Bracing for the prospect of more snow and related travel issues Monday, virtually all area school districts have canceled school, while Emporia’s higher education offices have closed and other schedule adjustments have been announced as well.
Currently, the only area school districts holding class are Eureka and Hamilton. Most other area districts, including USD 253 Emporia, began canceling Monday classes by late Sunday afternoon.
Flint Hills Technical College has canceled classes for Monday, while Emporia State University has closed its administrative and department offices. Also, the Emporia Senior Center is closed and LCAT routes have been canceled. Click here for a full list of schedule adjustments.
Travel conditions across the KVOE listening area were less than ideal for most of Sunday, and they will not be at full speed overnight. In Emporia, major arterials and residential collector streets were not heavily traveled so they are partly to mostly covered. Residential streets are slick, as are bridges, overpasses and untreated sidewalks and parking lots.
Outside the Emporia city limits, most area highways are completely snow-covered. US Highway 50 is partly covered west of the Lyon-Chase county line, while Kansas Highway 99 is also partly covered south of the Lyon-Greenwood county line and Kansas Highway 58 is partly covered east of Madison. The Kansas Turnpike has had seasonal driving conditions all day Sunday.
Travel conditions may be hampered further shortly after midnight as snow redevelops across the KVOE listening area. Current projections from the National Weather Service offices in Topeka and Wichita indicate another 1-4 inches of snow for the area, with the heaviest snow along Interstate 35 from western Franklin County through Emporia and then southwest to Hutchinson. This follows light to moderate snowfall across the KVOE listening area from Sunday:
*KVOE studios: 3 inches
*Central Emporia: 4 inches
*Southeast Emporia: 2.7 inches
*Burlington: 1 inch
*Cottonwood Falls: 4 inches
*Council Grove: 5 inches
*Eureka: 0.10 inches
*Lebo: 3.5 inches
*Madison: 1.1 inches
*New Strawn: 3 inches
*Plymouth: 3 inches
*Reading: 5 inches
*Wonsevu: 0.50 inches
Crews across the area are poised to head out early Monday if the forecast develops as predicted.
Winter storm warnings posted for Chase, Morris and Wabaunsee counties have either expired or were canceled early by the National Weather Service, meaning Lyon and all surrounding counties are in winter weather advisories until 6 pm Monday.
5-8 pm Sunday: USD 253 Emporia, FHTC, nearby districts cancel Monday classes
With 2-5 inches of snow on the ground, if not more, across the KVOE listening area Sunday and more snow expected Monday, USD 253 Emporia and most nearby districts have decided to cancel school.
Cancellations for Monday:
*USD 253 Emporia closed. All activities postponed
*Emporia Christian School closed
*ECKAN Head Start closed
*Sacred Heart School closed
*USD 251 North Lyon County closed
*USD 252 Southern Lyon County closed
*USD Lebo-Waverly closed
*USD 284 Chase County closed. Reschedule date of Chase County High School winter music program to be determined
*USD 386 Madison-Virgil closed
*USD 417 Morris County closed
*USD 420 Osage City closed
*Osage City Preschool closed
*USD 421 Lyndon closed
*USD 456 Marais des Cygnes Valley closed
In addition, Emporia Senior Center is closed and LCAT has canceled all Monday routes. The Salvation Army of Emporia has also canceled its Monday bread line. Click here for the full list.
The KVOE studios have received 2 inches of snow since it started around 5 am. Other totals:
*Central Emporia: 4 inches
*Southeast Emporia: 2.7 inches
*Cottonwood Falls: 4 inches
*Council Grove: 5 inches
*Lebo: 3.5 inches
*Madison: 1.1 inches
*Plymouth: 3 inches
*Reading: 5 inches
Driving conditions range from seasonal on select area highways to completely covered for most of the area.
*The Kansas Turnpike has had seasonal driving conditions since the snow began in the 4 am hour. It has also had a long list of slideoff crashes. Areawide, the worst portion of the highway has been in Chase County, but KTA dispatchers say the slideoffs have been legion from terminal to terminal.
*US Highway 50 is currently partly snowpacked west of the Lyon-Chase county line.
*Kansas Highway 99 is partly snowpacked south of the Lyon-Greenwood county line.
*Kansas Highway 58 is partly snowpacked east of Madison.
Current forecasts indicate the area could receive at least two more inches of snowfall beginning well before sunrise Monday. Total accumulations could range from 3-8 inches with locally higher amounts.
Chase, Morris and Wabaunsee counties remain in winter storm warnings with the prospect of 8 inches of snow possible through Monday in those counties. Chase County’s warning expires at 6 pm Monday, while the warning for Morris County now ends at 9 pm Sunday and Wabaunsee County’s warning ends at midnight Monday. Morris County will re-enter a winter weather advisory from 3 am to 6 pm Monday. Lyon County and other surrounding counties remain in winter weather advisories until 6 pm Monday.
Be sure to stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for updates. Also, be sure to join KVOE social media on Facebook@kvoenews and Twitter@kvoeam1400 for updates this weekend — and take the time to download KVOE’s free mobile app for our weather coverage wherever you may be. If you have schedule adjustments or snow totals to report, call KVOE at 342-1400, email kvoe@kvoenews, post to Facebook@kvoenews or use the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863.
