Winter Storm in Kansas, January 27 to 28, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Kansas, January 27 to 28, 2001
Start: 2001-01-27T19:00
End: 2001-01-28T09:00
Location: Kansas

January 27 to 28, 2001 · NWS GLD · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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 GLD wrote it up.

A strong storm system moved out of the southwest and across the central high plains the evening of the 27th before exiting the region on the morning of the 28th. Numerous weekend events were either cancelled or postponed due to the heavy snowfall. Snowfall amounts varied from 4 to 8 inches, with the heaviest snowfall occuring along and to the south of U.S. Highway 24.

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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 27, 3:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 3:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
235 PM MST SAT JAN 27 2001

FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE SNOW AMOUNTS...DURATION...AND EFFECT ON
TEMPERATURES FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK.

THE STRONG SYSTEM OVER CA CONTINUED TO MAKE A SOUTHEASTERLY TRACK.
BY 18Z EXTENSIVE SNOW WAS EVIDENT ON THE RADAR COMPOSITE IN SOUTHERN
CO AND MOVING INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF THE TRI-STATE REGION.

ALL MODELS INITIALIZED WELL THIS MORNING. BY 18Z THE ETA IS TRACKING
THE SYSTEM IN THE WEST THE BEST...COMPARING VORT FEATURES TO WV
IMAGERY. AS THE ETA HAS HAD A GOOD TRACK RECORD ON THE PAST SEVERAL
SYSTEMS...WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN ON OUR DOORSTEP...WILL GO WITH THE ETA
FOR THIS PACKAGE.

TONIGHT ISENTROPIC ANALYSIS INDICATES BROAD AREA OF UPGLIDE WITH
GARCIA CONTINUING TO INDICATE AROUND 10 INCHES. BROAD AXIS OF UVV
EXTENDS FROM THE RAIN/SNOW LINE NW AND WILL PASS ACROSS THE REGION
OVERNIGHT WITH A SEPARATE MAX OVER THE REGION BY MORNING. WILL
REMAIN IN THE HEAD REGION UNTIL SUNDAY. THERE WILL BE SOME
CONVECTIVE MOISTURE INTERCEPTION AS IS INDICATED BY LIGHTING IN THE
PANHANDLE OF TX. HOWEVER...THIS CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY IS NOT WELL
ORGANIZED AND ONLY A FEW ISOLATED CELL LIE ALONG THIS BOUNDARY AT
THIS TIME. AS YESTERDAY...THE 18Z ETA RUN HAS CUT BACK DRAMATICALLY
ON THE QPF FIELDS. FEEL THAT THIS IS A MODEL ARTIFACT AS THE MESOETA
RUN AT 12Z DID NOT AGREE WITH THE ETA QPF FIELDS AS WELL...AND WILL
CONTINUE WITH THE CURRENT ETA/AVN TRACK. FOR THE MORE MUNDANE
CONSIDERATIONS...HAVE RAISED LOWS SLIGHTLY FOR AREAS UNDER CLOUDY
SKIES AND HAVE LOWERED HIGHS FOR PERIOD 4 IN RESPONSE TO SNOW COVER.

IN THE EXTENDED...WILL CONTINUE ON THE PREVIOUS TRACK AS ENSEMBLE
MEANS CONTINUE ON ROUGHLY SAME COURSE. HAVE CUT LOWS THROUGHOUT
PERIOD AS EXTENSIVE SNOW COVER UP TO THE FRONT RANGE WILL PREVENT
ANY SIGNIFICANT WARMING.

.GLD...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT ANRD SUNDAY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A
YUMA...ST FRANCIS...COLBY TO GOVE LINE. SNOW ADVISORY NORTH THIS LINE.

SVEN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cheyenne

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Cheyenne forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.786, -101.731 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sherman

When: January 27, 6:00 PM MST to January 28, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.351, -101.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wallace

When: January 27, 6:00 PM MST to January 28, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Wallace forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.917, -101.764 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Greeley

When: January 27, 6:00 PM MST to January 28, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Greeley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.481, -101.806 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rawlins

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Rawlins forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.785, -101.076 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Thomas

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Thomas forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.351, -101.055 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Logan

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.917, -101.148 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wichita

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Wichita forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.482, -101.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Decatur

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Decatur forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.785, -100.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sheridan

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.350, -100.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gove

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Gove forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.916, -100.483 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Norton

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Norton forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.784, -99.903 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Graham

When: January 27, 7:00 PM CST to January 28, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Graham forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.350, -99.883 (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: 5230096, 5230097, 5230098, 5230099, 5230100, 5230101, 5230102, 5230103, 5230104, 5230105, 5230106, 5230107, 5230108.