A deep low pressure system passing by to the north with an associated dry line allowed for strong winds to develop during the afternoon.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 deep low pressure system passing by to the north with an associated dry line allowed for strong winds to develop during the afternoon.
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 28, 10:55 AM CST, 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 1055 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 ...UPDATED FOR 18Z TAF ISSUANCE... .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 1030 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 SINCE THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM HAS MOVED FASTER AND A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT, FAR SOUTHWEST HAS BEEN DRY-SLOTTED. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES IN FAR SOUTHWEST KANSAS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. ALSO, HIGHER WIND SPEEDS WILL TAKE LONGER TO MIX DOWN, AND THUS I LOWERED THE HIGH WIND SPEED JUST A LITTLE. THUNDER IS STILL POSSIBLE IN OUR NORTHERN AND EASTERN CWA THIS AFTERNOON. THE NPW HIGH WIND WARNING AND RFW RED FLAG WARNING IN OUR WEST WILL BOTH CONTINUE. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 301 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 UPPER LEVEL LOW WHICH WAS LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AT 00Z TUESDAY WAS MOVING MORE EAST/NORTHWARD EARLIER THIS MORNING BASED ON WATER VAPOR LOOP. ALL THE MODELS TODAY ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THIS UPPER LOW CROSSING THE 4 CORNERS REGION EARLY THIS MORNING AND THEN OUT INTO THE PLAINS TOWARDS EVENING. AS THIS SYSTEM APPROACHES AN ARA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO DEEPEN ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO THROUGH 18Z AND THEN MOVE EAST/NORTHEAST INTO CENTRAL NEBRASKA. AS THIS SYSTEM DEEPENS ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO EARLY TODAY A DRY LINE IS FORECAST TO CROSS WESTERN KANSAS EARLY THIS MORNING AND BE LOCATED BETWEEN GARDEN CITY AND DODGE CITY AT 18Z. WEST OF THIS DRYLINE STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP WITH THE MEAN MIXED LAYER WIND SPEEDS REACHING 40KTS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. BASED ON THIS AND STRONG BOUNDARY WINDS FORECAST BETWEEN 18Z AND 00Z WILL CONTINUE WITH THE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR AREAS WEST OF DODGE CITY. EAST OF DODGE CITY WINDS SPEEDS WILL ALSO BE ON THE INCREASE, HOWEVER AT THIS TIME THE BOUNDARY LAYER AND MIXED LAYER WINDS INDICATE THESE WINDS IN THIS AREA WILL RANGE BETWEEN 30 AND 35 MPH. WILL THEREFORE ISSUE A WIND ADVISORY FOR AREAS EAST OF DODGE CITY. IN ADDITION TO THESE INCREASING WINDS...DEWPOINTS WILL BE FALLING BEHIND THE DRYLINE DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. WILL BE USING THE BOUNDARY LAYER DEWPOINTS FROM THE NAM AND GFS AS A GUIDE ON HOW FAR THE DEWPOINTS WILL FALL BY LATE DAY. GIVEN THIS IT CURRENTLY APPEARS THAT THE DEWPOINTS WILL FALL ENOUGH FOR AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES TO BOTTOM OUR BETWEEN 10 AND 15 PERCENT IN SEVERAL LOCATION ACROSS SOUTHWEST KANSAS. HAVE THEREFORE ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST KANSAS. THE 00Z NAM AND GFS STILL SUGGESTS THAT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG THIS DRYLINE DURING THE EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON AS DEEPER FORCING DEVELOPS ALONG THIS BOUNDARY. CAPES AT LESS THAN 300J/KG BUT STRONG SHEAR PRESENT IN THE 0-3KM AND 0-6KM LAYERS AND BOUNDARY LAYER DEWPOINTS CONTINUE TO CLIMB INTO THE 50S. AS A RESULT WILL KEEP A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS GOING THIS AFTERNOON AS THIS DRYLINE MOVES FROM DODGE CITY TO PRATT BETWEEN 18Z AND 23Z TUESDAY. WILL ALSO INSERT THE CHANCE FOR STRONG WINDS WITH A FEW OF THESE STORMS BASED ON THE 850-700MB WIND SPEEDS AND 0-3KM THTA-E DECREASE BY MORE THAN 12C. BASED ON THE CURRENT TIMING OF THIS DRYLINE MOVING EAST LATE THIS AFTERNOON...ANY STORM WHICH DOES DEVELOP WILL DURING THE AFTERNOON SHOULD BE EAST OF THE AREA BY 00Z WEDNESDAY. .LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 301 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 ON WEDNESDAY THE UPPER LOW BECOMES VERTICALLY STACKED ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST AND DRIFTS INTO THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES BY WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE NORTHWEST FLOW IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS STATES WILL GRADUALLY GIVE WAY TO LEE TROUGHING AS THE CROSS BARRIER FLOW DEVELOPS IN COLORADO. THIS WILL RESULT IN DECENT WARM ADVECTION DURING THE OVERNIGHT WITH LIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS. TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT DESPITE CLEAR CONDITIONS. ON THURSDAY WARMER CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS. THE MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE A DEEP DRY LOWER AND MIDDLE TROPOSPHERE WITH STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES - POTENTIAL FOR GOOD VERTICAL MIXING. MIXING FROM AROUND 750 MB WILL EASILY ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO REACH 70 DEGREES OR MORE IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS. THE MIXING WONT BE AS DEEP FARTHER WEST AND THE LEADING EDGE OF THE