Cold/Wind Chill, Phillips
- When
- December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Phillips forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.785, -99.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Kansas, December 17 to 19, 1996
Bitter cold wind chills near 40 below zero were the result as arctic air plunged south across North Cental Kansas aboard 30 mph north winds.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GID wrote it up.
Bitter cold wind chills near 40 below zero were the result as arctic air plunged south across North Cental Kansas aboard 30 mph north winds.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Smith
- When
- December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Smith forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.785, -98.785 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Jewell
- When
- December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jewell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.785, -98.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Rooks
- When
- December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Rooks forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.350, -99.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Osborne
- When
- December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Osborne forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.350, -98.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Mitchell
- When
- December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Mitchell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.393, -98.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Dense Fog in Colorado, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Blizzard in North Dakota, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Cold in Colorado, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, December 17 to 18, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, December 17, 1996
- High Wind in California, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Winter Weather in Texas, December 17, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, December 17, 1996
- Freezing Fog in Louisiana, December 17, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, December 17 to 19, 1996
- Winter Weather in Oklahoma, December 17, 1996
- High Wind in California, December 17 to 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Kansas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5579465, 5579466, 5579467, 5579468, 5579469, 5579470.