Short-term drought conditions continue to improve over extreme easternl Kansas, through the month of February 2013. Recent rains and snowstorms have led to this improvement in the short-term, with retention ponds, streams, and rivers, beginning to return to normal or near normal levels.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 EAX wrote it up.
Short-term drought conditions continue to improve over extreme easternl Kansas, through the month of February 2013. Recent rains and snowstorms have led to this improvement in the short-term, with retention ponds, streams, and rivers, beginning to return to normal or near normal levels. Long-term impacts continue to be the prevailing source for our drought conditions, but with the magnitude of the recent snow melt and rains, even the long-term impacts have diminished. As a result, severe drought (D2) continues in extreme eastern Kansas, with extreme (D3) conditions found earlier in western Leavenworth County, improving to severe (D2) conditions.
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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 11:36 PM CST, 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 1136 PM CST THU JAN 31 2013 ...UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION... .DISCUSSION... Short Term (Tonight - Saturday)... Conditions will be ripe for the coldest temperatures of the season over the area tonight. With a snow pack on the ground over much of the CWA (with the exception of extreme southern areas), and a Arctic high pressure moving into the area providing for clear skies and light winds, temperatures will bottom out in the single digits below 0 north of highway 36 to the single digits above 0 south. Winds will be light so that should keep wind chills just above wind chill advisory criteria but still very cold across northern Missouri ranging from 10-15 degrees below 0. Temperatures will continue to remain below average Friday as northwest flow aloft will reside over the area. High pressure will drift off to the east and we will get a return to southerly flow across the area but with the cold start and increasing cloud cover out ahead of an approaching cold front, highs will only range from near 20 to the lower 30s. The aforementioned cold front will move through the area Friday night. Moisture will be limited in the wake of the cold departing high pressure system however there is a slight chance for light snow across northern Missouri Friday night. Little to no accumulation is expected. Conditions Saturday will finally move slightly above average with downslope westerly flow across the area. Highs will range from the mid to upper 30s across northern Missouri into the 40s elsewhere. 73 Long Term (Sunday Through Thursday)... Northwest flow aloft continues through the first half of the period before flattening mid week ahead of an amplifying trough. As a result it should be dry until late Wednesday night. Temperatures will slowly modify, despite a weak cold frontal passage early Monday and another on Tuesday, with the coolest daytime highs found across the northeast zones. As for Wednesday night into Thursday, an amplifying trough will move across the region allowing for what now appears to be a rain event. Latest 12Z NWP depict rather low precip amounts, under 0.25" total storm liquid. Something to watch as we move forward in time. 04 && .AVIATION... For the 00Z TAFS...Surface ridge will move across eastern KS/western MO overnight resulting in light west winds and clear skies. Satellite imagery shows considerable warm advection mid level deck around 10K ft agl already streaming southeast across NE and northern KS. Appears they are spreading downstream a bit faster than progged so have sped up their arrival in the latest forecast. 00z NAM and GFS are a bit more robust with a shortwave that tracks through CO and into southwest KS by this time tomorrow night. This could shift any light precipitation into the KSTJ terminal after midnight tomorrow and possibly into west central MO. Will address that threat in the next forecast. MJ && .EAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. && WFO EAX
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 657 PM CST THU JAN 31 2013 KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-011115- ATCHISON KS-MIAMI-LINN KS-DONIPHAN-LEAVENWORTH-WYANDOTTE-JOHNSON KS- ATCHISON MO-NODAWAY-WORTH-GENTRY-HARRISON-MERCER-PUTNAM-SCHUYLER- HOLT-ANDREW-DE KALB-DAVIESS-GRUNDY-SULLIVAN-ADAIR-BUCHANAN-CLINTON- CALDWELL-LIVINGSTON-LINN MO-MACON-PLATTE-CLAY-RAY-CARROLL-CHARITON- RANDOLPH-JACKSON-LAFAYETTE-SALINE-HOWARD-CASS-JOHNSON MO-PETTIS- COOPER-BATES-HENRY- 657 PM CST THU JAN 31 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST...NORTH CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AS WELL AS EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WIND CHILLS MAY REACH 15 BELOW TO 20 BELOW ZERO ACROSS FAR NORTHERN MISSOURI LATE TONIGHT...AND AS COLD AS 5 BELOW AS FAR SOUTH AS THE MISSOURI RIVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. MJ
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Atchison reported 1.49 inches of precipitation.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Troy reported 1.33 inches of precipitation.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Overland Park reported 2.99 inches of precipitation.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Leavenworth reported 2.01 inches of precipitation.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Centerville reported 2.84 inches of precipitation.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Osawatomie reported 4.12 inches of precipitation.
Severe (D2) drought conditions prevailed across the county. Bonner Springs reported 3.08 inches of precipitation.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, February 2013
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: 431448, 431449, 431450, 431451, 431452, 431453, 431455.