Wet Winter Expected

Forecasters say this winter could be snowier than normal with occasional bursts of below-normal temperatures.

AccuWeather meteorologist Guy Pearson says snowfall should be more spread out than it was last year, when much of the 30 inches that fell in Wichita came in two snowstorms in less than a week.

National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Ruthi in Dodge City told The Wichita Eagle ridges in the upper atmosphere are pushing the jet stream south, which could create a conveyer belt for storms to push into Kansas from the desert Southwest.

Ruthi expects some colder-than-average surges from late December through February, but there should be some warm spells too.

The season’s first snowfall came Friday, when as much as 6 inches fell in northwest Kansas.