FORECAST TODAY. WE HAVE A MDIL BREYEZ DAY 64 DEGREES DONNA ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING AN EYE ON THE PSET AND TOMORROW’S WINTER STORM TONIGHT THIS BEGINS AS RAIN AND THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN THERE’S A MIXTURE OF SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN. I’LL SHOW YOU WHY AND THEN IT WILL CHANGE ALL OVER TO SNOW TOMORROW LATER IN THE MORNING DAN THROUGHOUT THE EARLY AFTERNOON. THE TEMPERATURE WILL BE GOING NOWHERE. SO RIGHT NOW, NOW THE AIR IS VERY WARM FROM THE CLOUD ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND. SO THEREFORE WE ARE GOING TO BE GETTING RAIN FIRST. MAYBE JUST EVEN DRILE POSSIBLY EVEN A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. JUST SOUTH OF I-70HERE T WILL BE WARM AIR THAT STAYS ABOVE THE SURFACE BUT COLD AIRHAT T WEDGES IN AT THE SURFACE DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. SO UR RAIN WILL THEN REFREEZE ON ANYTHING THAT’S BELOW 32 DEGREES AND THEN WE GET THE FREEZING RAIN LATER IN THE MORNING THAT COLD AIR IS GOING TO BE GETTING DEEPER. DEEPER SO THEREFORE THE RAIN THE SNOW MELTS HIS RAIN AND THEN HAS TIME TO REFREEZE THIS LITTLE ICE PELLETS. THAT WILL BE THE TEIM WHEN WE HAVE SLEET AND THEN EVENTUALLY THE ENTIRE COLUMN OF AIR WILL BE COLD ENOUGH JUST FOR SNOW AND THAT’S WHEN WE’RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH ABOUT THREE HOURS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW. THAT’S WHAT IT LOOKED ON A DIAGRAM. THIS IS WHAT IT MAY LOOK LIKE ON RADAR WHERE WE START WITH OUR DRIZZLE WATCH FOR SHADES OF YELLOW AND RED. THAT WOULD BE HEAVIER RAIN AND PO SSIBLY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS PINK. US WHERE WE WOULD EXPECT FIRST THAT FREEZING RNAI AND CHANGING OVER TO SLEET SO MUCH OF THIS PRECIPITATION ATIX S IN THE MORNING FROM MARSHALL TO WARRENSBURG TO BUTLER MAYBE ACROSS THE STATE LINE OVER TOWARDS LACINE WILL BE SLEET AND THEN CHANGING TOHE T BLUE COLOR WHICH IS ALL SNOW. SO WE HAVE SEVERAL PHASES OF PRECIPITATION TO GO THROUGH ALL OF WHICH ARE GOING TO MAKE THE ROADWAYS SLIPPERY NO MATRTE HOW THICK THEY ARE IT IS GOING TO BE A SLIPPERY DAY TOMORROW SNOWFALL DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH OR HOW SOON WE TRANSITION FROM SETLE TO SNOW COULD BE IN THE RANGE OF SIX TO EIGHT INCHES IN TSHI RED AREA, WHICH DOES COME UP TO ABOUT I-70 AND DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY,UT B MOST OF US WILL SEE FOUR TO SIX INCHES OF SNOW WITH A LAYER OF ICE BELOW THAT WE’LL TAKE A SHORT BREAK. NICK BENDER WILL BEAC BK AND HE’LL TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR NINE DAY FORECAST HELPOU PREPARE FOR THE WEEKEND AND THE DAYS AHEA
KDOT and MoDOT lay out plans and advice for upcoming winter storm
Kansas City road crews will address high-volume routes first. (I-70, I-29, I-435, 71 Hwy, I-49,)
Updated: 2:06 PM CST Feb 16, 2022
The Missouri Department of Transportation and the Kansas Department of Transportation Kansas City have laid out their plan for the upcoming winter storm. In advance of upcoming inclement weather, roads will not be pre-treated, as rain is expected before the snow, and may turn to ice. These conditions do not allow pre-treatment material to be effective on roadways.High winds are also posing an additional risk, KDOT advice to motorists:Stay at home when possible or delay driving Thursday morning, to give snowplows time and physical space to clear roads, ramps, and bridges.Know before you go. (kcscout.com for KC metro road conditions or kandrive.org / phone 5-1-1 for statewide road conditions)Keep essential items in your vehicle – a “mini survival kit” (cell phone/charger, ice scraper, jumper cables, flashlight, bottled water, non-perishable food, blankets, first aid kit, etc.).Before driving, remove any snow on your vehicle’s windows, lights, brake lights and signals. Make sure you can see AND be seen.Be very careful driving around snowplows. They are entering and exiting the roadways frequently and traveling below the posted speed limit.Call for roadside assistance if needed (*47 on KS highways or *582 on KS Turnpike, if an emergency, dial 9-1-1)MoDOT Winter storm plan:Crews at all of the maintenance facilities will be fully staffed beginning at 11 p.m. Wednesday.Crews will treat roads with salt when it transitions from freezing rain to snow. Rain hampers the ability of crews to pretreat roads for the storm. Depending on the storm’s location, some crews will also use salt brine.Road crews will address high-volume routes first. (I-70, I-29, I-435, 71 Hwy, I-49, etc.) lower volume roads will be taken care of next (lettered routes & outer roads).The MoDOT EOC (Emergency Operations Center) will also come in at 11 p.m. The EOC monitors the roads via the KC Scout cameras and dispatches additional crew as needed.Kansas City Scout will be fully staffed at midnight. Their main focus will be assisting with vehicle crashes and clearing crash scenes.On Tuesday the MoDOT urged drivers to be cautious of slick roads Thursday.