More winter weather smacks northeast Kansas

Before the snow from last week’s winter storm could really get started melting, Old Man Winter caught a second wind — literally — and made northeastern Kansas unbearably cold over the past weekend with wind chills of up to 35 degrees below zero.

But just as Jackson County is emerging from a five-day National Weather Service wind chill warning comes a reminder that there’s at least one more night of bitterly cold temperatures ahead on Friday before a warming trend moves into the area.

A cold front moved into northeastern Kansas on Friday, Jan. 12, bringing with it sub-zero overnight temperatures that were exacerbated by gusty winds that made going out an even colder proposition. That prompted NWS to issue a five-day wind chill warning that ended at noon yesterday (Tuesday), but not before another inch of snow fell on Jackson County on Monday to aggravate travel conditions and shutter schools.

Overnight temperatures in the Holton area fell below zero on Saturday (-2) and Sunday (-12) before the wind factored in and took the air temperature down by another 10 to 15 degrees both nights. The pre-wind chill temperature hit its lowest point on Monday, when overnight lows fell to minus-15 degrees, according to NWS.

Even on Friday, the wind also caused snow left behind from the winter storm on Jan. 8 and 9 to blow across county roads, making travel even more treacherous for rural residents and school bus drivers.

The danger posed to the bus drivers spurred officials at all three Jackson County schools to give students the day off on Friday, then wind chills expected on Tuesday morning also prompted all three schools to close for the day.

“I am afraid for our elementary school children to be out waiting for a bus or walking to school in the morning, especially if we can not run our normal routes due to some of our country road conditions,” Holton Superintendent Bob Davies said on Monday. “If any of our buses are delayed, get stuck, or the diesel fuel gels, our students could be in trouble.”

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