Families soak in warm day across KC metro a week after record-breaking cold weather

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Across the Kansas City metro, families flocked outside on an unseasonably mild winter day. The warm weather was welcomed by many who just last Tuesday spent the day indoors as the metro hit record-breaking cold temperatures.

William Jewell College student Kristen Lewis and her University of Missouri-Kansas City friend Sara Maakestad planned a day out at Loose Park to soak in the sun Tuesday afternoon.

Lewis' nursing clinical was canceled last Tuesday because of the weather. Both friends agreed it felt like much longer since the metro was hit by an arctic blast.

“Definitely much better attitudes all around today!” said Maakestad, commenting on the joyful laughs heard from families at the playground at Loose Park.

While spring-like temperatures brightened spirits, for Taja Kapke of Independence the effects of last week’s cold front lingered. The cold drained her car battery and created more issues.

Kapke’s car was in the shop for days, but luckily she didn’t need it Tuesday afternoon as she and her sister walked around and shopped at The Plaza.

Jason Ennes of Shawnee, Kansas, works outdoors at a receiving dock. In spite of wearing multiple layers last Tuesday, Ennes says he was still cold at work and needed a stretch of nice weather to fully thaw from the cold he experienced.

"I prefer breaking records for warm days over cold days, any day," said Ennes.