Kansas City Hit Hard By Winter Storm

Kansas City has endured its first winter storm of the season, and many metro residents have spent the day battling slow traffic, closed roads and even power outages.

The roads around Kansas City were terrible all morning, as interstate traffic in most areas was 30 mph or less. Strong winds had blown the snow around on the roads, which has caused several accidents, most notably on I-29 near St. Joseph and the Kansas City International Airport. Most major roads in the KC area were not treated overnight, making  many morning commutes last hours.

Kansas City Power & Light has reported that 2,000 in the zip code of 64134 had lost power this morning, while 1,400 Blue Springs customers and 1,600 Lenexa customers also lost power. More scattered outages were also reported in Leavenworth and Olathe.

Most of the major school districts closed today, including Basehor-Linwood, Blue Springs, Blue Valley, Bonner Springs, Grain Valley, Kansas City, Kan., Kansas City, Kearney, Lawrence, Lee’s Summit, North Kansas City, Park Hill, Platte Co., Raytown, Shawnee Mission, Tonganoxie and West Platte.

The snow fall is expected to end soon, but strong winds are forecasted to continue well into the afternoon. Drivers need to continue to exercise extreme caution on the roads, as these winds have combined with snow on the ground to cause several accidents already.

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Winter Storm Approaching Kansas City

Kansas City residents have had the luxury of enjoying a mild winter so far, but that appears to be changing tonight. A winter storm is heading towards KC and is expected to bring snow and blizzard conditions to many areas in the greater metro.

It appears that the worst part of the storm will actually pass north of the city and mostly hit Iowa, which is some good news. Iowa is expected to receive six to 10 inches of snow, while Kansas City will likely only receive a couple inches of snow. As much as seven inches of snow is expected in areas such as St. Joseph and Kirksville. Rain is expected to begin to fall around Kansas City this afternoon, which will turn into snow later this evening.

There is also a high chance of thunderstorms with severe winds hitting the region. With expected winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts of 45 to 50 mph, many areas around Kansas City could experience blizzard conditions.

The Kansas Highway Patrol has issued several trips to drivers that will be battling these conditions. The Patrol suggests slowing down, avoiding cruise control, using headlights, as well as replacing wiper blades and checking tire pressure and tread. It is also important to check that your vehicle’s fluids are all full. Pickup truck drivers need to add sand bags to their beds to help with traction control, and all vehicles should have a shovel in the trunk.

All Kansas City residents need to take extreme caution, even in areas where there is not an abundance of snow. Last year, 55 crashes occurred in Overland Park during the first five hours of a snow storm, despite a light amount of snowfall.

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2013 NFL Draft - What If The Chiefs Don't Take A Quarterback With Their Top Pick?

With only two games remaining in the 2012 NFL season, Kansas City is guaranteed to have one of the top two picks in the 2013 NFL draft and is a heavy favorite to land the top overall pick. Many draft experts feel the Chiefs will take a quarterback with their first-round pick, as the team desperately needs an upgrade over Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn.

While the Chiefs will certainly address the QB position this off-season, they may not do it via their top draft pick. Geno Smith and Matt Barkley are the consensus top two QBs in the draft, however many feel that both are not worthy of being the top pick in the draft. The combination of Smith and Barkley doesn’t appear to be in the same league of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the quarterbacks who went one-two last year and are both enjoying fantastic rookie seasons.

So what are the Chiefs’ choices? For starters, they could bring in a veteran QB for this season and take a shot on a QB later in the draft or wait until next year. Seattle used this strategy last off-season, signing veteran backup Matt Flynn from the Green Bay Packers and drafting Russell Wilson in the third round. Several veteran quarterbacks such as Alex Smith or Michael Vick will be looking for a new starting opportunity this off-season, and the Chiefs might feel better about grabbing one on a bargain deal and finding a QB later in the draft or taking a chance on one next season.

