Lawrence Transit has canceled services for Tuesday through Thursday, set to resume with on demand service Thursday evening.
Lawrence is likely to see 4 to 7 inches of snow Monday night through Tuesday, and extremely cold temperatures are expected through most of the week.
On demand service will stop at midnight Tuesday. All fixed route and paratransit services are canceled Tuesday, Feb. 18, Wednesday, Feb. 19 and Thursday, Feb. 20. Overnight on demand service is set to resume at 8 p.m. Thursday.
“Extremely low temperatures cause operational issues with our diesel and electric fleets. Staff will monitor weather throughout this event,” according to a news release. If conditions improve and service becomes feasible, Lawrence Transit will alert riders through its website and mobile apps.
More closures, cancellations and service changes for Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025:
List last updated: 3:21 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18
• Lawrence Public Schools will be closed and all district activities will be canceled. “It is our intention to return to school Wednesday, if at all possible, so please make cold weather plans and preparations now for the remainder of the week,” district spokesperson Julie Boyle said in a message to families.
• City of Lawrence facilities, including City Hall, will be closed. Municipal court dates set for Tuesday, Feb. 18 will be postponed to March 18 at the same time. Recreational facilities will not be available as warming centers, but the Lawrence Community Shelter will be open and there will be 24/7 overflow shelter space at University Community of Christ, 1900 University Drive. (More on that at this link.)
• KU’s Lawrence, Edwards and Leavenworth campuses will be closed. All classes, both in-person and online, are canceled.
• Douglas County District Court will be closed.
• Haskell Indian Nations University will be closed. The dining facility will have a plan in place to ensure students have access to food.
• The Lawrence City Commission meeting is canceled. The commission will next meet on March 4, 2025, unless the commission calls for a special meeting between now and then.
• The Lawrence Public Library will be closed. The digital library is open 24/7.
• Senior Resource Center for Douglas County, including Senior Wheels, will be closed.
• Lawrence Meals on Wheels will have no deliveries on Tuesday.
• The Lawrence Arts Center will be closed all day. Evening classes and rehearsals are canceled.
• The screening of “Destination Planet Negro” at Liberty Hall as part of the Kevin Willmott Film Festival has been postponed, with doors to open at 1 p.m. and the screening starting at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19.
• Corpus Christi Catholic School will be closed.
• Veritas Christian School will be closed.
• Baker University’s classes will be moved to a virtual format.
• Eudora schools will be closed.
• In the Baldwin City school district, all classes, practices, and activities for Tuesday are canceled.
• The Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka will be closed. Court personnel will work remotely, but offices in the center will be closed to in-person service.
• All state buildings in Shawnee County will be closed.
• Basehor-Linwood schools will be closed.
• Santa Fe Trail schools will be closed and all activities are canceled.
• McLouth school district’s schools will be closed and activities, including JDLA and Washburn Tech, are canceled.
See links to more severe weather resources and information below. See this page for more weather coverage.
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Severe weather resources
Get warm in Lawrence:
• See this page for locations to get warm during the day and overnight, where to get help for pets and more.
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.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and where snowplows have been. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.
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 Evergy’s emergency line, 800-383-1183, if above-ground lines are arcing or making contact with trees or vegetation. Call 911 immediately if overhead power lines are on the ground or a fire starts. Do not go near the line.
Highway conditions beyond Lawrence:
• KanDrive, an app and website from the Kansas Department of Transportation, has info on highway conditions statewide. KanDrive is available online at KanDrive.gov, and its app is available for download free on the App Store and Google Play.
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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