Post last updated at 3:55 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8:
Rain in Lawrence Monday morning turned to snow as it got colder outside, and a winter storm warning is in effect until noon Tuesday. Bitter cold temperatures are in the forecast later this week.
Lawrence and Douglas County are now expected to see 4 to 6 inches of snow “due to a southern shift in the storm system,” according to a Monday afternoon update from the National Weather Service in Topeka.
The Lawrence school district has canceled Monday afternoon and evening activities, and the library is closing early because of the weather.
Winter weather advisories from the NWS Monday morning indicated that snowfall amounts may be slightly less than forecast Saturday. However, those estimates have changed again, and areas north of Interstate 70 could see 6 to 10 inches of snow, according to the NWS update. Areas south of I-70 “could see 2 to 6 inches, although locally higher amounts may be possible.”
Peak snow is expected from around 9 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Commuters Monday evening and Tuesday morning should use extra caution. Roads may be slippery, and patchy blowing snow may reduce visibility.
The City of Lawrence treats priority streets 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.
For Wednesday, the forecast shows a high of 39° with mostly sunny skies.
There is a chance of snow Thursday and Friday, also, but it is too early to say how much there could be, according to the NWS advisory.
The NWS forecast as of Monday afternoon showed bitterly cold temperatures later this week — as low as 2° Friday night into Saturday. Temperatures Saturday night could drop as low as -3°.
Also, “Morning wind chill values Friday through Sunday could range between zero and 20 below, coldest during the weekend,” according to NWS.
See links to resources below to find the latest forecast info.
Get warm
The city is offering its recreational facilities as places to get warm during their open hours (and notes that all guests must follow facility rules).
“Parks and Recreation facilities will remain open this evening as scheduled for drop-in use; however, tomorrow morning all facilities except the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., will have a delayed opening. The Community Building will open at 8 a.m. as normal,” according to a Monday afternoon update from the city.
Tuesday morning, the other facilities will open at 10 a.m. That includes the Indoor Aquatic Facility and Prairie Park Nature Center.
Facility details:
Lawrence Community Building
115 W. 11th St. (just west of 11th and Massachusetts streets)
Regular hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
East Lawrence Recreation Center
1245 E. 15th St. (just east of 15th Street and Haskell Avenue)
Regular hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
Holcom Park Recreation Center
2700 W. 27th St. (just east of 27th Street and Lawrence Avenue)
Regular hours:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
Sports Pavilion Lawrence
100 Rock Chalk Lane (~1 mile north of Sixth Street and George Williams Way on the far northwestern edge of town)
Regular hours:
5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
1 to 9 p.m. Sundays
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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.
• In the event of rapidly changing severe weather, such as tornadoes, the NWS posts frequent updates on Twitter, @NWSTopeka. You do not need a Twitter account to see tweets from NWS.
• NWS is also on Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.
• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.
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) by calling the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250 or 785-832-7509.
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.
• For down powerlines, call 911.
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.
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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