Biggest snow for western Kansas all winter

Much of western Kansas has not had any real significant snow this winter, but the system tracking through the area Tuesday-Tuesday night is likely the biggest snow so far this winter. At this point in the season, we would expect to have roughly 10 inches of snow for western Kansas, but we aren't anywhere close. As Tuesday continues, look for:

• Light winds - blowing snow not likely to be a huge problem
• No ice/sleet
• Slick areas on highways and I-70 will have some rough patches too
• Heaviest snow will be in a band from northeast CO down to west-central KS

The snow should develop and push south through the day. It will taper off into the evening and likely be long over with by Wednesday morning. If we melt down the snow to actual water, it should yield about .50" for several areas, especially in areas north of Garden and Dodge City. This is excellent news, but won't make a huge dent in the drought.

This comes at a critical time when drought continues to expand and worsen. The latest drought map has more than 50% at least in "moderate" drought. Southwest is dealing with "extreme" drought.

The next few weeks could be some of the most active weather we've had all winter. Upper-level winds may get switched around to the southwest, which would be more helpful in bringing a moisture supply back to the area. Many of our recent winter systems have reached us from the northwest, which isn't a favorable storm track for higher end precipitation. Let's see if the beginning of February turns out as active as advertised from recent models. The image shown below is moisture (compared to average) for the next few weeks. Never a guarantee, but reason to hope.

Have a great day.