The evidence of recent snowfall will likely linger for the next few days, however, its impact on local travel conditions is lessening.
After travel came to a near-halt across the listening area Thursday morning due to a combination of up to 9 inches of snow and northerly winds up to 40 mph causing near-zero visibility and significant drifts, sunshine and temperatures in the upper 30’s have helped to ease the burden on motorists throughout the day Friday.
City and county road crews have been busy over the past 24-hours and those efforts, in addition to the more favorable weather conditions, appear to have paid off according to Assistant Lyon County Engineer Jim Brull.
Emporia roadways are also seeing tremendous improvement with most arterial roadways clear and passable while most collector and residential streets remain slick and snow-covered. Public Works Director Dean Grant says crews do not plan to treat or blade roads in the morning and overnight hours through Saturday as the warmer temperatures and sunshine will likely have the greatest impact.
Most of the accumulated snowfall should begin to disappear across the listening area over the course of the weekend with highs forecasted to be in the 40’s and 60’s Saturday and Sunday.
The current forecast calls for dry conditions until late next week, with a slight chance of snowfall Thursday.
Friday’s list of schedule adjustments was considerably lighter than Thursday:
Click here for the KVOE.com Closings and Cancellations page.
Be sure to join KVOE’s social media channels — Facebook and Instagram, both @kvoenews, Twitter@kvoeam1400 — to get instant weather, travel and schedule adjustment information when it’s divulged. If you need to track highway conditions, go online to www.kandrive.org.
12 pm Friday: WEATHER: Travel better ‘by the hour’ with sunshine, highs in mid-30s expected
In Emporia and across Lyon County, travel conditions are improving “by the hour,” according to Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope.
Travel came to a near-halt across the county Thursday morning. A combination of up to 9 inches of snow and northerly winds up to 40 mph caused near-zero visibility and significant drifts. Breezes are still up as high as 20-30 mph, but sunshine and temperatures into the 20s have helped road conditions considerably — with some exceptions.
Traffic is getting back to normal levels, if not normal speed, after one of the more significant snowfalls of the past decade locally:
*KVOE studios: 6 inches
*Emporia city limits: 5.3-9 inches. Emporia hadn’t seen a 9-inch snowfall since 12.6 inches of snow at the Municipal Airport on Feb. 9, 2011
*Admire: 3.5-3.9 inches
*Allen: 4 inches
*Americus: 5 inches
*BETO Junction: 5.5 inches
*Burlington: 4.5-6 inches
*Cottonwood Falls: 3.7-4 inches
*Council Grove: 0.7-2 inches
*Dunlap: 4 inches
*Eureka: 7.5 inches
*Hartford: 6.3 inches
*Lake Kahola: 1-2 inches with 3-foot drifts
*LeRoy: 5.5 inches of snow and 0.25 inches of freezing rain
*Lyndon: 8 inches
*Melvern: 8 inches
*Olpe: 7 inches
*Osage City: 7.5 inches
*Reading: 3 inches
*Waverly: 6 inches
There are still several schedule adjustments to report, although the list isn’t nearly as long as the one from Thursday. Click here for the KVOE.com Closings and Cancellations page.
5:30 am Friday: Conditions to improve considerably Friday after up to 9 inches of snow areawide
Traffic will likely be much heavier across the area Friday than it was Thursday, when moderate to heavy snowfall and 30-to-40 mph winds caused near-whiteout conditions and caused a host of noninjury crashes.
Lyon County deputies had to work longer shifts to handle the wrecks that unfolded, especially between sunrise and noon with 10 slideoff crashes reported on Interstate 35 alone. Deputy Danny Broyles says county resources were stretched thin at the peak of the storm.
Conditions have improved somewhat Friday, but there are still slick spots in Emporia where streets cleared late Thursday but refroze — or where streets never saw any clearing. Beyond the city limits, travel issues appear to be more notable south of Emporia than north — and the reason was the snowfall bulls-eye that set up along the Kansas Turnpike and Interstate 35:
*KVOE studios: 6 inches
*Emporia city limits: 5.3-9 inches
*Admire: 3.5-3.9 inches
*Allen: 4 inches
*Americus: 5 inches
*BETO Junction: 5.5 inches
*Burlington: 4.5-6 inches
*Cottonwood Falls: 3.7-4 inches
*Council Grove: 0.7-2 inches
*Dunlap: 4 inches
*Eureka: 7.5 inches
*Hartford: 6.3 inches
*Lake Kahola: 1-2 inches with 3-foot drifts
*LeRoy: 5.5 inches of snow and 0.25 inches of freezing rain
*Lyndon: 8 inches
*Melvern: 8 inches
*Olpe: 7 inches
*Osage City: 7.5 inches
*Reading: 3 inches
*Waverly: 6 inches
Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell is asking drivers to be safe and prepared Friday morning.
Because of the travel conditions, there are still several schedule adjustments to report, although the list isn’t nearly as long as the one from Thursday. Click here for the latest schedule adjustments on the KVOE.com Closings and Cancellations page.
The current forecast calls for dry conditions until late next week, with a slight chance of snowfall Thursday.
Be sure to join KVOE’s social media channels — Facebook and Instagram, both @kvoenews, Twitter@kvoeam1400 — to get instant weather, travel and schedule adjustment information when it’s divulged. If you need to announce a schedule adjustment, call KVOE at 620-342-1400 or email kvoe@kvoe.com. If you need to track highway conditions, go online to www.kandrive.org.
