A strong low pressure system helped to generate gusty winds during the afternoon, with a few reports of 50 mph or higher reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 DDC wrote it up.
A strong low pressure system helped to generate gusty winds during the afternoon, with a few reports of 50 mph or higher reported.
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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 17, 3:15 AM CST, 9 hours 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 315 AM CST TUE FEB 17 2009 .DISCUSSION... DAYS 1-2... WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWING THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST EARLY THIS MORNING. THE MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THIS WAVE MOVING OUT OVER THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. A SURFACE LOW WAS DEVELOPING NEAR KITR IN RESPONSE TO THE APPROACHING WAVE. THE SURFACE LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE OUT RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON INTO EASTERN KANSAS BY 00Z. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW DEEP MIXING BY THIS AFTERNOON WHICH WILL ALLOW STRONGER WINDS ALOFT TO MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE. THINK WINDS WILL BE WELL INTO ADVISORY CRITERIA THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE SOUTHERN 2/3DS OF THE CWA. WINDS MAY APPROACH WARNING CRITERIA OVER THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES AS GFSBUFR SOUNDINGS ARE SHOWING WINDS APPROACHING 40 KNOTS AT 850 MB. DAY SHIFT WILL NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS. A DRYLINE WILL MOVE RAPIDLY EAST ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. DEWPOINTS WILL FALL INTO THE 15 TO 20 DEGREE RANGE OR LOWER BEHIND THE DRYLINE. SOLID DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL HELP BOOST TEMPERATURES INTO THE UPPER 60S TO MID 70S. RESULTING HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL FALL INTO THE LOWER TEENS. THE GOING RED FLAG WARNING LOOKS GOOD AND HAVE ADDED TREGO AND ELLIS COUNTIES TO THE WARNING AS WINDS WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH AND HUMIDITY LEVELS SHOULD DROP TO CRITERIA LEVELS THIS AFTERNOON. THINGS SETTLE DOWN TONIGHT AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLIDES SOUTH ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS. A NORTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE DIVES OUT OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS ACROSS THE MIDWEST AND CENTRAL PLAINS ON WEDNESDAY. THE GFS SHOWS SOME INCREASING AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE NOSING INTO WESTERN KANSAS DURING THE DAY. SHOULD SEE MORE CLOUDINESS AND THERE COULD BE A FEW FLURRIES OR SPRINKLES DURING THE AFTERNOON. HAVE THROWN IN SOME SILENT 10 PERCENT POPS IN THE NORTH FOR THAT POSSIBILITY. DAYS 3-7... VERY FEW CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. FAIRLY TEMPERATE WEATHER WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE EXTENDED. FRIDAY SHOULD BE THE COOLEST DAY AS A NORTHWEST FLOW SHORTWAVE TROUGH DELIVERS COOLER AIR. SOME DOWNSLOPE WARMING WILL OCCUR AHEAD OF THE NEXT FRONT FRIDAY EVENING. THE MODELS USUALLY UNDERFORECAST TEMPS IN THESE SITUATIONS SINCE SOME DOWNSLOPE FLOW TYPICALLY OFFSETS THE COLD ADVECTION. MAXES WERE RAISED TO THE 00Z ECMWF MAX T GRID(UPPER 50S TO MID 60S). ANOTHER WEAK SHOT OF COOLER AIR CAN BE EXPECTED FRIDAY BUT TEMPS SHOULD RECOVER NICELY BY SUN/MON. NO PRECIP IS EXPECTED THROUGH FEB 25 SINCE THE UPPER FLOW WILL REMAIN FAR TOO PROGRESSIVE TO ALLOW FOR MOISTURE RETURN. && .AVIATION... STRONG 25 TO 35 KT WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS MORNING AND PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. 35 TO 50 KT 850 TO 700MB WINDS SHOULD EASILY MIX TO THE SFC GIVEN THE DRY ADIABATIC PROFILE. THE NAM LOW LEVEL WINDS WERE DISREGARDED. BLOWING DUST MAY RESULT IN A SLIGHT REDUCTION IN VISBYS TO 4 OR 5 MILES IN THE AFTERNOON. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 72 28 48 21 / 0 0 0 0 GCK 70 26 47 21 / 0 0 0 0 EHA 69 28 51 22 / 0 0 0 0 LBL 73 29 52 23 / 0 0 0 0 HYS 70 28 43 20 / 0 0 0 0 P28 72 36 50 22 / 0 0 0 0 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FROM NOON CST /11 AM MST/ TODAY TO 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081- 084>090. WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM CST /10 AM MST/ THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR KSZ061>066-074>081-084>090. && FN02/24
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 509 AM CST TUE FEB 17 2009 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-181100- TREGO-ELLIS-SCOTT-LANE-NESS-RUSH-HAMILTON-KEARNY-FINNEY-HODGEMAN- PAWNEE-STAFFORD-STANTON-GRANT-HASKELL-GRAY-FORD-EDWARDS-KIOWA- PRATT-MORTON-STEVENS-SEWARD-MEADE-CLARK-COMANCHE-BARBER- 509 AM CST TUE FEB 17 2009 /409 AM MST TUE FEB 17 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A DEEPENING SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN KANSAS TODAY. TO THE SOUTH OF THE LOW...STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP BY LATE THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WINDS SHOULD INCREASE INTO THE 25 TO 40 MPH RANGE WITH GUSTS OF 50 TO 55 MPH POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG WINDS...RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL DROP TO 15 PERCENT OR LESS WHICH WILL CAUSE EXTREME FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS. NO OUTDOOR BURNING SHOULD BE ATTEMPTED TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT REQUIRED. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC GERARD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A 59 mph wind gust was reported at the Elkhart Middle School from a KSN weather station.
A 62 mph gust was reported at the airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, February 2009
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: 156968, 156969.