Kansas, 2002

Winter Storm in Kansas, February 9, 2002

February 9, 2002 · NWS TOP · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

A winter storm occurred over north central and parts of northeast Kansas during the late afternoon and evening hours of the 9th. Drizzle and sleet turned to snow and accumulated 2 to 4 inches before ending during the evening.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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
17

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.

A winter storm occurred over north central and parts of northeast Kansas during the late afternoon and evening hours of the 9th. Drizzle and sleet turned to snow and accumulated 2 to 4 inches before ending during the evening. Strong winds accompanied the storm and caused blowing and drifting conditions with visibility reduced to several blocks at times in some areas. Concordia recorded a wind gust to 51 mph. A number of vehicle accidents occurred on slick roadways, but no major injuries occurred.

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 Feb 9, 2:40 AM CST, 13 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 2:40 AM CST, 13 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
240 AM CST SAT FEB 9 2002

MAJOR UPPER LOW DEEPENING OVER THE AREA THIS MORNING AS SFC LOW
TRACKS TO NORTHEAST KANSAS. APPEARS WILL BE AT LEAST A BIG WIND
EVENT FOR THE AREA. PREFER MIX OF AVM AND ETA THIS FORECAST. BOTH
MODELS DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB HANDLING UPPER AND LOWER LVL
FEATURES. BOTH MODELS SLOWING DOWN JUST A BIT ON THE LATEST
RUNS...BUT STILL NOT A BIG DIFFERENCE ON CURRENT TIMING OF FCST
ELEMENTS.

WILL RAISE WIND ADVISORIES WRN PTN CWA TODAY AND ALL OF CWA TONIGHT.
STG SFC GRADIENT PROVIDING NECESSARY INGREDIENT FOR WINDS AT LEAST
TO ADVSRY CRITERIA BY THIS AFTN WRN CWA...AND BEFORE MIDNIGHT ERN
CWA. IN ADDITION...WRAP AROUND SNOW WITH STG WINDS COULD SET UP
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY NRN TIER OF COUNTIES. WILL
HAVE HIGHER POPS AND SNOW AMTS IN THE ONE TO THREE INCH RANGE THESE
AREAS. FURTHER SOUTH...ALG I-70 CORRIDOR...AN INCH OR SO SEEMS
SUFFICIENT FOR NOW. STILL FURTHER SOUTH...ALONG THE I-35
CORRIDOR...DONT EXPECT MUCH ACCUMULATION.

TEMPERATURES NOT RISING MUCH TODAY. IN FACT...WRN CWA WILL LIKELY
SEE STEADY OR FALLING TEMPERATURES BEFORE PCPN BEGINS. PCPN OVER ERN
CWA COULD BEGIN AS RAIN SHOWERS...BUT VERY COLD AIR ALFT...AND STEEP
LAPSE RATES SHOULD TURN RAIN TO SNOW QUICKLY BY LATE AFTERNOON.
THUS, WILL WORD FCST ONLY WITH SNOW FOR NOW.

CLEARING WEST TO EAST LATE TNGT AS UPPER SYSTEM LIFTS OUT WITH LTL
WX OF CONSEQUENCE BEYOND THAT. STILL WINDY TMRW THOUGH. GRADUAL
TEMPERATURE RECOVERY EARLY IN THE WEEK...WITH DRY WX FORECAST TO
CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY.

.TOP...WIND ADVISORY WEST OF HIGHWAY 77 THIS AFTERNOON.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON TO THE NORTH OF I-70
       AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 77.
       WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT ALL OF CWA.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT NORTH OF HIGHWAY 24.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Brown

When
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where
Cloud forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.480, -97.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dickinson

When
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where
Dickinson forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.867, -97.153 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Geary

When
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.236, -95.383 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marshall

When
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where
Nemaha forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.784, -96.014 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ottawa

When
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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
February 9, 3:45 PM CST to 8:30 PM 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

More

Every storm in Kansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, February 2002

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: 5282676, 5282677, 5282678, 5282679, 5282680, 5282681, 5282682, 5282683, 5282684, 5282685, 5282686, 5282687, 5282688, 5282689, 5282690, 5282691, 5282692.