A fast moving short wave trough moved across northern Oklahoma and provided the lift to produce an area of snow. Reports of generally 3 to 4 inches were received and the good news there was not much wind associated with the snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 fast moving short wave trough moved across northern Oklahoma and provided the lift to produce an area of snow. Reports of generally 3 to 4 inches were received and the good news there was not much wind associated with the snow.
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 8, 5:45 PM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 545 PM CST WED FEB 8 2012 ...UPDATED FOR AVIATION... .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 333 PM CST WED FEB 8 2012 UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WAS LOCATED NEAR EASTERN MONTANA EARLIER THIS MORNING BASED ON WATER VAPOR LOOP AND 12Z 500MB ANALYSIS. A 700MB BAROCLINIC ZONE EXTENDED FROM NORTHEAST WYOMING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS. NEAR THE SURFACE A COLD DOME OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDED FROM WESTERN OKLAHOMA ACROSS KANSAS INTO NEBRASKA. THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE (STATUS) WHICH WAS PRESENT EARLIER THIS MORNING HAS JUST BEGUN TO SLOWLY ERODE AS HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE MOVES EAST/SOUTHEAST ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS. LIGHT SURFACE WINDS ALREADY TAKING ON A MORE SOUTHERLY DIRECTION AND EXPECT THESE WINDS TO INCREASE SLIGHTLY EARLY TONIGHT AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE STARTS TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. EARLY TONIGHT THE EASTERN MONTANA UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE PLAINS ALONG THE MID LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE. AS THIS UPPER TROUGH CROSSES NEBRASKA A FLURRY OR TWO MAYBE POSSIBLE NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 GIVEN THE DEVELOPING 850-700MB WARM AIR ADVECTION IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AHEAD OF THIS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. AT TIME BASED ON THE LOCATION OF THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF AN UPPER JET AND WHERE THE BETTER MOISTURE AND WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL BE DEVELOPING LATER THIS EVENING ANY PRECIPITATION THAT MAY DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT IS EXPECTED TO STAY NORTHEAST OF THE AREA. FURTHER WEST ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WHICH WAS LOCATED OVER OREGON AT 12Z WEDNESDAY WILL CROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST AND APPROACH THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN ROCKIES BY 12Z THURSDAY. AS THIS SYSTEM APPROACHES THE ROCKIES THERE WILL BE AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN KANSAS. GIVEN THIS INCREASING CLOUD COVER ALONG WITH SLIGHTLY STRONGER LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL FAVOR THE WARMER GUIDANCE FOR OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES. LOWS TONIGHT ARE EXPECTED TO BE GENERALLY IN THE LOW TO MID 20S. ON THURSDAY THIS UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL CROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AS PRESSURES CONTINUE TO FALL ACROSS EASTERN COLORADO. A SOUTH/SOUTHEAST FLOW DEVELOPING ACROSS WEST TEXAS WILL DRAW HIGHER SURFACE TO 850MB DEWPOINTS NORTHWARD ACROSS WEST TEXAS DURING THE DAY. GIVEN WHERE THE BETTER MOISTURE WILL BE BY 00Z FRIDAY AHEAD OF THIS UPPER TROUGH/LOW, THE IMPROVING 850-700MB FRONTOGENESIS JUST SOUTH OF THE OKLAHOMA BORDER, AND THE NAM/GFS MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATING THE HEIGHT THE MOIST LAYER ACROSS SOUTHWEST KANSAS AT 00Z FRIDAY WILL BE ABOVE THE 700MB LEVEL WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE FORECAST DRY. WILL HOWEVER INSERT 10-14% CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR THE OKLAHOMA BORDER FROM 21Z THURSDAY THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 333 PM CST WED FEB 8 2012 A CHALLENGING FORECAST LIES AHEAD FOR THIS WEEKEND AS A PROGRESSIVE UPPER PATTERN IS FORECAST BY THE MODELS WITH A LARGE CONTINENTAL POLAR AIR MASS MOVING INTO THE PLAINS STATES WHICH WILL BRING MUCH COLDER AIR. SURFACE WINDS WILL BE BACKING WITH TIME