Posted on 03/31/2009 9:26:59 PM PDT by kathsua
Preston will most probably be the state record holder for the weekend's snowfall with 30 inches reported, says state climatologist Mary Knapp.
But it won't be official until the end of April.
Knapp is still checking her numbers and is busy conferring with the National Weather Service, as well as searching through weather data to aid in the confirmation.
"We still are waiting for reports from stations that might not have gotten through yet," she said. However, by the end of April, they should have it settled.
When it comes to snowfall, "people will be arguing forever on what the actual amount was," Knapp said.
There are several factors that come into play when measuring snowfall amounts - the characteristics of snow, the wind, and a very sharp gradient between lots of snow and not much.
The snowstorm came in bands. There were places where it was very heavy and some not so heavy. Also, there was a transition of temperatures, and in some areas, it came as freezing rain.
For example, in Manhattan, where Knapp lives, reports from four observers varied from 1 to 4 inches.
"Everything is indicating that this will be the new daily record snowfall for the state," Knapp said of Preston. Still, she continues to search and verify the record, which includes looking at 496 stations' archival records, some dating back as far as 1900.
Plus, she'll be conferring with the National Weather Service in both Dodge City and Wichita.
"It may take awhile until they get the end of the month cooperative reports," she said about the research that examines daily reporting stations.
Knapp said there were multiple reports in Pratt, Kiowa, Comanche and Barber counties in the neighborhood of 20-plus inches.
State records show that 16 inches of snow fell at the Hutchinson Airport on Saturday.
"For you guys, that will be a record," she said. The previous record snowfall was 12 inches, recorded 10 miles south of town on March 16, 1970.
Knapp spent the weekend researching snowfall amounts as the white stuff was falling.
While Elkhart and Tribune didn't get huge amounts of snow, Ulysses reported 20 inches four miles northeast of town. That's another record-breaker, with a previous mark of 12 inches on March 1, 1948.
The center for the heaviest snowfall was Pratt and Kiowa counties, stretching into Reno County.
Pratt Airport had a report of 28 inches. Coldwater had two different reporting stations - one was 28 inches and another 24 - just four miles apart.
"There will be a lot of places where this will be a record for the month," Knapp said. "When you get upwards of 16 inches, it's a record."
Trousdale reported 22 inches of snowfall, breaking the 14 inches that fell on April 4, 1983. That was the beginning of a storm that tapered off with another 2 inches for 16 inches total.
Now that the storms have passed and sunshine and warmer conditions are quickly melting the snow, some might worry about flooding.
But that doesn't seem to be a concern, according to Larry Ruthi, meteorologist in charge at Dodge City's National Weather Service. The ground has been so dry in recent months, plus the next week should see "fairly cool," temperatures that will retard the melting.
"There may be some very localized flooding of a stream," Ruthi said. "But nothing too widespread. A lot of moisture will soak into the ground."
Ruthi said it was hard to guess rain-to-snow ratios, but generally 12 inches of snow are equivalent to 1 inch of water.
"But even 2 inches of rain in a thunderstorm doesn't usually cause flooding," Ruthi said.
Where’s Al Gore?
The climate “change” religion will never go away. Even if the earth covers with ice it will somehow justify socialism in the mind of the libtard
The middle of last century would be 1950.
I've been around a tad longer than that and I know I've never heard of anything like it.....
Not in Kansas......
Not this time of the year......
This is their reasoning, I’ve actually read it.
The melting of the ice caps is acting like a giant air conditioner, temporarily cooling the planet.
Where’s Preston???
Up near Iuka, dumbie.
My father-in-law from Alden remembers big snows. He says he remembers his dad having to come to the school in the maintainer and picking up the kids that lived out around thier sections cause the bus couldn’t get there.
On the way back out he hit a small trailer someone had abandonded and it was completely buried in the snow.
So Central Kansas has had big snows in the past,but prolly not this late in the season.
Some of the pictures are incredible.
I moved to Texas and they see this awesome snowstorm unlike anything I have ever seen.
Extremely rare to get over maybe 13 inches or so in most of KS aside from the far west. That is normally reserved for further north.
I regret moving from KS a few months ago to miss this whopper of a storm. My hometown got 16-18 inches (depending on where you measure with the drifting making that hard). My old middle school had a roof collapse!
Some of the photos of drifts to roofs almost make it look more like Minnesota.
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