Mother Nature’s latest blast of wintry weather made for some treacherous driving as the sun rose Thursday morning.
A quickly passing storm front coated roads with about an inch of snow, coupled with a ferocious north wind that caused several slide-offs in and around Allen County.
Much of the action occurred south of Humboldt on U.S. 169.
A tractor-trailer rig jackknifed and went off the roadway, deputies noted.
As a motorist arrived to provide assistance, a passing car veered around the Good Samaritan’s stopped vehicle, only to slide into the path of another oncoming tractor-trailer rig.
Those vehicles collided, although neither driver was injured, deputies said.
A short while later, another motorist was entering U.S. 169 from 1150th Street — the old Humboldt-Chanute turnoff — when his sport utility vehicle struck a patch of ice and slid across the opposite lane and rolled down the highway’s embankment.
Again, injuries were minor.
Another accident south of Chanute sent a Thayer woman to the hospital after her car slid into the path of an oncoming truck, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Two other slide-offs were reported east of Iola on U.S. 54.
The cold weather isn’t expected to last long.
Forecasts call for clearing skies with temps expected back into the 40s by Saturday and upper 50s by Sunday.
