A swath of patchy freezing drizzle moved through the Kansas City area during the morning rush hour Friday, leading to a flurry of crashes that temporarily shut down two metro area highways.
Westbound Interstate 70 at The Paseo into downtown Kansas City as well as southbound Interstate 635 at Interstate 29 were temporarily closed while emergency crews worked numerous crashes.
Although very minor ice accumulations were expected, safety concerns over the potential of roads icing over convinced several school districts in the metro to cancel classes or switch to remote learning before the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.
Snow was expected to continue to fall Friday morning, primarily in areas north of the Missouri River. The highest snowfall totals were expected in far northern Missouri near the Iowa border, where 4 to 6 inches expected from the winter storm, the National Weather Service said.
The snowfall and wintry precipitation is expected to taper off Friday morning, the weather service said. Winds, however, are expected to pick up, leading to periods of significantly reduced visibility due to blowing snow in northern Missouri.
Dangerously cold temperatures on the way
For those who were in bed sleeping shortly after midnight, they missed what will be the warmest period in Kansas City for the next several days.
Since then, temperatures at Kansas City International Airport, which has the airport code MCI, dove from 27 degrees to 12 degrees shortly before 9 a.m. Temperatures are expected to fall to near zero degrees Friday night.
A northwest wind of 15 mph, gusting to 23 mph at times, has made it feel much colder. The wind chill at 9 a.m. was minus 5 degrees.
A wind chill warning is in effect from 6 p.m. to noon Tuesday as wind chills could tumble as low as 35 degrees below zero.
“Avoid outside activities if possible,” the weather service said in the warning. “When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.”
Near record cold is expected during that period.
Most of the Kansas City region will fail to escape the cold Saturday, as temperatures will remain in the single digits. The warmest Kansas City is expected to be is 3 degrees, the weather service said. Wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph, will drop wind chills between minus 10 and minus 25.
The temperature at the start of the Saturday evening NFL Wild Card football game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium are expected to be zero degrees, with a wind chill of 22 degrees below zero.
On Sunday, temperatures will struggle to climb above zero degrees across the Kansas City region. Wind chills will be around 20 below for many. It will be even colder Sunday night, with temperatures ranging from minus 5 degrees in the south to minus 17 degrees in northern Missouri.
“Not only that, but wind chills will plummet for the second night in a row,” the weather service said.
The dangerous, bitter cold will continue Monday and into Tuesday. The “good news” is that temperatures should slightly improve Tuesday, climbing into the teens for some areas.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the 20s during the later part of the week.
“Regardless of the exact numbers, these conditions can be extremely dangerous to those spending time outside who are unprepared,” the weather service said. “If you must go out even for a short period, dress in multiple layers. Cover all extremities including your head and face. Frostbite can occur in a matter of minutes in these temperatures.”
A live data feed from the National Weather Service containing official weather warnings, watches, and advisory statements. Tap warning areas for more details. Sources: NOAA, National Weather Service, NOAA GeoPlatform and Esri.
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