By Lucky Kidd
Saturday’s first snowfall of the season was for many the most snowfall from a single event in years. A band of heavy snow stretched from southwest to northeast across Kansas, with the heaviest official snowfall report from the National Weather Service coming from Marion with 14.1 inches. There were several other reports of snowfalls approaching a foot including Hutchinson, where the National Weather Service cooperative observer reported seven inches.
The storm caused multiple cancellations of Saturday events, early business closings, and cancellation of many church services Sunday. Among events canceled were Great Bend’s Home for the Holidays Parade and after-parade festival which will not be rescheduled. Great Bend CVB Director Christina Hayes said rescheduling would not be possible due to the many community festivals in the surrounding area over the next two weekends.
Also canceled was the parade portion of the McPherson County Toy Run, although the toy turn-in and other events held at the McPherson American Legion did take place.
The snow caused multiple issues with wrecks and slide-offs, which at one point forced the closure of southbound I-135 near North Newton. The Kansas Highway Patrol worked two injury accidents in the area Saturday, one on US 77 near Marion where a semi went off the highway and overturned seriously injuring a Wichita man, and another on I-135 south of Salina where another Wichita man was taken to a hospital to be checked out after he hit a car that had gone into a spin.
The 7.8 inches of snow that fell at Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita was the most for any day since February 2014, and the second most for any November day in their recorded weather history that goes back to 1888. It also makes this November the 4th snowiest ever and the snowiest since November 1951. In McPherson, cooperative observer Jerry Bruce said in a review of his records Saturday’s seven inches was the most there since a three-day storm in February 2011 dropped 13 inches, 11 of which came the night of February 8th and morning of February 9th, 2011.
Saturday’s storm came on the 8th anniversary of a Thanksgiving weekend ice storm in central Kansas. That storm produced ice accumulations of up to a half inch and led to extensive tree damage and many power outages where some people were without power for days. That ice was blamed for a double fatality crash in Harvey County and two fatal wrecks in southwest Kansas and in Hutchinson a car went out of control and crashed into a house.
AREA SNOWFALL REPORTS
These reports are based on National Weather Service and social media reports as of Sunday morning.
Hutchinson 7.5”, with reports of 8-9” common and one of 12”
McPherson 7”, with 7-9” reports common.
Sterling 9”
Marion 14.1”
Hesston 12.7”
Pretty Prairie 11”
Kingman 10.8”
6 miles northwest of Preston 10.5” (this is in far southeast Stafford County)
Mount Hope 10” with 11” reports in the Haven area
Goessel 9.5”
Lindsborg 8.2”
Newton 8.2”
St. John 8”
Macksville 6”
South of Burdett 5.5”
Ellinwood 5.2”
Larned 3.5”
