Cold/Wind Chill, Phillips
- When
- December 25, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Phillips forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.785, -99.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Kansas, December 25 to 26, 1996
Another blast of cold arctic drove south across North Central Kansas on Christmas day. Temperatures falling into the single digits along with increasing north winds dropped wind chill readings to 35 below zero Christmas night.
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.
Another blast of cold arctic drove south across North Central Kansas on Christmas day. Temperatures falling into the single digits along with increasing north winds dropped wind chill readings to 35 below zero Christmas night.
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 25, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM 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 25, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM 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 25, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM 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 25, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM 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 25, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM 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
- Cold in South Carolina, December 25, 1996
- Avalanche in Washington, December 25, 1996
- Cold in North Dakota, December 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Winter Storm in Iowa, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Debris Flows in Oregon, December 25 to 31, 1996
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 25 to 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 25 to 26, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5579471, 5579472, 5579473, 5579474, 5579475, 5579476.