An intensifying lee side trough along the front range of the Rockies and a strong surface high pressure area in the Ozark Mountains combined to produce a tight pressure gradient across South Central and Southeast Kansas. This tight gradient produced strong wind gusts to 50 to 60 mph near Coffeyville, Winfield and Chanute.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS ICT wrote it up.
An intensifying lee side trough along the front range of the Rockies and a strong surface high pressure area in the Ozark Mountains combined to produce a tight pressure gradient across South Central and Southeast Kansas. This tight gradient produced strong wind gusts to 50 to 60 mph near Coffeyville, Winfield and Chanute.
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 Dec 13, 12:32 PM CST, 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 1232 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008 .UPDATE... PER PREVIOUS DISCUSSION/THOUGHTS AND AFTER COLLABORATION...HAVE UPGRADED TO HIGH WIND WARNING FOR A PORTION OF SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND THE FLINT HILLS UNTIL 6 PM. FREQUENT GUSTS TO 50 MPH HAVE BEEN OCCURRING...WITH INCREASED SUN/MIXING RESULTING IN POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED GUSTS OF 55 TO 60 MPH THIS AFTERNOON. ALSO EXPANDED THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE REST OF SOUTHEAST KANSAS AS WELL. KED && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1132 AM CST SAT DEC 13 2008/ UPDATE... VERY STRONG SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING. LOCAL PRESSURE GRADIENT MAGNITUDE OFF THE RUC/GFS ALONE SUPPORT THE GOING WIND ADVISORY...WITH ADDED CONTRIBUTION OF LOW LEVEL MIXING/MOMENTUM TRANSFER MAKING FOR HIGH END EVENT FOR AREAS EAST OF THE KANSAS TURNPIKE THIS AFTERNOON. SATELLITE TRENDS DO SUGGEST A BIT MORE SUNSHINE IS IN THE OFFING FOR THE FLINT HILLS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS SO HAVE CONTEMPLATED THE POSSIBILITY OF AN UPGRADE TO HEADLINE. ALREADY HAVE SEEN GUST TO 55 MPH AT CFV AT 17Z...WITH THE PROFILER AT NEODESHA SHOWING 55-60KTS AT 750 METERS. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR TRENDS THRU 18Z AND COLLABORATE WITH ADJACENT OFFICES ON ANY POSSIBLE UPGRADE OF WIND HEADLINE. KED AVIATION...18Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU VERY STRONG SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE THRU MUCH OF THE FORECAST VALID PERIOD...BEFORE A STRONG ARCTIC COLD FRONT SWEEPS SOUTH ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS TOWARD END OF FORECAST PERIOD...WITH WIND SHIFT TO THE NORTH. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED...THOUGH SOME CHANCE FOR MVFR CIGS TO AFFECT SOUTHEAST KANSAS/KCNU TAF TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING AHEAD OF FRONTAL PASSAGE. KED PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 544 AM CST SAT DEC 13 2008/ AVIATION...12Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR ALL TERMINALS INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS...HOWEVER SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE DRAMATICALLY OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS TODAY. SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OVER 30KTS...WITH GUSTS AROUND 45KTS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT ALL TAF SITES EXCEPT FOR RSL TAF SITE WHERE WIND SPEEDS COULD BE SLIGHTLY LOWER BUT STILL GUSTY NONE THE LESS. MVFR CIGS WILL MATERIALIZE OVER CNU TAF SITE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AS LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES...SOUTHEAST KANSAS COULD EVEN SEE SOME IFR CIGS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. JAKUB PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 345 AM CST SAT DEC 13 2008/ DISCUSSION... TODAY: ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN UNDERWAY. SURFACE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE MORNING..WITH ADVISORY CRITERIA LIKELY BEING MET PRIOR TO GOING ADVISORY AND WILL RAMP IT UP SOONER. FORECAST MEAN SEA LEVEL PRESSURE GRADIENT SUGGEST WINDS COULD FLIRT WITH WARNING CRITERIA WITH ADDITIONAL MIXING. WHERE GRADIENT IS TIGHTEST...COMBO OF CLOUDS/ROUGHER TERRAIN IN SOUTHEAST KS AND CLIMATOLOGY WOULD FAVOR HOLDING OFF ON A HIGH WIND WARNING. RAPID INFLUX OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TOWARDS 0000 UTC IN FAR SOUTHEAST KS COULD LEAD TO STRAY SHOWERS/SPRINKLES/DRIZZLE. GIVEN MODEL PROPENSITY TO BE FAST WITH MOISTURE AND INITIAL DRY AIR...WILL KEEP AFTERNOON FORECAST DRY AND START PRECIPITATION AT 0000 UTC. WILL ALSO EXPAND RED FLAG WARNING A BIT BASED ON LATEST FIRE DANGER GRIDS. TONIGHT: MEAN SEA LEVEL PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS AT OR ABOVE ADVISORY CRITERIA WELL INTO THE NIGHT AND HAVE EXTENDED IT UNTIL MIDNIGHT. SUSPECT DAY SHIFT WILL EXTEND THROUGH 1200 UTC IN FAR SOUTHEAST KS...GIVEN STOUT GRADIENT. STRONG WINDS WILL LEAD TO RATHER BALMY MINIMUMS FOR MOST AREAS. FRONT WILL LIKELY BE THROUGH RSL AT 1200 UTC AND COULD BE CLOSE