If the Chiefs do elect not to take Smith or Barkley at number one, they would have several options. First, they could attempt to trade down and a quire more picks, however it might be hard to find a suitor. The team could massively upgrade both its offensive or defensive line with Texas A&M OT Luke Joeckel, Utah DT Star Lotulelei, Ohio State DT Johnathan Hankins or Florida State DE Bjoern Werner. The team could also acquire a pass rusher, although this may be a lower priority with former pro bowler Tamba Hali and Justin Houston on the team (the latter has developed into a good NFL starter).

The question for the next Chiefs General Manager will be this: Is Smith or Barkley worth taking with the top pick in the draft? Chiefs fans will have to wait until the end of the season to see which direction the team is leaning.

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Chiefs Move Closer Towards Top Pick In 2013 NFL Draft With Loss To Raiders

Despite playing the lowly Raiders on Sunday, the Chiefs yet again got embarrassed on the field, getting shut out 15-0. The loss now means that the Chiefs are one step closer towards acquiring the top overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

There really isn’t much to be said about Kansas City’s performance on Saturday. Opposing teams know that if Jamaal Charles is contained, the Chiefs have absolutely no shot of scoring many points on offense. The Chiefs only offensive weapon was held to 10 yards on nine carries, and Brady Quinn couldn’t get anything going with a group of young, unproven receivers. While the defense did a good job of keeping Oakland out of the end zone, this one never really felt in doubt.

It is time for Chiefs fans to look ahead to next season, and that starts with the 2013 NFL draft. Currently, the team is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the worst record in football at 2-12. Philadelphia and Detroit are the next two teams in regards to fewest total wins, but both have four wins on the season. It appears that the race for the top pick in 2013 NFL draft is now solely between Kansas City and Jacksonville, and with both tied at the moment in regards to record, it is important to examine the NFL’s tiebreakers for draft order. Tiebreakers for draft order regarding teams with an identical record go in this order:

• Strength of schedule – The team with lower strength of schedule percentage wins this tiebreaker.

• Divisional record.

• Conference record.

First, let’s examine the remaining games for both teams. The Chiefs finish against the Colts and the Broncos, two teams that are vastly superior to Kansas City. The Colts will be fighting for a playoff spot, and the Broncos may be playing for a first round bye.The Jags play the Patriots next week, which is all but a guaranteed loss, but will get the lowly Tennessee Titans in its season finale. The Jags already beat Tennessee this season, and the Titans won’t be playing for anything. The odds of Jacksonville winning one of its final games has to be higher than Kansas City’s.

At this moment, Kansas City owns all of the tiebreakers and is in the driver’s seat for the top overall pick. If Kansas City drops its next two games, it will be picking first in the 2013 NFL draft.

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Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders - 2012 NFL Toilet Bowl

The Chiefs season has been about as bad as it could be, as the team is currently tied for the NFL’s worst record at 2-11. The good news for Kansas City is that its opponent, the Oakland Raiders, only has one more win than they do, and has looked almost as bad as the Chiefs this season. The official toilet bowl of the 2012 NFL season will take place this Sunday in Oakland, with kickoff at 3:25 p.m.

The Raiders relied on their passing attack in a 26-16 win earlier this season, and that will likely be the case again on Sunday. Carson Palmer has had a solid season for Oakland, throwing for 3,805 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and with the Raiders struggles in the run game, the team will need Palmer to carry them. Darren McFadden has been banged up all season, but is expected to play on Sunday. The Raiders dynamic back ran for a season-high 114 yards in the first meeting between these two, and has found a lot of success against the Chiefs over the past couple of seasons.

If the Chiefs want to win this one, they will have to feed Jamaal Charles the ball early and often. The Raiders have one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL, and Charles is having a monster season for Kansas City. Charles was only given five carries in the Chiefs’ loss to Oakland back in October, a huge mistake by the coaching staff.

Despite having a record nearly as bad as the Chiefs’, the Raiders are a better team than the Chiefs and this game is being played in Oakland. If Charles can continue to rip off some huge runs and the defense forces Palmer to turn the ball over, the Chiefs could very well steal a victory. If not, Kansas City will be one step closer to having the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

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