With the first winter storm of 2025 in the forecast, electric utility Evergy is advising customers that it could take days to restore power if there are outages.
As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service office in Topeka had a winter storm warning in effect from 9 a.m. Saturday to midnight Sunday night.
“Heavy mixed precipitation expected,” the NWS warning said. “Total snow accumulations between 8 and 12 inches, sleet accumulations around one quarter of an inch, and ice accumulations up to two tenths of an inch. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph.”
The NWS added that “strong wind and the weight of snow and ice on tree limbs may down power lines and could cause sporadic power outages.”
The skyline of Downtown Topeka peeks through snow covered treetops looking west from S.E. Sixth Ave. Tuesday morning.
Evergy, which provides electricity to much of the eastern half of Kansas, as well as parts of western Missouri, has mobilized nearly 1,000 line and vegetation contractors to join Evergy crews “to get power back on as safely and efficiently as possible.”
“Evergy is planning and preparing for a potential multi-day effort to restore power,” the company said in a Friday afternoon news release, adding that “the impact of the winter storm on power outages will depend on the weather conditions.”
More: ‘Near-blizzard’: Topeka expected to see high winds, at least 8 inches of snow
If the storm causes dry snow and little wind, it is unlikely to cause significant power outages. But wet snow, ice and strong winds would be more likely to cause problems. Such weather could also cause delays in restoring power, exacerbating the situation.
“If wet snow accumulates on trees and power lines, its weight can cause damage to trees and power lines that may result in power outages,” Evergy said. “If ice accumulates on trees and powerlines, it also can cause outages, and the conditions are quickly made worse by wind. The hazardous road conditions caused by significant snow or ice would slow down any power restoration work.”
Information on power outages, including estimated restoration time, can be found online at www.evergy.com/outages/outage-map.
Downed lines can be reported online at www.evergy.com/powerlinesafety, or by calling 911 in an emergency.
More: When cold coal froze, wind farms helped Evergy power Kansas through winter weather
The utility also noted that it’s power plants “are available to meet customers’ needs through the upcoming cold weather.” Power plant crews have been preparing for cold weather and winter storms, they are staffed 24 hours a day and there will have extra staffing over the weekend.
The Southwest Power Pool, the regional transmission organization, has issued a weather advisory for Sunday through Wednesday and a resource advisory for Monday through Wednesday.
The resource advisory does not require the public to conserve energy. Instead, it raises awareness of potential threats to the reliability of the electric grid.
Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas winter storm could cause power outages, Evergy days to restore
