It was a wet, sloppy, slushy start to Thursday across the Kansas City metro as heavy rain transitioned to heavy snow overnight.
It was the change of 2° from 1-2 a.m. that caused rain to change to snow as the temperatures went from 35° to 33°.
Minute(s) later at 2:01 a.m., the temperature fell to 32°.
Near white-out conditions settled in as visibility was less than a mile for four hours.
KSHB 41 meteorologists Cassie Wilson and Lindsey Anderson have a great explanation about how you can think about this small change having a big impact.
Things lined up perfectly for the snow to accumulate early this morning! The slight change in surface temperatures covered our roads. @CassieKSHB explains more and relates it to baking cookies. YUM!! ❄️🍪 @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/0mSryMhsvf
— Lindsey Anderson (@lnanderson) February 9, 2023
Science is amazing.
A 2-3° change in temperature is very hard for us to feel, but when it comes to states of matter( solid, liquid, gas), every degree counts. That's what happened Thursday morning.
A 3-degree change in temperatures was a ~3" change in snow.
If you were caught off guard by the snow-covered roads in the morning, you were not alone as the crashes were piling up, causing the closure of Interstate 29.
I-29 NB CLOSED AT I-435@DaishaJonesKSHB @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/TQXvQvBu4J
— 41 Traffic Now (@41TrafficNow) February 9, 2023
Looking over I-70 E: First shot, car flipped, emergency vehicles. Second shot, the back up that we’re seeing because of it, along w the slick and snowy roads.@KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/TBJUdkv4FC
— Caroline Hogan KSHB (@CarolineHoganTV) February 9, 2023
KSHB 41 forecasts
In the days leading up to this snowfall event, we did not have high confidence in the snow sticking to the pavement as this scenario played out several times this winter — it just hasn't been cold enough for much of it to stick to the roads.
But we knew there was potential for heavier amounts as Jeff Penner blogged earlier this week.
It became apparent Wednesday evening that the snow was going to be heavier as temperatures would become colder.
So, Chief Meteorologist Mike Nicco adjusted the forecast for the 10 p.m. news.
How does it compare to what happened?
Leading up to snowfall events, it's important that you watch for updates because if the temperature changes a little, the accumulation changes a lot.
As we get closer to the onset of snowfall, we get a better picture of what the atmosphere is doing at that moment.
Thursday night
Anything that doesn't melt this afternoon will refreeze overnight as temperatures will likely fall below freezing.
There is another shot of some light snow near and southeast of Interstate 35 tonight. Mainly light snow is expected, but a quick little burst isn't out of the question. Accumulation will likely be less than an inch with it sticking to all surfaces.
Next chance of heavy snow
Part of the reason we had the cool down this morning was due to the track of the lower pressure as it moved near the Interstate 44 corridor.
There will be two systems that try to pass by next Tuesday-Friday.
The second system is the one to keep an eye on for more accumulating snow as it will follow a similar track to the one that just came through.
Thanks for reading, bloggers!
