Rare October winter snow and ice storm

Overview

An unusual October winter storm affected much of south central Kansas on October 26th and 27th. The event started during the early morning hours of Monday October 26 as a mix of sleet and snow with a second round on Tuesday which consisted of mostly sleet and freezing rain. Locations across Cowley, Chautauqua, Elk and Montogomery counties saw the most significant ice accumulation. The towns of Winfield and especially Arkansas City were hit hard, with numerous reports of widespread power outages along with large trees down.

Wichita set new snowfall records for both October 26th and 27th. The 1.3 inches on the 26th was the most snow Wichita has ever received that early. The 1.6 inches from both days combined makes October 2020 the 2nd snowiest October on record for Wichita.

Picture from Roger Martin showing fall colors with a rare October snow for Wichita

Photos & Video

Photos & Video

October 26th

		Thundersleet/snow is happening in Wichita! Pretty cool! This will lead to slick roadways & low visibility.#thundersleet #snow #kswx pic.twitter.com/7elIOHaD3P — Adrian Ortiz (@adrianc_wx) October 26, 2020
Map of snowfall from October 26th	Road conditions across Wichita on the morning of October 26th

October 27th

	Solid layer of ice accumulated on my car driving east from Cunningham to Kingman. Definitely more freezing rain than sleet as I moved east. @FrankWaughKAKE @NWSWichita pic.twitter.com/aaozbxXvOt — Tony Laubach KAKE (@TonyLaubachKAKE) October 27, 2020	Driving the roads in SW Sedgwick County aren’t worth the risk right now. Too much ice, not enough traction! #SnowDay A couple of the roads I drive had small snow drifts going across them@NWSWichita #kswx pic.twitter.com/oDrpQb4MYe — Bryan Ramsdale (@BryanRamsdale) October 27, 2020
Surface map from the morning of October 27th showing how unusually cold it was across most of Kansas.

Icy in eastern Wilson Co. #kswx @NWSWichita pic.twitter.com/UkYDnV4B7D
— Eric Spaulding (@E_Spaulding5) October 27, 2020

@NWSWichita Ice is getting heavy here in Winfield... #kswx #icestorm pic.twitter.com/dho5RxjWe3
— Gracie V Zecha ðŸ–¤ (@LadyZecha) October 27, 2020

12:47pm...Here are a couple pictures in Chautauqua from Shirley Mertes. Also hearing reports of power outages from Cedar Vale southward into Oklahoma. #kswx pic.twitter.com/7cC1LogUbI
— NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) October 27, 2020

Such an crazy experience to stand in my street and listen to tree after tree give in to the weight of the ice here in Winfield, KS. #kswx @NWSWichita pic.twitter.com/tU7Zo8QZ2P
— Billy Byler (@TheByler) October 27, 2020

Storm reports from October 27th

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