Winter storm watch issued for south central Kansas

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for south central Kansas for Friday evening into Saturday evening.   A winter storm system is bringing snow to southwest and south central parts of the state.

The watch includes Sedgwick, Reno, Harvey, Kingman, Harper, Sumner, Butler, and Cowley counties.  A statement from the National Weather Service says the precipitation will start as a cold rain Friday evening, but it will change to snow by late evening.   The heaviest snow is expected to fall along a line from Anthony to Wichita to El Dorado, and there could be amounts of 5 to 8 inches.    Amounts of 4 to 7 inches could fall along a line from Kingman to Hutchinson to Newton.    Winds will also increase to 20 to 30 miles an hour, with higher gusts possible early Saturday, which may lead to reduced visibility from blowing snow.