Lawrence and Douglas County may be in for a nasty end to the holiday weekend Sunday with snow and strong winds expected to create near whiteout conditions.

Kyle Poage, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Topeka, said rain would start about 6 a.m. Sunday and would turn to snow from 9 to 11 a.m. as the temperature was expected to fall from nearly 40 degrees at sunrise to the upper 20s in the afternoon. Strong winds from the north to northwest could greatly reduce visibility and create drifting problems on roadways, he said.

About 3 inches of snow could accumulate and is expected to end about 6 p.m., but blowing snow and drifting will likely make driving hazardous through the night, Poage said.