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First snow comes and goes
new mh snow picture
Late Wednesday morning, some very large snowflakes fell in Great Bend. Some said they were just about as big as your hand. The snowfall didnt stick, accumulate or last long, but was pretty while it lasted. It followed harsh, strong, cold winds and rain in the area, which continued long after the brief snow show. - photo by Mary Hoisington/Great Bend Tribune

Huge snowflakes, a few as big in diameter as softballs, fell on Great Bend late Wednesday morning.

But, with the temperature well above freezing, the snow disappeared a short time later.

That’s the last precipitation central Kansas should see this week, said meteorologist Kelly Sugden at the National Weather Service’s Dodge City office. The temperature in Great Bend dropped from 41 degrees Fahrenheit to about 36 around 11 a.m., thanks to a low pressure system, and rain turned to snow, Sugden said. "It didn’t stick because of the warm ground."

Today’s high is expected to be about 53 degrees, and tonight’s lows in the low 30s. It’s the time of year when weather alternates between warm days and cools days.

Wednesday was also the day selected as the official winter weather awareness day by the National Weather Service and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. Officials reminded residents that nothing can be taken for granted about the state’s unpredictable winter weather.

According to the Associated Press, the awareness day is designed to remind residents to take precautions when traveling, in protecting their homes from winter weather and to have a home emergency kit ready in case of power loss due to ice or heavy snow.