Strong northwest winds of 50 to 60 mph swept southeast across central and south-central Kansas during the evening of the 31st, in wake of a strong cold front. No damage was reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Strong northwest winds of 50 to 60 mph swept southeast across central and south-central Kansas during the evening of the 31st, in wake of a strong cold front. No damage was 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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 2:32 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 232 PM CST SAT DEC 31 2011 .DISCUSSION... MAIN FORECAST UPDATES WILL FOCUS ON WINDS FOR THIS EVENING...FOLLOWED BY COOLER AIR FOR SUNDAY/MONDAY AND A NICE WARMING TREND RETURNING TO KANSAS TUESDAY-THURSDAY. TONIGHT THE VERY STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...WITH WINDS DIMINISHING BELOW CRITERIA BEFORE MIDNIGHT. MEANWHILE...VERY COLD TEMPERATURES AND STEEP LAPSE RATES IN THE 700-500MB LAYER ASSOCIATED WITH THE PV ANOMALY WILL LEAD TO A BAND OF RAIN SHOWERS FOR EARLY THIS EVENING OVER NEBRASKA EXTENDING SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL KANSAS. CANNOT RULE OUT SOME LIGHTNING STRIKES WITH ANY OF THIS ACTIVITY DUE TO STEEP LAPSE RATES...THUS WILL INCLUDE ISOLATED THUNDER WITH THE RAIN SHOWERS. SUN-TUE A COOLER BREEZY DAY WILL BE IN STORE FOR KANSAS ON SUNDAY BUT DAYTIME HIGHS WILL STILL BE ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES. ANOTHER IMPULSE RACES SOUTHWARD DOWN THE BACKSIDE OF THE TROUGH AXIS FOR SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY...AND CAUSES COLDER AIR TO BACKDOOR ITS WAY KANSAS WITH THE COOLEST DAY OF THE WEEK ANTICIPATED ON MONDAY. SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS ON TUESDAY AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SLIDES EAST WITH WARMER AIR QUICKLY SPREADING BACK INTO THE AREA. EXTENDED: WED-SAT CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL OVER KANSAS FOR THIS PERIOD AS GULF MOISTURE IS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. WARM AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH UPPER LEVEL RIDGING MOVING OVERHEAD. THE WARM ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES COULD EXTEND INTO FRIDAY DEPENDING ON TIMING OF NEXT COLD FRONT. WE ARE NOT EXPECTING A MAJOR COOL DOWN BEHIND THIS COLD FRONT...MAINLY DUE TO NO SNOWPACK ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS WHICH TYPICALLY CHILLS THE AIRMASS WHEN THEY VENTURE SOUTHWARD. JAKUB .AVIATION...18Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU FORECAST CONCERNS REMAIN THE TIMING OF A STRONG COLD FRONT WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TODAY. WINDS WILL BE STRONG OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST PRIOR TO FRONTAL PASSAGE AND THEN SWITCH TO THE NORTHWEST. KRSL WILL SEE THE STRONGEST WINDS WITH GUSTS TO 45 KTS OR ABOVE. THE FRONT SHOULD BE MOVING THROUGH KRSL WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR IF NOT SOONER. MODELS ARE HINTING AT THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A THUNDERSTORM FOR KRSL/KSLN BETWEEN 00-03Z SO HAVE INCLUDED VCSH AT THIS TIME...AS WELL AS A SHORT STINT OF MVFR CEILINGS. WINDS SHOULD START TO DIE DOWN LATE THIS EVENING BUT LINGER FURTHER INTO MID MORNING FOR KCNU. SGS && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 30 45 21 41 / 10 0 0 0 HUTCHINSON 30 46 21 42 / 20 0 0 0 NEWTON 30 44 21 39 / 20 0 0 0 ELDORADO 30 45 21 39 / 20 0 0 0 WINFIELD-KWLD 32 47 22 42 / 10 0 0 0 RUSSELL 24 41 17 37 / 20 0 0 0 GREAT BEND 25 42 18 39 / 20 0 0 0 SALINA 29 45 20 40 / 30 0 0 0 MCPHERSON 29 45 20 41 / 30 0 0 0 COFFEYVILLE 33 48 23 43 / 0 0 0 0 CHANUTE 32 46 22 40 / 10 0 0 0 IOLA 33 45 22 39 / 20 0 0 0 PARSONS-KPPF 32 48 21 41 / 10 0 0 0 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR KSZ033-048>053- 067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR KSZ032-033- 047>051-067-082-091. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT FOR KSZ032-047. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 341 PM CST SAT DEC 31 2011 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-012145- 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- 341 PM CST SAT DEC 31 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT VERY STRONG WEST AND NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE ENTIRE AREA FROM WEST TO EAST THROUGH THE EVENING HORUS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST HIGH WIND WARNING AND WIND ADVISORY FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. STRONG WEST AND NORTHWEST WINDS AND DRY AIR WILL CAUSE EXTREME FIRE DANGER INTO THE EARLY EVENING...MAINLY FOR LOCATIONS WEST OF INTERSTATE 135. MEANWHILE VERY HIGH GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER WILL ENCOMPASS THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...PLEASE SEE THE LATEST RED FLAG WARNING FOR MORE DETAILS. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS...WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER LEVEL WILL AFFECT PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Winds were likely sustained around 40 mph, with a few gusts to around 56 mph.
Winds were likely sustained around 40 mph, with a few gusts over 50 mph.
Winds were likely sustained around 40 mph, with a few gusts near 60 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 2011
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: 358222, 358223, 358224.