The Wichita area and much of central and eastern Kansas are getting ready for bitter cold temperatures and wind chills with a winter storm that will be moving in Wednesday night.
A Wind Chill Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for the Wichita area from Wednesday night into Friday. Strong north winds will bring dangerously cold wind chills of -35. Wind gusts could be as high as 55 miles an hour. A Winter Storm Watch will also be in effect from Wednesday night through Thursday afternoon.
The storm will also bring snow and blowing snow conditions, and there could be 1 to 3 inches of accumulation for the Wichita area.
Mayor Brandon Whipple said at a Tuesday news briefing that city crews are ready to clear the major streets when the storm hits, with 60 plow trucks and plenty of supplies of salt and sand. He said people are urged to stay home, but if they have to be out on Thursday, they should slow down and allow plenty of stopping distance.
The mayor said the city’s Homeless Outreach Team will be working to get homeless people into shelters.
Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Julie Stimson said her office will be monitoring the impacts of the storm and they will be ready to set up shelters if there are any power outages.
Wichita Fire Department Lieutenant Jose Ocadiz says people should change the filters in their home furnaces and make sure they have a working carbon monoxide detector. A safety zone should be maintained around space heaters, and any combustible materials should be kept away.
