Lawrence and the surrounding areas could see heavy snow Sunday evening through Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka.
A winter storm watch advisory says snow accumulations of 2 to 7 inches are possible, and winds could gust as high as 50 mph. The advisory is in effect from 9 p.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. Tuesday.
As of Saturday evening, the NWS forecast for Lawrence showed a 100% chance of rain and snow all day Monday, followed by snow Monday night into Tuesday. Snow is likely on Tuesday, mainly before noon, according to the forecast.
The forecast does not indicate there will be snow Tuesday night, but the temperature could drop to around 12° overnight into Wednesday.
The forecast indicates that Douglas County has about a 10% to 40% chance of receiving 4 inches of snow or more. That chance increases to up to 70% for areas just north of Douglas County.
“Currently, the range for Lawrence is large (potentially between 2-8in),” NWS meteorologists wrote in a tweet Saturday afternoon. “If rain persists longer on Monday, snowfall totals will be on the lower end. If snow changes over quickly, totals will be on the higher end.”
Roads are expected to be slippery, and patchy blowing snow could reduce visibility, according to the winter storm advisory. Wind gusts could also bring down tree branches.
Under the city’s 2022 snow and ice control plan, priority streets are treated first and residential streets follow. City crews will begin snow and ice control operations on residential streets only once accumulations reach 2 inches or more. See a map of snow response vehicles when they’re on the roads at lawrenceks.org/snow.
Property owners are responsible for removing snow and ice from sidewalks directly adjacent to their properties within 48 hours of ice forming or the end of a snowfall. If removing the ice is impossible, property owners must place sand on sidewalks within 48 hours. Community members who are physically unable to keep their sidewalks clear during snow events can visit the city’s website for more information about the Safe Winter Walkways Program, lawrenceks.org/safe-winter-walkways.
See links to severe weather resources and information below.
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Severe weather resources
National Weather Service local office (Topeka):
• Find the latest weather forecast info and severe weather advisories for the Lawrence area at this link.
• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.
• The NWS is also on Twitter, @NWSTopeka, and Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.
Douglas County Emergency Management:
• Follow @DgCoEM on Twitter or Douglas County, KS- Emergency Management on Facebook, facebook.com/dgcoem.
• Sign up to receive emergency alerts at dgcoks.org/emalerts.
• Find lots of tips on severe weather and other emergency preparedness on DgCoEM’s website at douglascountyks.org/emergency-management.
• Report storm damage (for non-emergencies only, and after storm danger has passed) via this form.
Evergy outages:
• Check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com.
• Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow 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.
Air quality:
• Check the current air quality index in Lawrence and elsewhere through AirNow, airnow.gov.
