Heavy Snow in Shawnee, Kansas

An early season winter storm produced a record breaking heavy wet snow in most of northeast and east central Kansas. Accumulations ranged from 3 to 8 inches at most locations east of a line from Marysville in northwest Marshall County to Herrington in extreme southeast Dickinson County. A few places received 9 to 11 inches. Scattered thunderstorms locally enhanced the snowfall rates, causing amounts to vary greatly over short distances. The National Weather Service at the Billard Airport in Topeka recorded 8.0 inches which set a new twenty-four hour and monthly snowfall record for October. Some other specific snowfall totals included Alta Vista 11, Council Grove 8 1/2, Lawrence 8, Hiawatha 8, Oskaloosa 8, and Ottawa 6.Since leaves still remained on many trees the stress from the weight of the snow on the leaves caused extensive damage to limbs which fell onto power lines and electrical transformers. The result was widespread power outages with more than 75,000 customers in northeast Kansas without power at the peak of the storm. The power company which services the region estimated 2.5 million dollars of damage to its operations. The storm also contributed to numerous traffic accidents with over 100 confirmed in Topeka and Shawnee County and over 40 in Pottawatomie County. One fatal accident occurred on US Highway 40 in Douglas County 1 mile east of Big Springs when a car collided head-on with a semi-truck. Another fatal accident occured in Osage County along the Kansas Turnpike 20 miles southwest of Topeka when a car struck the guard rail then another vehicle that was parked along the shoulder of the highway. (F22V) (F26V)