The Wichita area and south-central Kansas is getting ready for a likely winter storm this weekend.
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon.
The National Weather Service says heavy mixed-precipitation is possible. Total snow accumulations could be anywhere between 2 and 10 inches, with sleet accumulations around one-third of an inch, and ice accumulations anywhere from three-tenths of an inch up to one inch possible. Winds could gust as high as 45 miles per hour.
Widespread light precipitation will develop across Kansas on Saturday as moisture continues to increase. Temperatures will still be below freezing at the surface north of highway 50 with freezing rain or freezing drizzle during the day Saturday.
Areas from Pratt to Wichita and farther south see mainly light rain or drizzle as temperatures get a few degrees above freezing during the day Saturday.
The precipitation becomes steadily more intense during Saturday night with considerable icing of trees, powerlines, roads and sidewalks.
The intense storm system now entering the Pacific Northwest will slide east and southeast and become stronger as it tracks near to just south of the Oklahoma state line later Saturday night and Sunday. In the meantime, a bitterly cold Arctic air mass will plunge south through the Plains gradually switching any rain, sleet and freezing rain over to snow in most of Kansas by Sunday morning.
Much of central and eastern Kansas could see impactful ice accumulations before the change to all snow Sunday morning. The snowfall can be quite heavy with strong winds out of the north leading to considerable blowing and drifting.
Travel conditions are expected to deteriorate this weekend and be very hazardous by later Saturday evening through Sunday.
The bitterly cold Arctic air will set up camp across the region through the middle of next week.
AAA Kansas anticipates an increase in emergency roadside service calls as the wintry weather sweeps through and road conditions deteriorate, with slide-offs and crashes because of slick roads, battery/non-start problems, and flat tires. During January and February last year, AAA Kansas Emergency Roadside Service crews assisted more than 20,000 motorists across the state.
“The usual trend with winter storms is that many people stay off the roads during the worst of it, and then we see more roadside service calls for dead batteries, crashes and slide-offs afterward, once the storm has passed,” said Shawn Steward, public affairs manager for AAA Kansas. “With the winter precipitation forecast for Saturday and Sunday, we anticipate high call volume on Monday, as many people head back to work or school.”