Martin Ferris wrote that Seathwaite in the Lake District of northern England recorded 314.4 millimeters (12.4 inches), beating the previous record of 279 millimeters (11.0 inches) set in 1955.

Massive flooding was reported in the region, inundating hundreds of homes and killing a policeman who was standing on a bridge at Cockermouth when the floodwaters tore it apart and swept him away.

The advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. today. Other counties included are Russell, Lincoln, Barton, Ellsworth, Saline, Rice, McPherson and Harper.

Cloudy skies should persist throughout the day, forecasters say, and chances for rain will increase as the day unfolds. Highs should reach the low 60s, with light southerly winds.

Rain is likely overnight before skies clear on Tuesday, forecasters say. Highs will only reach the upper 40s Tuesday and the low 50s on Wednesday. Sunny skies are expected through at least Saturday.

Sunshine should then dominate the day, with high reaching the mid-50s in Wichita. Winds will be out of the north, but should stay light: single digits for the most part, but occasionally touching double digits.

Lows tonight should dip to the low 40s, forecasters say, with light winds shifting from the north to the south. The weekend looks like a pleasant one, with sunny skies and highs of about 60 on Saturday and the low 50s on Sunday.

The advisory covers Chase, Greenwood, Allen, Woodson, Wilson and Neosho counties. Among the towns included are Cottonwood Falls, Fredonia, Chanute, Yates Center and Iola.

Black ice could form on bridges and overpasses, making travel treacherous and visibility poor – below one-quarter of a mile – through mid-morning.

Sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s are in the forecast. Winds will be out of the east in single digits. Overnight lows should dip into the mid-30s, and Friday should bring more sunshine and highs in the 50s, forecasters say.

The weekend should see more sunshine on Saturday and a chance of showers on Sunday. Highs should continue to top out in the 50s.

More than once, she dropped by the newsroom unannounced with a tray of fresh cookies after learning that I had had to write a particularly wrenching story.

She was shy and worked at Cessna and wasn’t one to stand out from the crowd unless you noticed and appreciated kindness and warm smiles and the fact that when she asked how you were doing she really cared about your answer.

On the Sunday before Christmas 2002, we chatted on the phone about our holiday plans. She told me she had a lot of holiday baking to do before she left for Tulsa, where her parents lived. She loved to give cookies and other baked goods as presents.

I knew there was a snow storm moving into the area overnight, but her baking list left me with the impression she wouldn’t be able to leave until Christmas Eve morning on Tuesday.

But I began receiving phone calls and e-mails from other friends of Monica on Monday night asking me if it was true that she had been killed in Oklahoma. I put my reporter hat back on and learned she had driven into the snowstorm, and slid out of control on the Cimarron Turnpike and into the path of a semitrailer truck.

She was pinned in the wreckage for an hour and died later at a nearby hospital. I was sleep-deprived and numb with shock as I wrote a story about the storm the next day. The lump in my throat wouldn’t budge.

Several friends from the Wichita area went to her funeral on a crisp, sunny day after Christmas, though I was not able to join them.

Ever since then, when I hear that snow or ice is a possibility in the region, I remember Monica and don’t hesitate to mention the threat to readers. Some may snarl, some may laugh, and I know there’s no guarantee anyone will take heed.

But maybe – just maybe – some readers will be more careful after learning of the weather threat and arrive safely at their destination as a result.

In that small way, Cookie Lady can keep on giving.

Sunny skies and highs in the mid- to upper 50s are expected, with variable winds lingering in the single digits. Overnight lows will dip into the 30s.

The next chance for precipitation arrives Saturday night and continues into Monday, but forecasters say that at this point it’s only a slight chance for rain.

Cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-40s are in the forecast for today, with north winds blowing steadily in the mid-teens and gusting to more than 25 miles an hour. A freeze watch has been issued for a half-dozen counties in south-central Kansas tonight through Wednesday morning: Sedgwick, Reno, Harvey, Kingman, Harper and Sumner.

Temperatures are expected to drop to around 30 degrees for several hours overnight in the watch area, then climb to about 50 on Wednesday under mostly sunny skies. Winds will ease to the single digits.

A foot of snow has fallen in Washington County, and the snow is so heavy a mile of power poles has been snapped by the weight, authorities are reporting. Sabetha has received 10 inches, and numerous small towns in northeast Kansas are reporting 6 or more.

And the snow is still coming down.

“We may get a mixture out there….a little light rain and snow mixture,” said Rob Cox, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita.

In fact, flurries were reported at dawn and should persist throughout the day. But it’s too warm for the snow to stick around. Temperatures should hold steady in the mid-30s today, Cox said, with north winds blowing steadily in the upper teens and gusting to nearly 30 miles an hour.

Light snow is expected tonight, but little to no accumulation is expected. Temperatures should hover in the mid-30s, and warm into the low 40s on Tuesday. Chances of light rain and snow will continue well into the day Tuesday.

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See some flurry activity; a little light rain and snow mixture;