Winter Weather in Neosho, Kansas

There was a longer winter event including freezing drizzle and freezing rain before transitioning to snow. The full transition to snow occurred just before 10AM on the 5th based on the observations from the Chanute Martin Johnson Airport. The storm total flat ice accumulation based on the airport sensor was 0.33 of an inch which was combined with sustained winds around 15 mph which increased closer to 20 mph in the afternoon of the 5th. There is at least one known vehicular accident during the morning of the 5th with no apparent injuries.

A powerful long duration winter storm moved into Kansas during the weekend of January 4th and 5th. The event started with freezing drizzle and drizzle; there were numerous slide offs across the state on the 4th. As the intensity of the precipitation increased, this freezing rain led to flat ice accumulations up to 0.66 which was reported in Russell.

Gradually colder air was ushered in with this system, and this transitioned the precipitation type to sleet then eventually snow. Embedded thunderstorms helped to enhance the accumulations and even produced some graupel. Strong northwest winds created blizzard conditions for much of Kansas. The highest snowfall accumulations occurred in north central and northeast Kansas with over a foot reported. A combination of the initial ice followed by blowing and drifting snow created dangerous travel conditions with most of the highways closed for several hours.