“Because rain is expected to begin Wednesday, we will not be able to have crews out to treat ahead of the snow.” MoDOT chief safety and operations officer Becky Allmeroth said. “Motorists should watch for heavy rain and potential flash flooding Wednesday evening. Then a glazing of ice under the Thursday morning snowfall will make the morning commute particularly slippery. We expect snow and cold temperatures will affect road conditions through overnight Thursday. Please use caution and slow down if you need to travel Wednesday night through Friday morning”The services offered by RideKC may also be affected by the incoming winter storm. In anticipation of the winter storm RideKC Freedom, RideKC Freedom on Demand, RideKC Flex, RideKC Microtransit and RideKC Flex in Lee’s Summit will all begin service Thursday, February 17th, in Weather Phase B. Riders can anticipate delays and ride times of up to an hour or more in some locations, and strongly urge customers to reschedule travel plans for a safer day.Check current Missouri road conditions on the Traveler Information Map at www.modot.org and in Kansas City follow our traffic alerts online and on Twitter @KMBCTraffic
The Missouri Department of Transportation and the Kansas Department of Transportation Kansas City have laid out their plan for the upcoming winter storm.
In advance of upcoming inclement weather, roads will not be pre-treated, as rain is expected before the snow, and may turn to ice. These conditions do not allow pre-treatment material to be effective on roadways.
High winds are also posing an additional risk,
KDOT advice to motorists:
- Stay at home when possible or delay driving Thursday morning, to give snowplows time and physical space to clear roads, ramps, and bridges.
- Know before you go. (kcscout.com for KC metro road conditions or kandrive.org / phone 5-1-1 for statewide road conditions)
- Keep essential items in your vehicle – a “mini survival kit” (cell phone/charger, ice scraper, jumper cables, flashlight, bottled water, non-perishable food, blankets, first aid kit, etc.).
- Before driving, remove any snow on your vehicle’s windows, lights, brake lights and signals. Make sure you can see AND be seen.
- Be very careful driving around snowplows. They are entering and exiting the roadways frequently and traveling below the posted speed limit.
- Call for roadside assistance if needed (*47 on KS highways or *582 on KS Turnpike, if an emergency, dial 9-1-1)
MoDOT Winter storm plan:
- Crews at all of the maintenance facilities will be fully staffed beginning at 11 p.m. Wednesday.
- Crews will treat roads with salt when it transitions from freezing rain to snow. Rain hampers the ability of crews to pretreat roads for the storm.
- Depending on the storm’s location, some crews will also use salt brine.
- Road crews will address high-volume routes first. (I-70, I-29, I-435, 71 Hwy, I-49, etc.) lower volume roads will be taken care of next (lettered routes & outer roads).
- The MoDOT EOC (Emergency Operations Center) will also come in at 11 p.m. The EOC monitors the roads via the KC Scout cameras and dispatches additional crew as needed.
- Kansas City Scout will be fully staffed at midnight. Their main focus will be assisting with vehicle crashes and clearing crash scenes.
On Tuesday the MoDOT urged drivers to be cautious of slick roads Thursday.
“Because rain is expected to begin Wednesday, we will not be able to have crews out to treat ahead of the snow.” MoDOT chief safety and operations officer Becky Allmeroth said. “Motorists should watch for heavy rain and potential flash flooding Wednesday evening. Then a glazing of ice under the Thursday morning snowfall will make the morning commute particularly slippery. We expect snow and cold temperatures will affect road conditions through overnight Thursday. Please use caution and slow down if you need to travel Wednesday night through Friday morning”
The services offered by RideKC may also be affected by the incoming winter storm.
In anticipation of the winter storm RideKC Freedom, RideKC Freedom on Demand, RideKC Flex, RideKC Microtransit and RideKC Flex in Lee’s Summit will all begin service Thursday, February 17th, in Weather Phase B. Riders can anticipate delays and ride times of up to an hour or more in some locations, and strongly urge customers to reschedule travel plans for a safer day.
Check current Missouri road conditions on the Traveler Information Map at www.modot.org and in Kansas City follow our traffic alerts online and on Twitter @KMBCTraffic
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism