Winter Storm in Kansas, February 8 to 9, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Kansas, February 8 to 9, 2001
Start: 2001-02-08T18:35
End: 2001-02-09T11:30
Location: Kansas

February 8 to 9, 2001 · NWS ICT · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

7 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 8, 4:35 PM CST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 4:35 PM CST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
435 PM CST THU FEB 8 2001

TNGT:
SGFNT ICING THE PRIMARY THREAT TNGT ACRS CNTRL KS.  THE BAROCLINIC
ZONE ACRS FCST AREA HAS MOVG LTL TDA AS FIRST WEAK SHRTWV MOVD
THRU.  BAROCLINIC ZONE IS FCST TO STRENGTHEN DURG THE AFTN.  WHEN
LEFT EXIT RGN OF UPR JET REACHES BAROCLINIC ZONE BTWN 00Z-08Z...INCR
IN AGEOSTROPHIC FLOW SHUD LEAD TO RAPID INCR IN PCPN.  THE COUPLED
CIRCULATION WL INCR INSTBY ACRS CNTRL KS...AND WHEN COMBINED WITH
COPIOUS MSTR....SHUD LEAD TO VERY EFFICIENT PCPN RATES.  SO FAR...
TEMPS HAVE BEEN HOLDING QUASI-STDY...HOWEVER AFT SUNSET...BELIEVE
TEMPS WL FALL ENUF TO PUSH FREEZING LN A LTL FARTHER S.  WITH
THERMAL BNDRY ORIENTED NRLY PARALLEL TO FLOW...THE TARGET AREA WL
SEE SVRL HRS OF POTENTIALLY SGFNT ICING THIS EVENING.  ISOLD
TSPL/TSFZRA PSBL.  THE AREA AT GREATEST RISK IS ABOUT A 40 MI WIDE
LINE FM NR GBD-SLN.  COMBO OF STG SFC WNDS AND ICE COULD CAUSE
SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN THIS AREA.  GOING WINTER STORM WATCH HAS AREA
WELL COVERED.

AS THE JET PASSES ARND 06-08Z...THE THERMAL GRADIENT SHIFTS
SE...INTO AREA WITH WEAKER UPR SUPPORT.  THEREFORE...BELIEVE LGT SN
IS MORE LKLY.  HOWEVER...SHUD COLD AIR WORK IN AN HOUR OR TWO
EARLIER...THEN A QUICK COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE.  DO NOT
THINK THAT THERE WL BE THAT MUCH SN...WITH DECRG PCPN
EFFICIENCY...BUT WITH BOTH PERSONAL/OFFICE BIAS TO BE A LTL LOW WITH
AMTS...HAVE OPTED TO LEAVE 2-4 IN CNTRL AND 1-3 S CNTRL.  SE KS WL
REMAIN IN WARM SECTOR UNTIL ALMOST DAYBREAK.  CURRENT AND FCST
SOUNDINGS SHOW LTL INSTBY AND WITH BAROCLINIC ZONE/FORCING TO THE
NORTH...DONT SEE SGFNT FLOODING THREAT...ALTHO LGT-MDT TSRA LKLY
THRUT THE NGT.

FRI-FRI NGT:
PCPN SHUD END DURG THE MORNING.  SOME MODEL DISCREPANCIES REGARDING
AMT OF WRAP AROUND PCPN.  HOWEVER DO NOT FORESEE ANY APPRECIABLE
ACCUMULATION. COLD AIR ADVCTN WL LKLY OVERSHADOW ANY INSOLATION WITH
QUASI STDY TEMPS MOST OF THE DAY.  DECRG CLDS LKLY BY AFTN.  WITH
MSTLY CLR/CLR SKIES AND SFC HI PRES MOVG ACRS THE AREA...VERY COLD
NGT LKLY...SPCLY ACRS ICE COVERED AREAS OF CNTRL KS.

SAT:
MODELS HINTING AT A RETURN OF LLVL MSTR ACRS WRN KS SAT
MORNING...WITH MSTLY CLDY SKIES PROBABLE OVER CNTRL SXNS. WITH VERY
COLD START...MAXES COULD BE SERIOUSLY REDUCED.  HAVE DROPPED TEMPS
SUBSTANTIALLY...BUT DID NOT WANT TO JUMP ON IT TOO HARD YET.

SUN:
WARM AIR STARTS TO RETURN IN EARNEST AS WSW UPR FLOW CONTINUES.
SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW QUICKLY COLD AIR WL MODIFY.  SOME THREAT
OF WEAK PCPN SUN IN WARM AIR ADVCTN.

MON-THU:
MODELS LKLY NOT A LOT OF HELP WITH TIMING OF WEAK RIPPLES IN WSW
FLOW. ECMWF/MRF SEEM TO HINT A SFC BNDRY COMING THRU ON MON...BUT
COLD AIR NEVER COMES THRU UNTIL TUE NGT/WED.  HAVE VRY LTL
CONFIDENCE IN HOW THAT WL PLAY OUT...OR EVEN PCPN TYPE.

FCSTID = 17/HOWERTON

ICT   18  25   8  37 / 100  40   0  10
HUT   16  21   3  33 / 100  40   0  10
EWK   16  22   5  34 / 100  40   0  10
EQA   19  24   8  37 / 100  40   0  10
WLD   24  25  10  37 / 100  40   0  10
RSL   14  20   2  30 / 100  40   0  10
GBD   15  20   1  30 / 100  40   0  10
SLN   15  20   3  32 / 100  40   0  10
MPR   16  20   3  34 / 100  40   0  10
CFV   29  28  14  40 / 100  60   0  10
CNU   28  28  12  40 / 100  60   0  10
K88   25  25  10  37 / 100  40   0  10

.ICT...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL KS ZONES
KSZ032-033-047>053-067>069-082-083-091-092.  A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST KS KSZ070>072-093>095-098.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Harper

When: February 8, 6:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Harper forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.192, -98.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kingman

When: February 8, 7:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Kingman forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.559, -98.136 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sedgwick

When: February 8, 7:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Sedgwick forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.685, -97.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sumner

When: February 8, 7:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Sumner forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.237, -97.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Reno

When: February 8, 7:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Reno forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.953, -98.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The same storm system that pummeled central Kansas with a widespread mixture of freezing rain and sleet that eventually changed to snow brought widepsread freezing rain and sleet to south-central Kansas as well. The freezing rain and sleet began late in the afternoon of the 8th and became so intense later that evening that thunderstorms occasionally joined in the fray. Widespread ice accumulatons of 1/4-3/4 inch teamed with north winds of 20-30 mph to result in spotty power outages and numerous accidents. Sleet reached depths around 1 inch. An estimated 100 accidents occurred just in the Wichita area alone during the evening rush hour on the 8th. The freezing rain and sleet changed over to snow early on the morning of the 9th with accumulations of 2-4 inches common. Area newspapers contributed greatly to this report.

Winter Storm, Harvey

When: February 8, 7:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Harvey forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.043, -97.427 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Butler

When: February 8, 7:35 PM CST to February 9, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.781, -96.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kansas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Kansas, February 2001

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: 5228276, 5228274, 5228275, 5228277, 5229387, 5229388, 5229389.