Feb. 21/22 Recap & A Look Ahead

The storm system this past weekend brought a mix of precipitation types to parts of the central Plains. Areas of flooding occurred and are ongoing due to substantial rainfall amounts across central Missouri this past weekend. An area from south-central Kansas into the Kansas City Metro saw ice accumulations of a few tenths to nearly a half-inch in a few isolated areas. Sleet was also a common precipitation type over the weekend, with several roadways in eastern Kansas and western Missouri becoming hazardous with slush accumulations of a half-inch or greater. And lastly there was snow, varying from around an inch on the south side of the Kansas City Metro and across I70 in Missouri to just an inch or so over parts of southern Iowa. In between however, a swath of 6-10 inches covered areas of northern Missouri with isolated amounts nearing 12 inches. Strong northwest winds allowed for blowing and drifting of the snow as well, creating large drifts in open areas and making travel impossible in some areas through the day on Sunday. To view all of the reports that came in from the region, check out the link posted below:

http://www.severeplains.com/snowfall_022210.html


To view other reports from the region, check your local NWS office homepage. The NWS in Kansas City has also provided a brief summary of the events that occurred in the metro area in regards to precipitation types. This includes a vertical cross-section image that shows the warm layer just above the surface that was responsible for the freezing rain over the southern metro area. The ongoing snow continues to make its' way into the record books, with a record daily snowfall at Kansas City International. With rounds of snowfall in Des Moines on Friday, they continued to increase their snow depth and continue to break records for the most consecutive and non-consecutive days with specific snow depth amounts. Plenty of other records are out there being broken as well, with plenty more likely to fall as the winter isn't about to give in to Spring.

Looking ahead for the remainder of the week, a cold front will sweep through the Plains tomorrow bringing with it the chance of flurries and some light snow mainly Iowa and eastern Missouri. Accumulations are expected to be little to none across the region due to limited moisture and meager lift along the boundary. The cold front passage will bring a reinforcement of cold air that will keep us well below normal for Wednesday and Thursday. Another storm system on Friday will bring the chance of precipitation to areas of the southern Plains, will have to watch and see how far north the precip chances can make it for Friday.