Kansas, 1997

Cold in Kansas, January 10 to 13, 1997

January 10 to 13, 1997 · NWS EAX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Very cold arctic air settled over Northeast Kansas and extreme Eastern Kansas on the 10th through the 13th. Daytime high temperatures through the period were in the singles digits, almost 30 degrees below normal, and nighttime low temperatures were in the single digits below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 EAX wrote it up.

Very cold arctic air settled over Northeast Kansas and extreme Eastern Kansas on the 10th through the 13th. Daytime high temperatures through the period were in the singles digits, almost 30 degrees below normal, and nighttime low temperatures were in the single digits below zero. No record low temperatures were set during the cold wave but winds gusting up to 30 MPH on the 10th lowered wind chills to 30 to 50 below zero.Many school districts were closed on the 10th due to the bitterly cold wind chills. Several cases of frostbite and hypothermia were reported but there were no serious injuries or fatalities. Kansas Power and Light reported well above average uses of power but no widespread outages.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Atchison

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Atchison forecast zone
Coordinates
39.532, -95.313 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Miami

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Miami forecast zone
Coordinates
38.564, -94.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Linn

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Linn forecast zone
Coordinates
38.212, -94.843 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Doniphan

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Doniphan forecast zone
Coordinates
39.788, -95.147 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Leavenworth

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Leavenworth forecast zone
Coordinates
39.199, -95.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Wyandotte

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Wyandotte forecast zone
Coordinates
39.115, -94.764 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Johnson

When
January 10, 12:00 AM CST to January 13, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Coordinates
38.884, -94.822 (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

More

Every storm in Kansas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, January 1997

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: 5587028, 5587029, 5587030, 5587031, 5587032, 5587033, 5587034.