Yet another Winter system

Snow began to fall this afternoon in the southwest, with Kismet already reporting 1" as I type this. Expecting another inch or slightly more for those areas southeast of Dodge City.

Not expecting a whole lot here in Wichita. Less than an inch of snow is expected overnight.

It's almost March. Bring on Spring!

Wind Machine's cranked up this morning

It hasn't taken very long to get the winds howlin' this morning. Though 9am, we have already had gusts at or above 40 mph in Hill City, Salina and Medicine Lodge. A wind advisory covers much of central and western Kansas through the late afternoon.

On the map above, the station plots tell the story from Nebraska and Iowa all the way to Texas: it's a windy one out there.

It's interesting to listen to the wind from here in the studio where the weather office is located. You can hear the wind whistling through the tower and guy wires. It sounds ominous at times but when you hear it you know it isn't a good hair day or an easy one to drive in.

Confessions of a Meteorologist

This is the second day in a row that I've forecasted 6-8" of snow for the Wichita Metro today through Monday afternoon. Typically the forecast gets tweaked a little from shift to shift and that's certainly been the case with this one. We've backed down a little with amounts expected to our north. In fact, right now I'd probably say Goodland will be right around 1 inch.

However, I haven't changed my tune on Wichita.

Forecasting snowfall amounts is tough enough as it is but now comes the really agonizing part: waiting for verification. As always, I want my forecast to be as accurate as can be. All of us here at Storm Team 12 really care about the forecast product we create each day! When I'm done with my shift, I'll be just like you: watching out the window this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow.

Except we're the ones who will get stopped in the store if the forecast is off...

Safe driving!