The flakes most likely will fall. The question is whether they’ll stick.

With a high temperature Wednesday of 70 degrees and today’s forecast calling for a high of 74, it’s hard to imagine wintry weather will invade the area anytime soon. But Lawrence will go from T-shirt temperatures to parka weather in a matter of days, forecasters predict.

A weather system headed this direction from the northwest means there’s a 60 percent chance of snow late Sunday and into Monday morning, when wind chills will dip into the single digits, 6News meteorologist Matt Sayers said.

“It’s going to be churning away by the time it gets here,” he said.

But with a series of sunny days in the recent past, Sayers isn’t sure the ground temperature will be low enough to allow the snow to accumulate.

Scattered thunderstorms will move into the area toward the end of the Kansas University home football game against Iowa State on Saturday afternoon. By midday Sunday, forecasters expect rain will begin. The rain will turn to snow by Sunday evening.

Whatever happens this weekend, it’s about to look a lot more like winter. The National Weather Service dubbed Wednesday “Winter Weather Awareness Day” and released statistics showing that winter storms have caused 38 deaths and 98 injuries in Kansas the past 10 years — most of them in traffic accidents.

Sarah Crawford-Parker walks with her stepson, Henry Raak, 11, and her daughter, Isabella Crawford-Parker, 15 months, beneath a canopy of fiery leaves on Seventh Street in Old West Lawrence. Temperatures reached 70 Wednesday in Lawrence for an unseasonably warm and sunny November day; however, meteorologists are predicting cold weather and snow by Sunday.

“We find a lot of people following too closely during the first snow,” said Lt. John Eichkorn, a Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman.

Douglas County Senior Services is preparing for inclement weather by distributing pantry-friendly meals — including such items as juice, crackers and canned stew — to homebound seniors in case the roads are too bad to allow the regular hot-meal delivery.

The agency also keeps a list of seniors who might need an extra welfare check — either by phone or in person — in case of a winter storm.

“We strongly encourage family members to check on their own relatives,” executive director Jessie Lusher said.

The American Automobile Assn. suggests that motorists winterize their cars. In part that means checking the battery, antifreeze and tire-pressure levels, warming up the car for two minutes before driving in freezing temperatures and ensuring tires have good tread.

The No. 1 rule for staying safe on the roads in bad weather, Eichkorn said, is to slow down.

City snow removal crews are ready for any weather change. About 2,500 tons of a salt-and-sand mix were left over from last year’s supplies, street maintenance manager Tom Orzulak said last month, when an additional 2,000 tons of sand were still on order.

6News forecast Winterizing homes can lower heating bills

When heavy snow falls, Orzulak will call on a crew of nearly 40 people who can be divided into two shifts to work around the clock, if necessary.

Carmen Sineath, Lawrence, sweeps the sidewalk that leads to Home Sweet Home Pet Resort, 2140 Haskell Ave., during a 2002 snow storm. Snow is expected to fall Sunday and Monday in the Lawrence area.