OTTAWA – Snow and sleet is expected to spread across east-central Kansas this afternoon as a freak winter storm drops cold rain, ice and snow on the state in May. Sleet was falling in Ottawa along with rain early this afternoon. I-70 west of Goodland has been closed Wednesday night and early this morning because of blowing snow in western Kansas. I-70 was reopened later this morning, the Kansas Department of Transportation said. ABC News reported lots of extreme weather across the country – from extremely dry conditions in California to torrential rain in Florida and snow in the middle of the country. The second day of May and northern Colorado seeing a record snowfall of 28 inches. Temperatures in the central U.S. are approaching record lows, and thick blankets of ice coat the highways, resulting in pileups. In the southeast, a total washout along the Gulf Coast, with rainfall totals of 10 inches to a foot, ABC reported. In Lubbock, Texas, violent winds up to 50 miles an hour blew out car windows and knocked trees into houses. The National Weather Service office in Topeka said today’s heavy snow in Topeka, is the third time in recorded weather history that snow fell in Topeka in May. All sporting events scheduled by local and area schools have been cancelled. More rain, sleet and snow are forecast for Franklin County through Friday.
Thursday, May 2, 3 p.m.
