Severe Weather Grips Midwest

The Midwest suffered through a severe winter storm this past week, which spread several inches of ice across the nation, left hundreds of thousands with out power, and resulted in many storm-related deaths. The storm has finally almost ended in the Midwest, and is heading for New England. However, another storm system is moving into Kansas from Colorado, and should begin dumping several inches of snow on the state sometime Friday afternoon. I currently live in Wichita, Kansas, and have relatives all over the Midwest. Due to this, I was able to get first-hand accounts of the weather situation.

The storm rolled in to Kansas around 5:00 p.m. central time on Monday evening, dumping several inches of ice across the state. While we fared pretty well in Wichita, since the storm went just north of us, those in towns like Hutchinson, Pratt, Salina, Abilene, and even Topeka didn't have the same luck. Trees and power lines came down, causing power to homes and businesses to be interrupted. Trees also came down on houses and vehicles. The storm system had passed through much of Kansas by Tuesday morning, and had left Kansas City, Missouri by Tuesday afternoon.

In the Wichita area, children were excited to have Tuesday off from school. However, in areas north of us, school was cancelled for the rest of the week, and many businesses and other organizations were closed through the weekend.

At Fort Riley, Kansas, residents of on-post housing are still without power. One military friend of mine is staying at a hotel in nearby Manhattan with her family, after a tree in her yard succumbed to the weight of several inches of ice, and fell into her living room.

My mother-in-law lives Blue Springs, Missouri, and said that she saw about an inch of ice. She works for the Red Cross, and was able to report for work Tuesday, and the rest of the week. She told me that there are a lot of residents without power, and seeking the services of the Red Cross to help them with basic necessities.