Emporia’s travel conditions have improved since we had widespread snowpack across town and some significant ice patches in downtown early Thursday.
Public Works Director Dean Grant has said a combination of factors conspired against a cleaner look to city streets after snow began falling early Wednesday: the snowfall itself, plus wind gusts as high as 35 mph and temperatures that never got above 20 degrees. Grant also says city crews can’t put their plows on the ground as KDOT crews can.
Lyon County crews have been dealing with blowing and drifting issues all day, and at times drifts were at least three feet deep. A number of county residents have complained about their roads not being opened, but County Engineer Chip Woods says crews have been out repeatedly since Wednesday morning.
Another issue: some vehicles were left on county roads without prior notice to the Sheriff’s Office or Highway Department. Woods says this slows down the overall snow-clearing effort because snowplows have to essentially circle around that affected road to get the rest of the road cleared. Woods says county residents can call the Sheriff’s Office at 620-341-3205 or the Highway Department at 620-340-8220 if their vehicles are out on a county road, especially if they may be stuck in a snowdrift.
Grant says thanks to a combination of sunshine Thursday and early morning treatment, city roadways are improving significantly. Lyon County Assistant Engineer Jim Brull says road conditions have improved along most paved roads in the county including Americus Road which for the most part is passable with some occasional slick spots.
He says conditions on a handful of paved roads, including Burlingame Road, are still spotty while most gravel roads remain heavily snow-packed and are still experiencing some issues with drifting snow. Grant says early morning commutes could be somewhat “treacherous” as refreezing of surfaces is a concern with temperatures forecasted to drop into the single digits overnight.
Thankfully Grant says he does not expect slick conditions to be as long-lasting as they have been in previous days and crews will be out treating wherever needed to help limit the impact of any refreezing that occurs.
Conditions vary for most area highways with Kansas Highway 99 and US Highway 50 still experiencing seasonal driving conditions while the Kansas Turnpike remains partially snow-covered from Emporia to Wichita. Interstate 35 is experiencing seasonal conditions in areas between Emporia and Lebo with mostly clear conditions beyond.
We could start losing the snow by the weekend, with highs in the upper 30s Saturday and low 40s Sunday. The first half of the week looks to be dry as well.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. Be sure to join KVOE’s social media channels on Facebook and Instagram, both @kvoenews, and Twitter@kvoeam1400. If you have a schedule adjustment to report, call KVOE at 620-342-1400 or email kvoe@kvoe.com. Track highway conditions online at www.kandrive.org.
5:00 am Thursday: WEATHER: Emporia streets snow-packed and occasionally icy, Lyon County’s east-west roads in worse shape than north-south roads
Snowfall is over, but travel issues will likely persist through much of Thursday after our most significant winter storm of the season Wednesday.
Snow totals generally ranged from 2-5 inches areawide:
*KVOE studios: 5 inches
*North Emporia: 5 inches
*Northwest Emporia: 4.8 inches
*Bushong: 5 inches
*Cottonwood Falls: 4.5 inches
*Council Grove: 3 inches
*Gridley: 3 inches
*Eureka: 4 inches
*Neosho Rapids: 3 inches
*Thrall: 1.9 inches
The snow combined with northerly winds anywhere from 15-35 mph to cause visibility issues Wednesday, along with drifting that continues at this time. Lyon County Deputy Sgt. Zach Shafer:
Shafer says drifts are up to three feet deep. East-west roads are in notably worse shape than north-south roads Thursday morning, and some may not be passable. He’s asking drivers to be patient, drive slower than normal and give other vehicles extra space. He also credited drivers for using that approach overnight with deputies only responding to a handful of slideoff incidents.
Kandrive.org indicates some improvements in highway conditions since Wednesday morning, when highways were completely snow-covered across the area. Aside from the Kansas Turnpike, though, highways are still at least partly covered Thursday morning.
KDOT and Lyon County crews are out, with Emporia crews heading out Thursday morning as well. The city got a later start than the other agencies early Wednesday, and Public Works Director Dean Grant says the combination of weather conditions made the snow treatment efforts somewhat ineffective.
Wind chills have been at or below zero since mid-evening Wednesday, and the combination of travel issues and subzero wind chills caused another major round of schedule adjustments across the area. Click here for the KVOE.com Closings and Cancellations page.
Travel conditions early Wednesday led to one injury crash on the Kansas Turnpike near the Admire-Council Grove exit. 21-year-old Destiny Staley of Osage City lost control due to snow and hit the center barrier. She was taken to Newman Regional Health with possible injuries afterward. Details about a crash Tuesday night near the Turnpike’s Flint Hills Cattle Pens exit 15 miles southwest of Emporia have not been released.
There is good news in the weather department. All winter storm warnings were canceled well ahead of their expiration time of noon Thursday. By Friday, temperatures will be near freezing and we could see the 40s for highs by Sunday.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. Be sure to join KVOE’s social media channels on Facebook and Instagram, both @kvoenews, and Twitter@kvoeam1400. If you have a schedule adjustment to report, call KVOE at 620-342-1400 or email kvoe@kvoe.com. Track highway conditions online at kandrive.org.
