Cloudy, chilly start to winter

Temperatures to climb to low 40s

It was a dreary start for the first day of winter – there were low gray clouds, windchills in the teens, snow on the ground and ice in the Kansas River.

Also, there was some fog was causing some visibility problems and a few slick spots on the roadways, said Jennifer Schack, 6News meteorologist.

“It is freezing fog,” Schack said. The fog was expected to cause some slick spots on bridges and overpasses, she said.

“Be careful on your way out,” she said.

At 8:20 a.m., Lawrence’s temperature was 25 degrees, the humidity was 92 percent and winds were from the south-southwest at 8 mph, making the windchill factor 16 degrees.

The fog is expected to lift by 9 a.m., Schack said.

Winter officially begins at 12:35 p.m. CST today, Schack said.

“It’s a welcome start to winter, with the temperature about average,” she said.

The low gray clouds will break up during the afternoon, helping temperatures climb up to a high of 42 degrees by later afternoon, Schack said. The average high for this date is 41 degrees.

Overnight, skies will be partly cloudy and the low temperature will drop to 23 degrees by early Thursday morning.

“Tomorrow we’re topping out about 12 degrees above average,” she said. Temperatures will climb to a high of 53 degrees, she said.

Friday’s morning low will be 30 degrees, with Friday’s high climbing to 55 degrees, helping to melt off any remaining snow.

Schack said as the Christmas weekend arrives, there is a developing storm system moving in Saturday, that could brings a slight chance for showers on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday’s morning low will be 30, with the high reaching 43 under mostly cloudy skies.