Here’s a map from the National Weather Service showing how much snow fell in and around Wichita Wednesday night. Officially, Wichita recorded just under a half-inch.
Heavier snowfall totals were reported in northeast Kansas, as reflected in this map put together by the Topeka branch of the weather service.
It’s a wicked winter wind that’s howling this morning. No matter where you may live in Kansas, wind chills are well below zero.
Here are some wind chill readings as of 8:53 a.m., provided by the National Weather Service:
Wichita: -13
Russell: -19
Salina: -18
Great Bend: -15
Concordia: -19
Hays: -18
Goodland: -23
Topeka: -14
Ottawa: -17
Emporia: -17
Dodge City: -17
Kansas City, KS: -12
A reminder: these numbers are from the new wind chill index, which took effect in 2001. A “new” wind chill of -19 equates to a reading of -40 on the old index. A current -14 is the same as -31 on the old chart.
This wintry blast will go down as the coldest in Wichita in many years, but it isn’t likely to set any records.
The record low for January 7 in Wichita is -10, set in 1912. The record for January 8 is also -10, set in 1979.
“The record lows are pretty low,” said Andy Kleinsasser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita.
The best chance to break the mark for record low in Wichita looks to come on January 9. That record low is -7, and current forecasts call for a low Saturday of -4.
“We have a shot,” Kleinsasser said.
Wichita may threaten the record for coolest high on January 8, but current forecasts call for Friday to miss the mark by a few degrees. The record is 6, set in 1937, and local forecasters are currently projecting a high of 9.
“The cool highs – we’re going to be flirting with it,” Kleinsasser said. “It’ll be close.”
Today’s record low maximum temperature is 8, set in 1976.
Chanute is almost certain to set a record for coolest high on Friday. That mark is currently 16, set in 1976. The forecast calls for a high of 7.
“That’ll be a slam dunk,” Kleinsasser said.
Central Kansas could see a number of temperature records fall, he said.
Just for the sake of comparison, the normal high for Wichita in early January is the upper 30s, with a low of about 20.