Lawrence is expected to receive 4 to 7 inches of dry, powdery snow amid single-digit temperatures Tuesday, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist.
NWS meteorologist Daniel Reese said snowfall is expected to begin late Monday, likely after sunset and before midnight. The intensity will pick up Tuesday morning into portions of Tuesday afternoon, and the snow is expected to stop in the late afternoon or evening.
“It’ll be off and on, so there might be a few breaks in there, but overall, a fairly consistent, moderate snow,” Reese said.
Unlike the early January winter storm, this time freezing rain won’t precede the snow, so ice is not a primary concern.
Wind gusts Tuesday are expected to move at 20 to 25 miles per hour, which will cause some blowing snow that could impair visibility, according to Reese. During the points when the snowfall is heaviest, visibility could be limited to half a mile. At other times, it could be a mile or two.
“With that powdery snow, it can blow around easier,” Reese said. “So it won’t be the windiest storm, but the winds will be enough to cause some blowing and drifting, especially in fields and where you have less trees or anything blocking the wind.”
The forecast for Tuesday includes a high of 6° and a low of 4° below zero. As the bitter cold air will move into town Monday night, wind chills in the morning are expected to be 15° below zero. Reese said that could be dangerous for people traveling if they get stuck in the snow, and he urges folks to dress appropriately, if possible, when going outside.
An extreme cold warning will go into effect from midnight Wednesday through noon Thursday. Lawrence is expected to see wind chills as low as -20°, accompanied by temperatures as low as -13° Wednesday night and -4° Thursday night, according to the NWS forecast.
Friday is expected to see some sun and a high of 19°, followed by slightly warmer Saturday and Sunday, with highs of 33° and 44° in the forecast, respectively.
See links to more severe weather resources and information below. See this page for more weather coverage.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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.
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
