Remember the ice storm of 2007?

The weather has been so nice around Kansas lately that it's easy to forget what it CAN be like this time of year. Do you remember this horrific ice storm 10 years ago this weekend?

Let's look at the setup and realize just how different it is compared to what is happening now. 

That year, we had a very deep and strong storm setup in Mexico and the desert Southwest. Almost all of the significant storms in Kansas come from that direction. They have to in order to ingest rich, Gulf moisture. 

As the storm approached, we had a tremendous amount of COLD air locked in over the central Plains. In fact, look at the 6 a.m. temperatures on the morning of the 10th. We were down around 20 degrees. Plenty of cold to get ice, and several places had 1-2" of accumulation. 

It was the costliest ice storm in Kansas history, with roughly 260,000 without power. Damage estimates on the electrical grid were around $136.2 million. These pictures are from Reno county and other areas of south central Kansas.

Just look how different the weather pattern is right now. The setup is completely opposite of what it was back in 2007. Our upper level winds are coming in from the northwest (not the southwest), and that continues to shove any chance for rain or snow off to the east. 

Have a great weekend and see you back on the air Monday night.