Watch NBC Action News at 10pm as we track the sleet and snow that is currently falling across the region on LIVE:ESP!
Update at 8 PM (from Gary): Jeremy has been tracking this all day and be sure to watch at 10 PM on NBC Action News. A SNOWSTORM is in progress over the south side of the city! 1-2 inches is likely across areas south of I-70. It will struggle to get to downtown and it will be dry up north. Another strange weather night! The deformation zone of a weak upper low is setting up on the south side of the city. If it continues past midnight amounts could be higher in some local spots. It is about time for the south side!
Here is our snowfall forecast map for tonight. Kind of looks like something out of last winter!
Here is a picture of the snow and the huge snowflakes sent in by Mike from Ottawa, KS.
Previous entry:
Here we go again! A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Franklin, Anderson, Miami, Linn, Henry, and Bates Counties. More wintry weather is approaching the area late this afternoon. Reports of snow, sleet, and a mix have been reported within the viewing area. Mike in Ottawa has reported sleet and another report of rain in Paola just came in. Right now with air temperatures in the mid 30s and 850mb temps near freezing I expect almost all of the precpitation to be either a mix or snow. Rain is the least likely precip. form this evening, but possible for a short time.
The leading edge of the precipitation is around the Johnson County, KS border. The precipitation will continue to work north, but the highest likelihood of seeing a mix or snow is along and south of I-70. Some areas north of I-70 will get in on the action, but chances drop off to around 30% around Weston and Leavenworth. Most likely St. Joe, Trenton, and Maryville will stay dry tonight as precip. chances are less than 10% in these locations.
As I mentioned this morning, if the precip. is mainly snow then some accumulation is possible. This would most likely occur in the advisory locations. Right now I'm thinking the totals would be around 1-2". A little snow/sleet may stick in KC, but totals should be a dusting to maybe 1" on the southside(Olathe, Belton, etc.). Something that just began to show up around 5pm is a little comma head on the Wichita radar. This is worth watching, especially since the RUC brings an ULL toward KC tonight. Below is the RUC at 7:00 p.m. this evening.
I will be nowcasting the rest of tonight tracking the comma head, ULL, and northern progression of the precipitation. This is a tricky situation and we have seen these type of situations turn into a quick 3" snow in the past, but let's hope this isn't the case tonight. I'll have another update after 8pm. Please send along your weather reports and I will try to mention a few on the news and WxPlus!
If you are traveling tonight, especially south, be aware that you may encounter some slippery stretches on the highways!
Jeremy