A new weather system will bring blizzard conditions to northwest Kansas along with a threat of severe weather in north central portions of the state over the next two days.
Southerly winds will gust up to 35 mph on Wednesday and there could be gusts up to 50 mph during the day Thursday. A wind advisory will be in effect for central and south central Kansas from 5 a.m. to 7 p..m. Thursday. The highest wind gusts are expected to be along the I-70 corridor.
The winds will combine with dry conditions to create a high fire danger across southern Kansas. The Kansas Army National Guard has been asked by state emergency management officials to deploy six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to several locations. The helicopters have collapsible 660-gallon buckets that can be used to drop water on any wildfires that break out. The helicopters will be on stand-by to assist local fire departments as needed.
Governor Laura Kelly has issued a state of disaster emergency declaration to allow state resources to be available more quickly if there are local requests for assistance.
Chief meteorologist Ross Janssen with KFDI’s news partner, KWCH, says northwest Kansas could get up to 10 inches of snow from the storm system that is moving in Wednesday night into Thursday.