ON FRIDAY ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS, AND THE MODELS INDICATE SIGNIFICANT MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES SPREAD AS COLD ADVECTION INCREASES. AS A RESULT CENTRAL KANSAS MAY SEE SIGNIFICANTLY ENOUGH COLD ADVECTION TO STAY BELOW FREEZING DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH MUCH WARMER TEMPERATURES NEAR THE COLORADO LINE. JUST HOW MOIST AND COLD THE BOUNDARY LAYER TO THE EAST IS MAY HAVE LARGE INFLUENCE ON THE SENSIBLE WEATHER ON SATURDAY. IT WILL BE COLD, WELL BELOW FREEZING WITH THE WARMEST OF SOLUTIONS ONLY IN THE UPPER 20S TO NEAR 30 DEGREES, AND MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES INDICATED IN THE NAM AND CANADIAN SOLUTIONS. GFS MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW A SHALLOW COLD LAYER WITH NO SIGNIFICANT ICE INTRODUCTION IN ABOUT A 2 KM OF STRATUS LAYER. THIS GENERAL PATTERN REMAINS FAVORABLE FOR FREEZING DRIZZLE GIVEN THESE TYPES OF SOUNDINGS, EXPECTED SURFACE TEMPERATURES AS WELL AS LIGHT QPF OUTPUT BY THE MODELS. THE MODELS ALSO HAVE GOOD AGREEMENT A MID LEVEL WAVE LIFTING INTO OR IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF THE REGION LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THIS WILL ALLOW BETTER CONFIDENCE FOR ICE INTRODUCTION ALOFT INTO THE SOUNDINGS AND ALSO BRING ON A WAVE OF WARM ADVECTION ON SUNDAY ERODING THE COLD LAYER AT THE SURFACE. AS A RESULT THE MOST PLAUSIBLE OUTCOME AT THIS TIME APPEARS TO BE A VERY LIGHT FLURRY OR ACCUMULATING FREEZING DRIZZLE CHANCE ON SATURDAY, FOLLOWED BY A CHANCE OF SNOW SATURDAY NIGHT AND FOLLOWED BY SNOW, LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE SUNDAY WITH RAIN CHANCES INCREASING SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE LAYER WARMS. A SWATH OF (QPF) PRECIPITATION ON THE ORDER OF A QUARTER OF AN INCH IS POSSIBLE ACROSS OUR FAR SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS COUNTIES IN WARM MOIST ADVECTION. DRYING ALOFT OCCURS AFTER THIS EPISODE, BUT THE LOW LEVELS LOOK TO REMAIN RELATIVELY SATURATED ON MONDAY. THE MODELS PERSIST WITH AN ACTIVE UPPER PATTERN, AND BRING YET ANOTHER WAVE INTO THE REGION BY ABOUT WEDNESDAY OR DAY 7. WITH THE DIFFICULTY OF THE WEEKEND FORECAST THE CONFIDENCE IS NOT GREATER WITH THIS MID WEEK SYSTEM, BUT CHANCES FOR RAIN OR SNOW ARE INCLUDED BY THE ALLBLEND PROCESS AND SEEM ACCEPTABLE. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 541 PM CST WED FEB 8 2012 MVFR CIGS WILL MOVE EAST THIS EVENING WITH SOME CIRROSTRATUS LEFT OVER THROUGH THE NIGHT. BY 12Z AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL DROP SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS COLORADO SPREADING SOME MID LEVEL CLOUDINESS FROM WEST TO EAST. WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD WITH A VERY WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 22 43 22 37 / 0 0 10 0 GCK 21 42 21 40 / 0 0 0 0 EHA 24 41 25 46 / 0 10 10 0 LBL 22 43 24 41 / 0 10 10 0 HYS 19 39 19 31 / 0 0 0 0 P28 25 46 27 39 / 0 10 10 0 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BURGERT LONG TERM....RUSSELL AVIATION...06
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS 437 AM CST WED FEB 8 2012 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-091100- 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- 437 AM CST WED FEB 8 2012 /337 AM MST WED FEB 8 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL...SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ANOTHER WINTER STORM COULD POSSIBLY MOVE OUT OVER THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS AROUND SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL BRING INCREASING CHANCES FOR SNOW. THERE COULD ALSO BE SOME LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY REMAINS AS TO POSSIBLE SNOW AMOUNTS WITH THIS SYSTEM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/DDC GERARD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall of 4.0 inches was reported from a location 8 miles west-northwest of Hardtner.
Snowfall of 4.0 inches was reported from a location 8 miles west-northwest of Hazelton.
Snowfall of 3.0 inches was reported from a location 1 mile southeast of Sharon.
Snowfall of 1.5 inches was reported from a location 5 miles south of Coldwater.
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: 368482, 368483, 368484, 368485.