Heavy Snow Falls In Salina

Kansas authorities reported numerous slide-offs and one fatal wreck as a winter storm brought a mixture of freezing rain and snow this weekend.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for a large section of central and eastern Kansas, and winter weather advisories extended into the southwest portion of Kansas.

Freezing rain started Friday night in southern Kansas. Throughout Saturday, a combination of sleet, freezing rain and snow intensified across most of the area under a winter storm warning.

A band of heavy snow developed over Central Kansas, and dropped around a foot of snow in some areas. Great Bend received 13.5 inches of snow, while Salina received upbto a foot in some areas.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority says one person died Saturday morning when the driver of a pickup truck attempted to pass other vehicles and lost control on some ice near the Haysville/Derby interchange.

As the snow piled up in Salina Saturday night, numerous vehicles became stuck in town. There were multi-vehicle crashes reported on South 9th Street, and also in North Salina near Intersstate 70. There were also multiple vehicles off the road in ditches around the area. By 9:15 in the evening police had implemented their “Emergency Accident Reporting Plan”.

By Sunday morning the snow had ended. Forecasters say that other than some light snow Sunday night, there aren’t any more chances for snow for the next week.

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