NEXT COLD FRONT WILL SAG INTO NORTHERN AND WESTERN KANSAS DURING THE DAY SLOWING THE WARMING RATE. THE COLD FRONT WILL BECOME REINFORCED THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT THURSDAY AS AN UPPER COLD POOL/500-300MB TROUGH SHARPENS AND DIVES THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS. AS THE CYCLONIC SIDE OF THE UPPER JET OVERRIDES THE COLD SURFACE AIRMASS, THE MODELS GENERATE POST FRONTAL PRECIPITATION THROUGH THE DAY ON FRIDAY. QPF AMOUNTS ARE FAIRLY LIGHT, BUT IN GENERAL THE PRECIPITATION TYPE EXPECTED WOULD BE SNOW IN THE OVERNIGHT AS THE DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE WILL BE MAXIMIZED RIGHT AROUND THE 700 MB LEVEL WHILE THE SURFACE LAYER SHOULD BE COLD ENOUGH TO PRECLUDE MELTING. HOWEVER THE TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO FREEZING THAT SOME DIURNAL HEATING WOULD CAUSE MELTING IN THE NEAR SURFACE LAYER FOR A RAIN PRECIPITATION TYPE DURING THE DAY FRIDAY. THE GENERAL FLOW PATTERN THEN BECOMES SPLIT INTO THE WEEKEND WITH NORTHWEST FLOW DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA AND PACIFIC HIGH PRESSURE OVERSPREADING THE SOUTHERN PLAINS REGION. MODEL CONSENSUS INDICATES THAT SATURDAY MAY BE THE COOLEST AFTERNOON OF ALL AS A THE EFFECTS OF COLD ADVECTION FOLLOWING THE FRIDAY POST FRONTAL PRECIPITATION CHANCES ARE FELT. AT THAT POINT THE UPPER JET WILL SHIFT EAST TO THE AREA PLACING WESTERN UPPER UNDER THE RIDGE AND IS WEAK WESTERLY DOWNS SLOPE AND A WEAK WARMING TREND. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1049 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE MOVES EAST-NORTHEAST THROUGH NEBRASKA TODAY, THE LOW STRATUS CIGS WILL CLEAR OUT FROM THE WEST TO EAST. STRONG WINDS WILL MIX DOWN FROM THE 3000 TO 5000 FOOT LEVEL, AND INCREASE WINDS AT THE GCK AND PERHAPS THE DDC TAF SITES INTO THE 25G35KT RANGE. HYS WILL STILL HAVE STRONG WINDS, BUT IN THE 22G32KT RANGE. SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN MAY AFFECT DDC AND HYS TAF SITES THIS AFTERNOON, BUT CIGS WILL BE NO LOWER THAN MVFR AND ONLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. && .FIRE WEATHER... ISSUED AT 1223 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 MIXED LAYER AND BOUNDARY LAYER DEWPOINTS AT 18Z TUESDAY AND 00Z WEDNESDAY FROM THE NAM AND GFS BOTH INDICATING THAT GIVEN GOOD MIXING THE SURFACE DEWPOINTS ACROSS PORTIONS OF FAR WESTERN KANSAS WILL DECREASE TO NEAR 10 DEGREES BEHIND A DRYLINE WHICH WILL CROSS WESTERN KANSAS BY LATE MORNING. GIVEN THESE LOW DEWPOINTS AND STRONG WINDS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATER TODAY THE AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL FALL BACK INTO THE 10 TO 15 PERCENT RANGE. WITH THIS IN MIND WILL ISSUE A RED FLAG WARNING FOR AREAS WEST OF HIGHWAY 83. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 64 29 58 36 / 30 0 0 0 GCK 63 27 57 33 / 30 10 0 0 EHA 62 28 61 35 / 20 0 0 0 LBL 63 27 61 33 / 20 0 0 0 HYS 62 30 55 34 / 50 10 0 0 P28 65 35 61 35 / 40 10 0 0 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CST /6 PM MST/ THIS EVENING FOR KSZ030-043>045-061>064-074>078-084>088. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR KSZ031-046-065-066- 079>081-089-090. RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM CST /7 PM MST/ THIS EVENING FOR KSZ043-061>063-074>076-084>086. && UPDATE...BURKE SHORT TERM...BURGERT LONG TERM....RUSSELL AVIATION...BURKE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 503 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-291115- 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- 503 AM CST TUE FEB 28 2012 /403 AM MST TUE FEB 28 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING AND A WIND ADVISORY ARE IN EFFECT FOR TODAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE EXTENDING FROM WAKEENEY TO ASHLAND. IN THIS AREA SOUTHWEST WINDS BEHIND THE DRYLINE WILL PRODUCE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 60 MPH. FURTHER EAST WIND SPEEDS WILL AVERAGE BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH. REFER TO THE LATEST HIGH WIND WARNING AND WIND ADVISORY STATEMENTS FOR MORE DETAILS. A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY ALONG AND WEST OF A SCOTT CITY TO LIBERAL LINE. THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS AND LOW AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WEST OF HIGHWAY 83. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...PRIMARILY EAST OF A LINE FROM SCOTT CITY TO MEADE AS A DRYLINE MOVES ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS. ALTHOUGH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ON THURSDAY STRONG WINDS ALONG WITH LOW AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL RESULT IN VERY HIGH OR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING THE AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC 18
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A 58 MPH wind gust was reported in Ulysses.
A 58 MPH wind gust was reported at a location 3 miles west of Scott City.
A 63 MPH wind gust was reported at a location 1 mile west-southwest of Grigston.
A 61 MPH wind gust was reported in Ingalls.
A 59 MPH wind gust was reported at the Garden City airport.
A 63 MPH wind gust was reported at the Garden City airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, February 2012
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: 368487, 368488, 368489, 368490, 368491, 368492.