Winter Weather Advisory - Snow & Ice

Sorry This Is Late!
To start off, NWS Kansas City has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 9 PM tonight through Noon Thursday (January 21st). Details can be found here or read below.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
232 PM CST WED JAN 20 2016

...LIGHT SNOW AND FREEZING DRIZZLE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...
WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL BUILD INTO THE AREA FROM SOUTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST THIS EVENING...SPREADING ACROSS THE ADVISORY AREA AFTER 9
PM. INITIAL PRECIPITATION TYPE MAY BE A MIX OF PATCHY FREEZING
DRIZZLE AND SLIGHT SLEET OR LIGHT SNOW...THEN WILL TRANSITION TO
MAINLY LIGHT SNOW DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS THURSDAY. A SECOND
TRANSITION BACK TO PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE BY MID
MORNING THURSDAY...BEFORE TAPERING OFF AROUND NOON. MINOR ICE
ACCUMULATIONS AND 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW MAY COMPLICATE TRAVEL LATE
TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING...INCLUDING DURING THE MORNING
COMMUTE.

Included Counties:
ATCHISON KS, MIAMI, LINN KS, LEAVENWORTH, WYANDOTTE, JOHNSON KS, PLATTE,
CLAY,JACKSON, CASS, JOHNSON MO, BATES, HENRY

Included Cities:
ATCHISON, PAOLA, MOUND CITY,
LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS CITY KS, OVERLAND PARK, OLATHE,
PARKVILLE, PLATTE CITY, WESTON, LIBERTY, EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, KANSAS CITY,
INDEPENDENCE, RAYMORE, HARRISONVILLE, PLEASANT HILL, WARRENSBURG, BUTLER, RICH HILL, CLINTON

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO
NOON CST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL HAS
ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND FREEZING DRIZZLE...
WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST THURSDAY.

* TIMING...LIGHT SLEET OR SNOW AND PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE MAY
  DEVELOP AS EARLY AS 9 PM. WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL BE MOST LIKELY
  BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND NOON THURSDAY.

* ACCUMULATIONS...A GLAZING OF ICE AND 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW ARE
  EXPECTED.

* MAIN IMPACT...THE COMBINATION OF SNOW ACCUMULATION AND FREEZING
  DRIZZLE WILL CAUSE ROADS TO BECOME SLICK TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
  MORNING...INCLUDING DURING THE THURSDAY MORNING COMMUTE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

Updated Graphics from NWS Kansas City

So What Does This Mean?
Expect some Snow overnight tonight and heading into tomorrow, later on switching over to Freezing Drizzle. That's going to cause roads by the morning rush hour. We expect this to generally just make a mess of the roads, very similar to Tuesday. Essentially, take it slow, let the road crews do their job during the day, and the evening drive home should be quite a bit better. Most everything should be out of the immediate metro by early afternoon, tops.

Again, if you can work from home, that might be a good option. But if you have to go in, allow some extra time to get where you need to go. That's really about it!

Stay safe out there,

--
Justin Gann - Founder
Twisted Skies Chase Team
Ground Truth | To Protect Life & Property
Established October 2014

Twitter | @TwistedSkiesWx
Facebook | TwistedSkiesChaseTeam
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Winter Weather Advisory 01/19 - 01/20

The "S" Word Is Making A Return
Yes, Snow! Expect some of that frozen precipitation to happen across most of the entire Kansas City region on Tuesday, maybe into Wednesday. The NWS Kansas City office is forecasting widespread 2" - 4". Expect some places to have locally higher or lower totals, as is always a possibility with any kind of precipitation.

Image Credit: NWS Kansas City

Image Credit: NWS Kansas City

Short & Brief
As with all Snow forecasts, expect there to be some differences between what Meteorologists give as a possibility versus what happens. There is always uncertainty with forecasts, as that is simply the nature of forecasting! Regardless of uncertainty, we should see some form of frozen precipitation, with a majority of it happening during the PM rush hour on Tuesday.

The current Snow Plumes indicate that some Freezing Rain / Sleet may fall between 9AM - Noon, switching over to all Snow by about Noon. As time rolls on into the afternoon, expect the Snow to pickup, reaching it's heaviest fall rate at around 6PM (about +1" per hour), eventually tapering off through the overnight hours. Again, roughly 2" - 4" are expected across most of the area.

Here are two other models for total Snow through 6AM on Wednesday which clearly show a bit of the uncertainty with the models.

NCEPGFS Total Snow

Image Credit: Weather Bell Models

 NAM4K Total Snow

Image Credit: Weather Bell Models

If you have the option to head home on lunch and finish out your day remotely, I would highly suggest trying to do so. The less people on the roads during the evening, the less hazardous it will be. That also means, the plows can more effectively do their job too.

That's it on the information we have. If you would like, please send us your Snow pics and Snow totals with time stamps & locations! We'd love to share your pics on social media! Please stay warm, and drive carefully.

Stay safe out there,

--
Justin Gann - Founder
Twisted Skies Chase Team
Ground Truth | To Protect Life & Property
Established October 2014

Twitter | @TwistedSkiesWx
Facebook | TwistedSkiesChaseTeam
YouTube | Twisted Skies