By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A relatively dry and relatively mild November and December have kept thoughts of winter in Central Kansas on the back burner. That will change in the first week of the New Year as 6-10 inches of snow are expected in the region through Sunday. A layer of ice may precede the snow, and lows are expected to reach zero degrees in the overnight hours. Barton County Emergency Management Director Sean Kelly encourages residents to prepare accordingly.
"Get your supplies," he said. "Don't try to do it during the storm, that just creates more problems. Plan ahead getting any supplies you need for food, blankets, any extra warmth you want. Should you lose power, you're going to need a way to try and keep yourself warm. Unhook your hoses if you haven't done it yet. Open up your cupboards to let some of that warm air in your house get to your pipes so they don't freeze up. We're going to get through the storm, then we have chilly, chilly air coming in next week still."
The freezing percipitation could also make for hazardous driving conditions. Counties will make decisions as the storm moves in but may not prep roads ahead of the cold.
"With the potential of getting sleet and ice, a lot of times it will bury any kind of brine treatments you're going to do," Kelly said. "With the cold temperatures, a lot of that brine works from underneath with the sun and a little bit of warmth once the storm passes but we're not going to get that advantage."
According to the National Weather Service in Wichita, virtually all of the Eagle Media listening area is likely to experience a mix of drizzle and sleet on Saturday with accumulating ice and snow on Sunday. The conditions could result in power outages, low visibility, and drifting on roads.