Winter Storm in Kansas, January 27 to 29, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Kansas, January 27 to 29, 2001
Start: 2001-01-27T23:00
End: 2001-01-29T09:00
Location: Kansas

January 27 to 29, 2001 · NWS TOP · 23 events in 23 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 23 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: 23

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 TOP wrote it up.

Low pressure over the Plains region spread a wintry mix of precipitation across the area. A band of snow with amounts of 6 inches and more extended from near Belleville and Minneapolis east to the Hiawatha area. Ten inches of snow was measured at Kackley. Snow amounts tapered off further to the south where a mixture of sleet and freezing rain was the main culpret. Freezing rain accumulated on power lines and resulted in power outages at some locations for a time including Sabetha and Topeka. The icy conditions produced slick roads that resulted in a number of vehicle accidents.

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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 27, 3:30 PM CST, 7 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 3:30 PM CST, 7 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  TOPEKA KS
330 PM CST SAT JAN 27 2001

...BIGGEST CONCERNS CONTINUE TO BE MIXED PRECIP AND ICE THREAT OVER
THE EASTCENTRAL ZONES AND HEAVY SNOW FOR THE NORTHCENTRAL AND
NORTHEAST...

LATEST SATELLITE AND RADARS SHOWING LARGE AREA OF MIXED PRECIP FROM
SOUTHWEST KANSAS INTO THE TX/OK AND OKLAHOMA LIFTING NORTHEAST WITH
STRONG ISENTROPIC LIFT. SOUNDINGS FROM MODEL RUNS FROM 12Z THIS
MORNING CONTINUE SHOW ENOUGH COLD/DRY AIR IN PLACE OVER THE CWA
INITIALLY TONIGHT TO SUPPORT SNOW AND SLEET WITH A CHANGEOVER MORE
TO FREEZING RAIN IN WAA OVER THE EASTCENTRAL TOWARDS DAWN. THIS AREA
OF FREEZING RAIN TO THEN SHIFT SLIGHTLY NORTHWARD TOWARDS I-70
SUNDAY...BUT MAIN AREA OF FREEZING RAIN EXPECTED TO BE SOUTH OF THE
TURNPIKE. TO THE NORTH...SNOW SHOULD FALL...HEAVILY AT TIMES...LATER
TONIGHT TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE TURNPIKE FROM LATE TONIGHT INTO
SUNDAY BEFORE DECREASING IN THE AFTERNOON. EXPECT THE HEAVIEST SNOW
BAND TO OCCUR FROM ABILENE AREA NORTHEAST TO HIAWATHA WITH SLIGHTLY
LOWER AMOUNTS TO THE NORTHWEST NEAR BELLEVILLE AND THE NEBRASKA
BORDER WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES OF A MIXTURE OF SNOW...SLEET AND ICE SOUTH
OF THE TURNPIKE.

SECOND LOBE OF ENERGY AND MAIN UPPER LEVEL LOW TO ROTATE OUT INTO MONDAY
WITH A DECREASE IN THE PRECIP SUNDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE SECOND AREA OF
SNOW MOVES IN FOR MONDAY. FOR NOW...WILL GO WITH A WINTER STORM WARNING
ALL AREAS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. AGAIN MAINLY FOR ICE AND
FROZEN MIXTURE EASTCENTRAL WITH SNOW TO THE NORTHWEST.NOT MUCH OF A
FLUCTUATION EXPECTED WITH THE TEMPS AND PRECIP THROUGH MONDAY WITH
THE 20S COMMON. SNOW ON MONDAY EXPECTeED TO BE DIMINISHING OVER THE
EAST MONDAY NIGHT.

.TOP...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR
       ENTIRE FORECAST AREA.

63

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

23 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Anderson

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Anderson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.214, -95.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Brown

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.827, -95.564 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clay

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.350, -97.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cloud

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Cloud forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.480, -97.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Coffey

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Coffey forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.237, -95.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dickinson

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Dickinson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.867, -97.153 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Douglas

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.885, -95.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Franklin

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.565, -95.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Geary

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Geary forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.002, -96.752 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.417, -95.794 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.236, -95.383 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Lyon forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.456, -96.153 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marshall

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.784, -96.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Morris

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.687, -96.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nemaha

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Nemaha forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.784, -96.014 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Osage

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Osage forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.652, -95.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ottawa

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Ottawa forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.133, -97.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pottawatomie

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Pottawatomie forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.379, -96.342 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Republic

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Republic forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.828, -97.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Riley

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Riley forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.297, -96.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Shawnee

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Shawnee forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.042, -95.756 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wabaunsee

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Wabaunsee forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.953, -96.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: January 27, 11:00 PM CST to January 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.784, -97.087 (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, January 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: 5228369, 5228370, 5228371, 5228372, 5228373, 5228374, 5228375, 5228376, 5228377, 5228378, 5228379, 5228380, 5228381, 5228382, 5228383, 5228384, 5228385, 5228386, 5228387, 5228388, 5228389, 5228390, 5228391.