textproduct: Wichita

KEY MESSAGES

- Snow flurries with little to no accumulation through early this evening.

- Additional snow flurries possible Saturday afternoon-night, but once again little to no accumulation expected.

- Cold through Saturday night, with rebounding temperatures early week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 245 PM CST Fri Jan 30 2026

PRECIPITATION:

A 2-4 hour period of light snow/flurries will continue spreading south across the region the rest of the afternoon, exiting south into Oklahoma by around 6-7pm, in response to lift associated with an Arctic front moving south through Mid-America. Accumulations should be around a dusting or less, although this could be enough to produce some patchy slick spots on area roads, sidewalks, and parking lots.

For Saturday afternoon-evening, there could be scattered snow flurries generally north-northeast of a line extending from Great Bend to McPherson to Newton to El Dorado to Sedan, as strong/deep warm advection commences in response to a fleet-footed shortwave approaching from the north-northwest. Limited moisture and dry low- levels should prevent accumulations more than a dusting.

Attention then turns to the potential for additional sprinkles and/or flurries Tuesday night--Wednesday, as model consensus drops a pair of shortwaves southeast across Mid-America. Once again, limited lift and moisture should keep the precipitation fairly light and inconsequential.

Deterministic and ensemble consensus supports no major storm systems the next 7-10 days.

TEMPERATURES:

Strong Arctic high pressure building south will support well below average temperatures through Saturday night. With the high pressure overhead, expect many locations to dip below zero tonight. Given a light breeze, wind chills should dip into the single digits and teens below zero, supporting marginal Cold Weather Advisory criteria running through 10am Saturday. With increasing clouds, temperatures Saturday will likely climb no higher than the upper teens through mid 20s.

A warming trend will commence Sunday--Tuesday as upper ridging builds east over Mid-America. Daytime readings getting into the 40s- 50s will be common, although far eastern Kansas will remain in the 30s Sunday. A modest cool down is expected Wednesday as Canadian high pressure builds south. Models have been trending cooler with this mid-week cool down, with high in the 30s-40s expected. The cool down should be short-lived though, with readings rebounding into the 40s-50s once again by Thursday. Friday and persisting through the weekend is still in question. Models are now hinting at another possible cold frontal passage, which would support colder weather than what the current forecast is showing, stay tuned.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 1046 PM CST Fri Jan 30 2026

Breezy northeast winds will continue to subside as high pressure at the surface builds over the area through Saturday morning.

A subtle and fast moving system will bring some flurries or light snow showers to parts of central KS possibly impacting the KSLN TAF after around 21Z on Saturday. Higher probabilities for a light dusting are expected to remain further north and east of the area. Light winds early in the day will become southwest and breezy as we move into the afternoon hours, highest over central KS.

ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Cold Weather Advisory until 10 AM CST Saturday for KSZ032-033- 047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100.