Snow could make travel difficult Thanksgiving weekend. How much snow will Kansas get?

Jason Alatidd, Topeka Capital-Journal
·3 min read
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This season's first winter storm is predicted to bring significant snowfall to parts of Kansas, affecting travel on Thanksgiving weekend.

How much snow you get between Saturday morning and Saturday night will depend on where you are.

The National Weather Service forecast as of Friday morning called for 1 to 3 inches of snow in Topeka. Emporia is in the 1- to 2-inch range.

The area around the stretch of the Kansas Turnpike between those two cities is a source for uncertainty in the forecast. Somewhere in that general area is where rain will transition to snow. If the transition area moves, it could cause big changes to the forecasted snow amounts.

Road conditions are expected to be slippery this Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend as rain and snow are in the forecast from the National Weather Service office in Topeka.
Road conditions are expected to be slippery this Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend as rain and snow are in the forecast from the National Weather Service office in Topeka.

"Snowfall amounts still remain in question with this system," NWS Topeka said in a winter storm watch. "A small shift in storm track will have significant impacts on snow totals. Additionally, there will be a transition zone where rain changes to snow in the vicinity of the Kansas Turnpike. There may be large differences in snow accumulations over short distances."

"Plan on slippery road conditions," the weather service added.

Areas southeast of the Kansas Turnpike are expected to get less snow, such as Ottawa, which has a forecast of trace amounts to 2 inches. The Kansas City area is expected to get trace amounts to 1 inch. Farther southeast will likely get no measurable snow, as Chanute's forecast is zero to trace amounts.

North and west of the Turnpike is where snowfall totals increase.

North of Topeka, Holton has a forecast of 2 to 4 inches, while Hiawatha's forecast is 2 to 3 inches.

Manhattan's forecast is 4 to 6 inches of snow. Saturday evening is the senior day game for Kansas State University football, which plays at 7 p.m. against Iowa State University.

Whether traveling home from a Thanksgiving feast with family, tailgaters going to the game or motorists just passing through on Interstate 70, those driving in central Kansas are expected to see the worst of the wintry weather.

Salina's forecast is 4 to 7 inches. Russell's is 4 to 8 inches.

In south central Kansas, snowfall is forecast at 4 to 7 inches in both Hutchinson and Pratt, but drops southeast of there. Wichita's forecast is 2 to 4 inches, while Winfield's is trace amounts to 1 inch.

Hutchinson is where Topeka Hayden is playing in the Class 3A state championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

In western Kansas, snow started falling Friday morning and is expected to continue through Saturday evening. Along I-70, snowfall is expected to range from 4 to 8 inches in Hays, 4 to 9 in Quinter, 5 to 9 in Oakley, 4 to 9 in Colby and 4 to 7 in Goodland.

Elsewhere in western Kansas, snowfall totals could range from 1 to 4 inches to 4 to 6 inches.

Road conditions can be monitored on the KanDrive service at www.kandrive.gov from the Kansas Department of Transportation. The city of Topeka also has a map of snow routes and treatment status.

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Heavy snow forecast on Kansas roads during Thanksgiving weekend travel