TO SLN/GBD BY THEN IF FASTER EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS MODEL VERIFIES. GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE COLD AIR...THAT IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. SUN-SUN NIGHT: LATEST NORTH AMERICAN MODEL/GLOBAL FORECAST SYSTEM MODEL RATHER CLOSE WITH TIMING OF FRONTAL PASSAGE DURING THE DAY...BUT ARE BOTH SLOWER THAN THE 1200 UTC EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS MODEL. SUSPECT SOMETHING IN BETWEEN IS PROBABLY THE BEST BET AT THIS TIME. REGARDLESS...TEMPERATURES WILL PLUMMET BEHIND FRONT AS COLD/DRY AIR SPILLS INTO THE AREA. PRECIPITATION CHANCES ARE LOOKING LESS LIKELY IN MOISTURE AHEAD FRONT WHICH APPEARS TO BE SHIFTING EAST. BETTER CHANCES APPEAR TO BE SUN NIGHT IN WARM AIR ADVECTION AHEAD OF ELEVATED COLD FRONT. PRECIPITATION TYPE WILL TRANSITION FROM RAIN TO WINTRY MIX DURING THE EVENING GENERALLY EAST OF I-35. DO NOT EXPECT ANY SIGNIFICANT ICING OR SNOW ACCUMULATION AT THIS TIME...BUT COULD WARRANT AN ADVISORY DUE TO RAPID FREEZING OF MOISTURE ON ROADS FROM LIGHT RAIN AND/OR BRIEF FREEZING RAIN. PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE ALL SNOW BY MIDNIGHT IN SOUTHEAST KS. STARTED TRENDING DOWN DEWPOINTS...BUT LIKELY NOT FAR ENOUGH GIVEN READINGS UPSTREAM. MON-TUE: NIXED RESIDUAL CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION DURING THE DAY ON MON...BUT BOTH GLOBAL FORECAST SYSTEM MODEL/EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS MODEL SHOWING RETURN FLOW DEVELOPING WITH A BETTER CHANCE OF OVERRUNNING OVER THE ENTIRE AREA. INTIALLY IT SHOULD BE SNOW OVER THE ENTIRE AREA...BUT AS LEVELS WARM...MAY SEE SWITCH TO LIGHT FREEZING RAIN MAINLY OVER SOUTHEAST KS TUE AFTERNOON. WED-FRI: NO CHANGES TO GOING FORECAST. -HOWERTON && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 61 50 56 12 / 10 10 10 20 HUTCHINSON 61 45 50 9 / 0 10 10 20 NEWTON 60 48 56 9 / 10 10 10 20 ELDORADO 59 51 56 11 / 10 10 10 30 WINFIELD-KWLD 62 52 59 14 / 10 10 10 30 RUSSELL 63 33 33 4 / 0 10 20 20 GREAT BEND 63 37 37 4 / 0 10 20 20 SALINA 61 39 41 8 / 0 10 10 20 MCPHERSON 60 43 48 8 / 0 10 10 20 COFFEYVILLE 59 54 63 22 / 10 10 20 50 CHANUTE 58 52 61 15 / 10 10 20 40 IOLA 58 52 62 13 / 10 10 20 40 PARSONS-KPPF 58 53 62 21 / 10 10 20 40 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR KSZ072- 093>096-098>100. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR KSZ049>053- 067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100. WIND ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR KSZ072-093>096-098>100. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR KSZ047>052-067-068- 082-083-091-092. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR KSZ053-069>071. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 1227 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-141830- RUSSELL-LINCOLN-BARTON-ELLSWORTH-SALINE-RICE-MCPHERSON-MARION-CHASE- RENO-HARVEY-BUTLER-GREENWOOD-WOODSON-ALLEN-KINGMAN-SEDGWICK-HARPER- SUMNER-COWLEY-ELK-WILSON-NEOSHO-CHAUTAUQUA-MONTGOMERY-LABETTE- 1227 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT VERY STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEE THE LATEST HIGH WIND WARNING AND WIND ADVISORY FOR DETAILS. THE FIRE DANGER WILL BE VERY HIGH TO EXTREME TODAY. SEE THE LATEST RED FLAG WARNING FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY WIND CHILLS WILL DROP BELOW ZERO OVER ALL BUT EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS SUNDAY NIGHT. VALUES COULD DROP BETWEEN -10 AND -15 WEST OF HIGHWAY 14 IN CENTRAL KANSAS. VALUES BETWEEN ZERO AND -10 ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY NIGHT OVER CENTRAL AND PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS. LIGHT WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA SUNDAY EVENING. A SECOND ROUND IS POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. ANOTHER ROUND IS POSSIBLE FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. GIVEN THE VARIETY OF HAZARDS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST...PLEASE CHECK LATER OUTLOOKS AND FORECASTS FOR UPDATED INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP KED/HOWERTON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A van was rolled over 3 miles south of Moran due to high winds.
Winfield ASOS reported a wind gust to 58 mph.
Wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph were reported near Howard.
Power outages occurred in Parsons due to downed power lines from snapped utility poles.
Power lines were downed in Stark due to high winds.
A power pole was snapped off 2 miles east southeast of La Harpe.
Several power lines were blown down due to high winds in Independence and Cherryvale.
A power line was blown down in Altoona due to high winds.
Law enforcement reported a large wind driven grass fire. At least 8 fire departments responded to the fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 2008
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: 140850, 140857, 140858, 140851, 140852, 140853, 140854, 140855, 140856.