The storm, which hit this weekend, dropped a whopping 16 inches in McLouth, according to the National Weather Service.

Tonganoxie, reportedly had 12.8 inches of snow, according to NWS. Basehor had 13, while Lansing and Leavenworth received 11.5.

It also dumped a foot of snow across Douglas County, according to meteorologists with NWS.

Douglas County received total snowfall of 8 to 12 inches, on top of a layer of ice, between a tenth and a quarter-inch thick, that had already formed before the snowfall began.

“This is a historic storm,” Adam Jones, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Topeka, told the Journal-World. ” … And to have every single highway and all of north central (and) northeast Kansas closed is just unheard of.”

What made this storm unique, he said, was the combination of ice and snow accumulations.

“That’s just a function of the cold air that we had in place before the storm arrived and then the Gulf moisture that was brought up with this storm, just the combination of tons of moisture and cold air really (had) significant impacts for the area.”

Jones said the storm heavily impacted areas along and north of Interstate 70, especially along the I-70 corridor from Salina to Manhattan, where numerous car accidents occurred. The area near Junction City is estimated to have received the highest snowfall, with accumulations reaching up to 18 inches.

Major highways were closed across the state because of the dangerous conditions of the winter storm, but they are now starting to reopen. KDOT said in a news release Monday morning that the major state highways in northeast Kansas were back in business. That includes all interstate highways in the Kansas City metro area.

The winter storm also resulted in the third largest snowfall the Weather Service in Topeka had seen in many years, totaling more than 14.1 inches, according to a press release. The two largest snowfalls recorded prior to the weekend storm occurred on Jan. 7, 1993, with 15.2 inches, and the highest on record was 17.3 inches, which fell on Feb. 27, 1900.

“We were not too far off from just breaking all the records,” Jones said.

Jones said that while the main roads and highways are slowly improving Monday, side streets or smaller highways could still be hazardous and maybe even impassable.

Leavenworth County Undersheriff James Sherley said dispatch “gave out” a total of 75 traffic-related incidents to the Sheriff’s office, as well as Tonganoxie, Lansing and Basehor police departments between Saturday morning and completion of rush hour Monday morning.

“This reflects a mixed bag of report types, everything from stuck vehicles, slide-offs, injury accidents and noninjury accidents,” Sherley said in an email.

He added that there were multiple rollover accidents during that time frame as well.

Cancellations in the area

The winter storm caused several closings earlier this week.

Tonganoxie Public Library was closed Monday and Tuesday, but staff there hope to be open again today.

McLouth USD 342 canceled classes Monday and Tuesday, as did Genesis Schools in Tonganoxie. They’ll be closed again for classes today, as will Tonganoxie USD 464, which was set to resume classes after break today.

Tonganoxie City Hall was closed Monday and the regular City Council meeting scheduled for Monday night was canceled. The next meeting is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 20.

Honey Creek Disposal services will be delayed a day this week due to the inclement weather.

Roads closed in 30 counties

The Kansas Department of Transportation state highways in the Tonganoxie area and Douglas and surrounding counties as one of the largest winter storms in recent memory covers the region.

KDOT announced Sunday afternoon that all state highways — including I-70 — were closed until further notice in more than 30 counties in northeast and north central Kansas: Marshall, Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, Riley, Pottawatomie, Jackson, Atchison, Wabaunsee, Shawnee, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Douglas, Johnson, Lyon, Osage, Jewell, Republic, Washington, Mitchell, Cloud, Clay, Lincoln, Ottawa, Ellsworth, Saline, Dickinson, Geary, Morris, McPherson, Marion and Chase counties.

Roads were opening back up Monday.

The Kansas Department of Emergency Management sent out a text Sunday evening reminding residents to stay home. The message read: Unless it is an emergency, please do not drive on Kansas roads. It is very dangerous for you and for our emergency service employees. Stay home. Stay safe. Many Kansas state and federal highways are closed due to very dangerous conditions.”

There was a hiccup in the system and the message was sent out again Monday evening.