A strong upper level low pressure system moved from northern Old Mexico into New Mexico Wednesday night, January 27th, 2010. This winter system then plowed east-northeast through Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma Thursday and early Friday, January 28th and 29th.
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.
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 upper level low pressure system moved from northern Old Mexico into New Mexico Wednesday night, January 27th, 2010. This winter system then plowed east-northeast through Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma Thursday and early Friday, January 28th and 29th. This brought significant snowfall to much of southwest and south central Kansas. The precipitation began as light snow late Wednesday night, then picked up and continued as heavy snow for much of Thursday and Thursday night. While snow persisted Friday morning, January 29th, in parts of our southeastern CWA, not much additional accumulation occurred. Reports received Friday morning, January 29th, revealed a 5 to 20 mile wide swath of 7 to 11 inches of snowfall fell along an axis from near Hudson in northeastern Stafford County, to north of Haviland in Kiowa County, through northern parts of both Ford and Gray Counties, to just north of Big Bow in extreme northeastern Stanton County. On either side of this heavy band of snow, an area of 4 to 6 inches of snow fell, basically south of a line from Shallow Water in southeast Scott County to Brownell in northeast Ness County to Pfeifer in southeast Ellis County, as well as north of a line from Elkhart in southeast Morton County to near Ashland in Clark county to near Sawyer in southeastern Pratt County. In northern parts of DDC’s CWA, as well as in southeastern parts, 2 to 4 inches of snow fell. The highest snowfall report received from this event was 11 inches at Ingalls in Gray County, with drifts as high as 5 feet in the Dodge City area also reported. Winds during the event were from the north to northwest at 20 to 35 mph, which caused many areas of deep drifting and widespread travel problems.
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 Jan 27, 3:12 PM CST, 16 hours 48 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
17 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 5 inches was reported with drifts to 5 feet from a location 1 mile north of Dodge City. The snow was still falling at the time.
Snowfall of 8 inches was reported at a location 12 miles east of Ulysses.
Snowfall of 6 inches was reported at a location 6 miles west of Cimarron.
Snowfall of 8 inches was reported at a location 7 miles west-southwest of Cimarron.
Snowfall of 5 inches was reported 1 mile south of Jetmore. The strong winds were making travel nearly impossible due to blowing and drifting.
Snowfall of 7 inches was reported 3 miles southwest of Dodge City.
Snowfall of 8 inches was reported in Elkhart.
Snowfall of 6 inches was reported in Syracuse.
Snowfall of 6 inches was reported in Scott City.
Snowfall of 6 inches was reported in Spearville.
Snowfall of 10 inches was reported 13 miles southwest of Plymell.
Snowfall of 6.4 inches was reported 8 miles north of Jetmore.
Snowfall of 11 inches was reported in Ingalls.
Snowfall of 6 inches was reported in Larned.
Snowfall of 6 inches was reported in Kinsley.
Snowfall of 7 inches was reported in St. John.
Snowfall of 7.5 inches was reported 11 miles northeast of Ashland.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, January 2010
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: 213793, 213794, 213795, 213796, 213797, 213800, 213802, 213804, 213805, 213807, 213808, 213810, 213811, 213812, 213813, 213814, 213815.