Snow returned last week, repeat expected this week

It seems like we’ve been here before, doesn’t it? Last week we were getting ready for extended winter weather – making sure we had enough heat and lots of warm blankets, dripping our faucets, which lasted several days, and of course, making that trip to the store for milk, bread and toilet paper before it gets cold and icy. Remember when that trip also included stopping by the video store to stock up on movies in case the TV and satellite signal goes out?

The snow began last Wednesday an hour or two after noon. It was very fine and a lack of wind kept it falling straight down. It let up, then came back with big flakes. I’ve heard several say it was the prettiest snowfall they had ever seen.

Around Snyder we were probably in the neighborhood of 2 inches, give or take. In the Altus area we heard some people got as much as 4.5 inches. Any resemblance to moisture is welcome at this point – almost all of Kiowa County is in the extreme drought area according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Now we’re doing it all over again. It’s Tuesday night and the cold front is moving in. The temperature is dropping- we’ll see the high temperature for Wednesday of 40 degrees right after midnight! By sunrise it will be down to 28 and still dropping. The high Thursday will be around 19 degrees with a 40 percent chance of precipitation. They’re predicting a trace to 0.10 inches of ice accumulation before the snow starts.

Rain gradually transitioning to freezing rain and sleet is likely to begin by around noon, possibly continuing into Thursday. It looks like the predicted snowfall accumulation will probably be 2 to 3 inches in our area. Snyder sits right against the line that predicts 3 to 4 inches. Wednesday through Thursday moderate-to-heavy snow, some sleet/freezing rain is possible and impacts due to ice is likely.

So, take care and try to stay inside where it’s dry and warm.

Editors Note: Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of last week’s snow! As much as we would like to, unfortunately we cannot fit them all in the printed edition, but we will have all of them uploaded to our website by the end of the day Thursday. If you would like to share pictures from the weather we are expecting this week, you can share them with us on Facebook, email them to news@kiowacountydemocrat.com or text them to 580-569-2684.