[h=2]Live: Blizzard Shutting Down Travel in the Plains
[h=6]By
Meghan Evans, Meteorologist [h=5]February 21, 2013; 2:28 PM
Share |
AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Bernie Rayno details the impacts, timing and snow amounts with the Plains blizzard.
A blizzard is under way across portions of northern Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri on Thursday.
More than a foot of snow has already piled up over some communities in Kansas, where totals could climb upwards to 2 feet.
RELATED:
Blizzard Under Way Across the Plains
Latest AccuWeather.com Snow Map
Flight Tracker and Current Airport Delays
Kansas City Radar
Travel is extremely dangerous along major interstates, including I-35, I-70 and I-80.
[h=3]Updates:
1:21 p.m. CST Thursday: Trees and power lines are beginning to break under the weight of ice in Batesville, Ark. More than 2,000 people are without power in the Batesville area. There have also been reports of a tree down on a house in Independence County.
1:10 p.m. CST Thursday: The emergency manager has measured 10 inches of snow in Salina, Kan.
12:40 p.m. CST Thursday: Roads are bad in Missouri. Here's a webcam in Odessa, Mo.
12:30 p.m. CST Thursday: National Weather Service in Tucson released snow totals from the blizzard in the area Wednesday, with up to 30 inches reported. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph were also reported.
STORM REPORT
12:10 p.m. CST Thursday: Dangerous conditions have closed I-70 in north central Kansas from Salina to Hays, as of 11:48 a.m. CST.
Up to 9 inches of snow has fallen in Nebraska.
The National Weather Service office in North Platte published a storm report of snow totals and photos from the storm.
11:40 a.m. CST Thursday: SevereStudios Storm Chaser Brian Davidson shot this video of the blizzard Thursday in Hays, Kan. Visibility was low and snow covered the roads:
11:20 a.m. CST Thursday: The
Missouri Department of Transportation road condition map shows snow-covered roads (in pink) across much of the state:
11:10 a.m. CST Thursday: A storm total snowfall through 11:00 a.m. CST Thursday is 5.0 inches near North Platte, Neb.
11:00 a.m. CST Thursday: According to
FAA, the Kansas City International Airport is expected to reopen is Feb. 21 at 9:00 a.m. CST.
10:30 a.m. CST Thursday: Kansas City, Mo., recorded 5.0 inches of snow in two hours. @KCIAirport tweeted: "At this time KCI Airport is closed due to severe weather conditions. Stay tuned for more information as it arrives."
10:10 a.m. CST Thursday: Lyons, Kan., has a fresh foot of snow on the ground with drifting occurring. Overland Park, Kan., has recorded 8.0 inches of snow. A total of 7.0 inches has been reported so far 2 miles north of Lees Summit, Mo.
9:40 a.m. CST Thursday: 6.0 inches of snow has been measured in Independence, Mo.
9:15 a.m. CST Thursday: Heavy snow and sleet have been slamming much of Missouri the last couple of hours. Kansas City, Mo., has received 2 inches in the past hour with near-zero visibility occurring throughout the area currently. Thunder has also occurred in the city.
Local Radar Joplin, Mo., has recorded 1.50 inches of sleet.
9:33 a.m. CST Thursday: An inch of snow has fallen 5 miles south of Danville, Mo. Thunder was occurring with the heavy snow.
8:45 a.m. CST Thursday: The FAA reports that snow and ice are causing flight delays and/or cancellations at Denver International Airport and Kansas City International Airport.
Flight Tracker and Current Airport Delays
8:15 a.m. CST Thursday: This snowstorm may end up ranking as one of the top five biggest snowstorms in history for Wichita, Kan. The following is a list of the five worst snowstorms to hit:
Rank | Snow Total | Dates |
---|
1 | 15.0 inches | Jan. 17-18, 1962 |
2 | 13.6 inches | March 15-16, 1970 |
3 | 12.8 inches | Feb. 21-22, 1971 |
4 | 12.8 inches | Dec. 23-24, 1918 |
5 | 12.0 inches | March 9, 1909 |
| | |