Wichita recorded 1.33 inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday, pushing the total for October to 3.82 inches. That’s 1.37 inches above the normal October total of 2.45 inches – or about 56%.
This latest rainfall event brings the total for 2009 to 36.58 inches, which is more than 9.5 inches above normal so far.
But the 36.58 inches this year is well behind last year’s record-setting total through late October of 51.19 inches. That number was boosted by the torrential rains dropped by the remnants of Hurricane Lowell in mid-September, and 2008 went on to become the wettest year in Wichita’s history.
Daylight Savings Time ends early Sunday morning, so don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour.
While you’re at it, change the batteries in your smoke detectors and weather radios. It’s also a good time to create or refine your emergency plan, as well as check emergency kits.
Among the items you should include in an emergency kit are:
One gallon of water per person, per day
Canned goods
Canned juices, milk and soup
High-energy foods such as peanut butter, jelly, granola bars, trail mix, and crackers
Comfort foods such as cookies, hard candy, cereal, instant coffee and tea bags
Clothing and Bedding
Sturdy shoes or work boots
Rain gear
Blankets and sleeping bags
A hat and gloves
Tools and Supplies
A battery-operated television or radio
Extra batteries
Flashlight and batteries
Cash or traveler’s checks and change
Manual can opener
Utility knife
Matches in a waterproof container
Paper or plastic eating utensils
Soap and other personal hygiene items
First Aid Kit
Sterile adhesive bandages
Sterile gauze pads
Adhesive tape
Scissors, tweezers, needles and safety pins
Antiseptic spray
Thermometer
For a complete list of items to include in your kit, visit Sedgwick County Emergency Management at www.sedgwickcounty.org.
A windy, partly sunny day is on tap for the Wichita area today, forecasters say.
Highs should nudge into the low 50s, with west winds blowing steadily in the teens and gusting to nearly 30 miles an hour. Lows will slip to the mid-30s, and patchy frost is likely overnight.
Halloween should be sunny with highs in the low 60s, forecasters say. Winds will be in single digits, and then overnight lows will be in the low 40s.
Another October snowstorm is battering Colorado and bearing down on northwest Kansas.
The National Weather Service in Goodland has issued a winter weather advisory until 7 a.m. Friday for portions of Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.
Snow and blowing snow is expected, with snowfall amounts ranging from 2 to 4 inches. North winds of 20 to 30 miles an hour will cause blowing and drifting snow, with reduced visibilities.
Kansas counties included in the advisory are Cheyenne, Sherman and Rawlins. Among the cities included are Goodland, Atwood and St. Francis.
The storm system had dumped nearly 44 inches of snow in the foothills of the Rockies northwest of Denver, from 15 to 25 inches on the urban corridor along the front range and 8 to 15 inches in eastern Colorado.
I-70 is currently closed between Burlington and Denver.
The steady rain that arrived in Wichita late last night and accentuated its presence with sporadic blasts of thunder shortly before dawn won’t let up in the metropolitan area until late this morning, forecasters say.
Nearly an inch of rain has fallen at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport since midnight, National Weather Service meteorologist Stephanie Dunten said.
“It looks like it’s going to be raining for a while,” Dunten said. “The system is back-building.”
The rain could be heavy at times. Thunderstorms are possible again this afternoon, especially east of the Kansas Turnpike.
Highs today are projected to reach the low 60s, with east-southeast winds in the teens and gusts above 20 miles an hour.
Lows tonight are expected to slip into the upper 30s, and highs on a mostly sunny Friday should rebound only into the low 50s.
While there will be no shortage of ghosts, goblins and other frightening characters out Trick-or-Treating or otherwise celebrating Halloween this weekend, there’s nothing scary about Wichita’s forecast for the holiday.
Saturday should be mostly sunny, with a high in the low 60s. The overnight low under clear skies should be about 40.
As Halloweens go in the Sunflower State, that weather will be tough to top.
As October races toward its conclusion, it will offer Wichita a dash of spring-like weather.
Robust southerly winds will gust above 30 miles an hour today and temperatures will climb to the mid-to-upper 60s under mostly cloudy skies, forecasters say.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely late tonight and especially after midnight, with small hail and winds of 60 miles an hour associated with the strongest storms.
More showers and thunderstorms are expected in the region Thursday, with the strongest storms east of a Salina to Wichita to South Haven line. Highs Thursday will be in the low 60s, forecasters say.
The closest I ever came, I suppose, was dressing up as the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, which, as anyone who ever saw the movie knows had a tornado as a pivotal plot point.
A group of us dressed as various characters from the movie. Let’s just say it was an itchy costume, because I used real straw.
I do remember one woman coming as the sun one year, though it was more like the smiling sun we used to see on cereal boxes, not something meteorologically accurate.
Has anyone dressed as a snowflake or a tornado or a lightning bolt? I’d like to hear about it. And send a photo, if you feel daring….
Pumpkins and Halloween decorations alike are probably sporting a frosty glaze this morning in the Wichita area after overnight lows dipped tantalizingly close to freezing.
But Tuesday should rebound and offer pleasant conditions, with sunny skies and highs near 60, forecasters say. Light south winds will dance between single digits and the low teens.
Wednesday looks even warmer, with highs in the mid-60s. But winds will be stronger, and forecasters say showers are likely after midnight and much of Thursday.
For the first time in its history, The Weather Channel is going to be showing movies.
Films about weather or with weather as a major component in the plot line will be shown on the next four Friday nights.
First up? “The Perfect Storm.”
Seems appropriate, doesn’t it? Other offerings will include the documentary “March of the Penguins,” the thriller “Deep Blue Sea” and “Misery,” for which Kathy Bates won an Academy Award.
While the movies are being shown, forecasts will continue to be offered via a crawl line at the bottom of the screen.
I’m not sure how I feel about the Weather Channel showing flicks – on Friday or any other day of the week. What happens if there’s a major early winter storm marching through the Great Plains or hammering the Northeast on a Friday night? Do they break away from the movie for extended periods, much like local stations do during severe weather? Will folks in Florida be pleased to have their movie disrupted by reports of a blizzard in the Dakotas?
What do you think about this move? And what films would you choose if you were the programming director?