Winter Storm in Kansas, February 9, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Kansas, February 9, 2001
Start: 2001-02-09T05:00
End: 2001-02-09T15:30
Location: Kansas

February 9, 2001 · NWS GID · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A potent winter storm dealt a paralyzing blow to north-central Kansas with high winds and a foot of new snow. Old timers in the Beloit area called this storm the worst since 1960.

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

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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.

A potent winter storm dealt a paralyzing blow to north-central Kansas with high winds and a foot of new snow. Old timers in the Beloit area called this storm the worst since 1960. Beloit recorded 13 inches of snow. Twelve inches was measured at Cawker City, 11 inches at Hunter and 10 inches at Palco. Slightly lesser amounts fell from Smith Center to Phillipsburg. Wind gusts over 40 mph dropped visibilities to zero in white-out conditions. One Kansas Department of Transportation driver reported taking 6 hours to plow a stretch of Highways 181 and 281 which normally would take less than 1 hour to drive. Local businesses were virtually shut down and commerce was at a standstill on the 9th. All north-central Kansas schools were closed.

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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 9, 3:10 AM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 3:10 AM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
310 AM CST FRI FEB 9 2001

...CONTINUATION/PLACEMENT OF HEADLINES MAIN CONCERN...

00Z UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWED UPPER LOW OPENING UP OVER NEW MEXICO
WITH 200 TO 300 METER HEIGHT RISES AT 500/300 MBS RESPECTIVELY WEST
OF MAIN WAVE.  COUPLED JET STRUCTURE EAST SIDE OF TROUGH HAS AIDED
IN SNOW AMOUNTS.  WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS UPPER LOW MOVED TO
SOUTHEAST COLORADO.  DRY SLOT PUSHING EAST ACROSS CWFA BUT
DEFORMATION AREA FILLING IN BEHIND.

MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT LOW WILL MOVE EAST AND OPEN UP ACROSS
KANSAS THIS MORNING.  850 TO 700 MB FRONTOGENETIC FORCING PEAKED AT
06Z AND PUSHING OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST.  UPPER DIVERGENCE/DEFORMATION
AND DIFFERENTIAL POSITIVE VORTICITY ADVECTION PROGS ALL IN LINE
HITTING SOUTH AND EAST AREAS EARLY THIS MORNING THEN SHIFTING EAST
AFTER 18Z.  THIS COULD STILL RESULT IN ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW
FROM 10Z TO 16Z.  COUPLED WITH GUSTY WINDS WILL MAKE FOR REDUCED
VSBYS AND CONSIDERABLE DRIFTING.  ALSO WIND CHILLS BORDERLINE
ADVISORY CRITERIA.  WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR RADAR/METARS BUT AT
THIS TIME WILL LIKELY CONTINUE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SE CWFA THIS
MORNING UNTIL TRAVEL CONDITIONS/VSBYS IMPROVE AND SNOW/WIND
SUBSIDE.  WILL CUT BACK CENTRAL CWFA TO ADVISORY FOR SN/BLSN/CHILL
MENTION. WILL QUASH HEADLINES NW FOR NOW AS WINDS NOT QUITE STRONG
ENOUGH TO BRING CHILLS DOWN TO -35F.

TEMPS WILL GO NOWHERE TODAY.  WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO DROP OFF BY MID
AFTERNOON AND GO LIGHT THIS EVENING UNDER CLEARING SKIES.  TEMPS
SHOULD FALL QUICKLY OVER FRESH SNOW COVER...LIKE ONE WEEK AGO WHEN
READINGS DIPPED TO NEAR 15 BELOW.  SOME RECOVERY/MIXING IS POSSIBLE
WEST BY MORNING AS SURFACE HIGH SLIDES EAST AND LEE TROUGHING OCCURS
AHEAD OF NEXT SYSTEM.  NEXT SYSTEM...WHICH IS FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE OFF
THE PACIFIC NW COAST...DAMPENS/OPENS UP ACROSS ROCKIES IN A NEAR
ZONAL FLOW BY SUNDAY.  WILL KEEP THE CHANCE OF LIGHT PCPN IN
FORECAST THEN...BUT WILL TWEAK PRECIP TYPE BASED ON EXPECTED TEMPS.
LITTLE CHANGES TO REST OF EFP.

IN THE MEAN TIME...COLD TEMPERATURES IN CURRENT FORECAST FOR
SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT ARE BLO GUIDANCE AND LOOK ON TRACK DUE
TO SNOW COVER. ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS EXPECTED.

THANKS FOR COORDINATION OMA AND TOP.

.GID...WINTER STORM WARNING THIS MORNING.  NZ85>87-KS06-07-18-19.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THIS MORNING. KZ05-17-NZ49-61>64-73>77-82>85.

DROZD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Osborne

When: February 9, 5:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Osborne forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.350, -98.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Phillips

When: February 9, 5:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Phillips forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.785, -99.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rooks

When: February 9, 5:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Rooks forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.350, -99.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Smith

When: February 9, 5:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Smith forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.785, -98.785 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jewell

When: February 9, 5:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Jewell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.785, -98.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Mitchell

When: February 9, 5:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Mitchell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.393, -98.209 (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: 5230952, 5230953, 5230954, 5230955, 5231347, 5231348.