Local

The Kansas City region's largest winter storm in the last two years has tracked its way up from the desert southwest.

This storm system is brimming with moisture and packs enough content to keep highway crews and people shoveling sidewalks busy for much of the day.

At the National Weather Service office in Pleasant Hill, meteorologist Julie Leflan estimates up to 12 inches of snow on the northwest side of the metro, as much as 9 in the southeast suburbs. She says it’s good enough for recent record books.

Tuesday evening’s tragic explosion and fire on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City may have some asking basic questions about gas leaks.

Here’s a brief primer:

How do I know if I have a gas leak?

• If it’s a natural gas leak, you will smell it.

It’s an unpleasant smell, like rotten eggs.

Natural gas goes through a lot of processing before it can be used as fuel.

After all the other chemicals are taken out, what’s left is methane.

What started as a few protests and sit-ins evolved into the Civil Rights movement, but how did that happen?

The circumstances surrounding Tuesday's natural gas explosion just west of the Country Club Plaza - that killed one person, injured more than a dozen, and destroyed JJ's restaurant - were discussed in an afternoon press conference.