Douglas County likely to see snow Wednesday; wind chill will be below 0°

Very cold and very snowy weather is on its way to Douglas County, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast from the National Weather Service office in Topeka shows a roughly 60% chance that Douglas County will see 6 or more inches of snow starting Wednesday afternoon, worsening overnight and continuing through Thursday night.

In addition, the blizzard conditions will bring wind chill indices of 25 to 40 degrees below 0°, according to NWS.

The worst of the snow is forecast for Wednesday night through Thursday evening. Thursday and Friday mornings will likely bring the coldest temperatures, according to the NWS, and wind gusts of up to 45 mph. Friday’s forecast, as of Monday evening, shows an anticipated high of 2°.

“Any travel Thursday night through Friday evening is strongly discouraged due to blizzard (conditions),” according to NWS. “Extremely dangerous wind chills will cause frostbite within minutes. If you leave the safety of being indoors, you are putting your life at risk.”

Resources

• The Winter Emergency Shelter is open from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., for those who need a warm place to sleep.

• The city’s Parks and Recreation facilities are open for warming during their regular hours. The Community Building and the East Lawrence Rec Center, 1245 E. 15th St., are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

• The city has snow information and a map at this link that shows information about road conditions and snow plow locations. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.

• Keep up with the latest from the National Weather Service at this link. The NWS is also on Twitter and Facebook.

• Local information is also available via Douglas County Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook.