Wayne White/Herald-Chronicle

Weather forecasts called for blizzard conditions and six to eight inches of snow last weekend, but the final moments of winter were more showy than severe in Osage County. Freezing rain glazed trees, fences and grasses early Saturday, giving way to about an inch of snowfall later in the afternoon. Warmer temperatures Sunday erased most of the evidence any winter weather had visited the area.

Late-winter storm wreaks havoc on Kansas

Vickie Peek | Reporter

A storm that began Thursday night in western Kansas and ended Saturday night caused many problems throughout the weekend for Kansans. The storm produced significant snow, ice and sleet, with high winds causing damage and blizzard conditions.

Some areas in southwest Kansas were under two or more feet of snow and areas in south central Kansas had up to four inches of ice. These conditions led to multiple traffic accidents, slide offs and numerous road closures throughout western and central Kansas. There were reports of partially collapsed buildings in some counties, with no reports of injuries.

Westar Energy and Kansas Rural Electric Cooperatives reported that power had to be restored to tens of thousands of customers in several counties, and that hundreds of distribution and transmission poles were destroyed.

Osage County seems to have missed the major brunt of the storm.

“I know of tree limbs down, a sagging power line and two or three broken power poles in the county,” said Bryce Romine, coordinator of Osage County Emergency Management. “There were no formal reports of damage called in to Osage County Emergency Management.”

Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed a State of Disaster Emergency declaration Saturday for 62 Kansas counties that authorized the use of state funds and resources to respond to emergency situations in affected counties. Osage County was not listed. Several counties also issued local disaster declarations.

The State Emergency Operations Center was activated Saturday by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management to ensure state resources would be available if needed by counties.

The Kansas Highway Patrol sent equipment and manpower to assist local authorities in search and rescue efforts. They also sent a fixed-wing plane from Hays on Saturday morning to search for possible stranded motorists in south central and southwest Kansas.

The Kansas National Guard rescued stranded motorists and transported medical personnel with Humvees in Reno and Seward counties because law enforcement vehicles could not reach some motorists due to conditions. Three Black Hawk helicopters from the Salina National Guard also joined in the search for motorists needing rescue. National Guard armories were activated in several locations.

Two weather-related fatalities were reported in the state. Friday, a 58-year-old woman was killed and two people were injured in a traffic accident on icy roads in Marion County. Saturday, a 72-year-old Hutchinson man died of an apparent heart attack while shoveling snow.