On our weather forecast: uh-oh

From a Facebook post just now:

US National Weather Service Kansas City Missouri

 

2"-3" of snow has fallen near Omaha this evening, and thundersnow is being reported in Nebraska City, just across the river from the northwest tip of MO. Trends are suggesting accumulating snow may make it further south and east than previously thought, and may make it into Kansas City. We'll have an updated snow forecast in a few hours.

Look at the forecasted snow amounts for Southern Missouri

Just now, from Meteorologist Doug Heady's photo on Facebook.

Latest snow/weather forecast

 

Link: 41 Action Weather Blog

The unnecessary joke that is the local evening news

The evening news has now become, after parroting the local and dying newspaper, a recap of whatever loose connection they can make between the latest YouTube video and what's happening now.

Last evening, as a terrific example, KCTV 5 ran a video of a snowplow in New York City that trashed an SUV, as though it had any connection to what's going on here in Kansas City:

Sad.

Pitiful.

Pathetic.

Reporters, anyone?

Bueller?

Notes on the first snowfall of the season

After having driven from Smithville at about 6:45 pm, down to Briarcliff, then from there to Mid-town at 9:30 pm approximately, then from there to Waldo at 11:30 pm and, finally, back to Smithville at 2 am, I think I'm pretty experienced in the snowfall around town last evening and what the street conditions were.

First, hmmm.  It was forecast as a "dusting" and that's what we got up North--a dusting.  Hardly any snow at all.  Further South, the further you got, the more there was, ironically.  Since it was so windy and snowing, then, from left to right, so to speak, rather than straight down from the sky, there were both plenty of small, fluffy drifts and some packed, icy,slick areas.

That said, there wasn't one city truck out once in all my driving, in all those areas, putting down and sand to take down the slickness.

I saw a wreck, too--at least one--and it was ironic, too, since it was just outside the Barnes and Noble on the Plaza, right at the intersection.

You would have thought---I did, anyway--that this would be the area where everyone would take it slow and easy and no one would hit anyone else.  It just didn't seem like that kind of snowfall but there you are, they had a wreck right there.  The police had to block off the intersection completely--there was no getting through for a while.  This was at about 11:30.

So there you are.  That's the wrap-up.  Everyone who was out--and traffic seemed very, very light, really--was driving intelligently.  That is, respectfully of the conditions without being too overly cautious and dangerous in that way.

Keep warm today, folks.  It's our coldest yet, as we all know.  Enjoy your Sunday.

The real--and simple--reason why the snow wasn't plowed at Christmas

So I'm at my barber's place today, getting my bi-monthly cut when I see the friend of my barber, in the next chair, just visiting, is a City of Kansas City, Missouri employee. (He had a label on his jacket).

So I asked what department he works for.

He says he works for the "Fleet Department."

He knew I wouldn't know what that meant--he was right--and he said "We're the people who plow the snow in winter."

Ding-ding.

Bells went off for me.

I don't quite remember what he said next but I followed with "Yeah, what was that about at Christmas? How come there was trouble with the streets."

And here it came.

The real reason, so far hidden, as far as I know, as to why the big snow we got over Christmas was such a mess and didn't get plowed well or properly.

You'd have thought it was complicated.

He said it was, as a matter of fact, because a bunch of people were off for Christmas. He said they were still trying to keep it quiet. (So much for that, huh?).

Well, yeah.

Of course.

But maybe that should have been cancelled, once a big snow was forecast to come in???

Sometimes the most obvious answer is also the right and true one.

Message to City Hall: wake up and smell the coffee. Do what we hire y'all to do, especially if it's something important like plowing the streets when it snows.

KC Snow Removal

 

I was on the Plaza last evening, shooting pictures for my photography blog and saw these 3 snow plows. I think the whole city downtown knew they had to do a better job removing snow last evening.

But the fact is, there's still snow all over the Plaza and Southwest Trafficway is still a bit of a mess.

I'll grant you, this was a tougher storm to deal with but the fact is, cities have to be able to remove snow, period.

It's just not that much to ask or expect, especially since there are very few of these bitter cold, snowy winters.

And we sure as hell better not be annexing some new home division (up North in this case) that has 300 homes in it, for the benefit of some developer.

Is Kansas City no longer the "City that works"?

Okay, here's what's wrong with the Mayor saying our streets were cleared, cleared well and cleared quickly.

It isn't true.

We covered that earlier. In fact, lots of local blogs have covered that, I think.

But for further proof of the fact that they weren't cleared well and properly?

The Kansas City Missouri School District was closed today.

WTF?

Yeah. It seems, from what I understand, the buses can't get down the side streets they need to--along with these single-digit temperatures which no one can control, of course--so school was cancelled.

This is proof of that domino theory, Mayor. Frequently in bigger cities, one thing done poorly really does effect other things. The streets weren't cleared well so school gets shut down.

Want proof?

Look no farther than the Kansas side of the metropolitan area.

Time and again in the city, people notice it's obvious that the Kansas side clears its streets of snow better.

Missouri side?

Not well at all.

And proof of that?

The Kansas schools districts are open--Shawnee Mission, virtually all of them.

The thing is, I think if we get better, competent leadership in the Mayor's office, we'll make this city workable once again.

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

And then, while we're at it, let's put a quick kabosh to even the thought of annexing 300 more homes in a subdivision up North.

We have to learn how to take care of what we have first.

Update on Southwest Trafficway

As of last evening and again this morning, Southwest Trafficway is still not completely cleared and open to all 3 lanes of traffic, going into or out of the city.

It's passable by one and a half lanes to two lanes in most areas but is, in some spots, down to one and a half lanes only, which, frankly, can be a bit dangerous.

It seems we aren't really a city that completely works.

What we used to take for granted, we no longer can. At least not with the current leadership. (No surprise).

Keep warm out there, folks.