Winter Storm — Clay, Missouri

2013-12-21 to 2013-12-22 · Clay, Missouri

Event narrative

Freezing rain moved into the area early in the afternoon on December 21. The time in which the ice accumulated was not very long, but in the 6-8 hours between when the freezing rain began and when it transitioned into light snow about .10 to .40 of ice accumulated. Trained spotters reported the various ice amounts, however the ASOS at nearby Kansas City International Airport (KMCI) reported .37 of rain while reporting freezing rain. After the freezing rain transitioned to snow 1-6 of snow was reported across the county, including 3.3 at the KCI airport, and a 6 report from the northern part of the county. Several vehicle spin outs were reported across the Kansas City Metro area. While scattered power outages were reported, and despite the several disabled vehicles on the roads, widespread effects were not incredibly high impact. According to broadcast media a vehicle incident involving slippery roads occurred at Highway 152 and North Indiana Avenue. The driver passed away as a result of the incident.

Wider weather episode

Early on the morning of Saturday, December 21, 2013 an area of light to moderate rain moved northward into eastern Kansas and western Missouri. At the time of the rain surface temperatures were in the middle to upper 20s. The result was several hours of freezing rain across the aforementioned eastern Kansas and western and central Missouri areas, including the Kansas City metro area. Widespread reports of around .25 of ice accumulation were received by the NWS, with the highest report of .45 coming from Clinton, Missouri. After sunset the freezing rain gradually transitioned into sleet, then snow. By 9 pm Saturday night most of the area was receiving light to moderate snow. Areas north of Interstate 70 received about 6 to 8 inches of snow, with some locations reporting higher amounts. The highest official snow total the NWS received was 9.0 from spotters near St. Joseph and Grant City. The snow moved out of the area late Saturday night, leaving behind very slick roads and some minor damage caused by the ice.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 482515. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.