, but officers encouraged drivers to slow down and stay home if possible because of reduced visibility on the roads.
Officials encouraged people to stay home and off the roads.
The KC Streetcar was suspended Thursday afternoon following a third-party vehicle incident near 19th and Main streets. Services resumed after the incident was cleared.
Anticipating more accidents because of the storm, the Overland Park Police Department enacted its walk-in accident protocol for non-injury crashes where vehicles were still driveable.
The storm also led to dozens of flights into and out of Kansas City International Airport being delayed or outright canceled.
Both Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines had canceled around 20 flights out of KCI by Thursday afternoon. Several other flights had been delayed.
Each airline also had canceled around 20 flights arriving into Kansas City.
Dangerous cold, blowing snow to continue
Although a winter warning for Kansas City was canceled Thursday afternoon, a wind chill warning remains in effect until noon Saturday.
Blowing snow and periods of reduced visibility will continue to be a threat through Friday.
“Winds gusting as high as 40 mph,” the weather service said in the warning. “For the wind chill warning, dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 35 below zero.”
The warning included Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson, Clay, Platte, Jackson and Cass counties in the Kansas City area.
“The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute,” the weather service said. “The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.”
The arctic temperatures will linger in the Kansas City area, with conditions in the single digits. Temperatures will warm slightly on on Christmas Eve, climbing from one degree below zero in the morning to the teens the afternoon. On Christmas morning, temperatures will be slightly above zero. They will climb to the mid-20s by the afternoon.
Temperatures are expected to warm up next week, reaching the mid-40s by Wednesday. The warm weather is expected to continue into the new year.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 3:41 PM.
