m. m.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 GID wrote it up.
Primarily between 9 p.m. on Wednesday the 17th and 5 a.m. on Thursday the 18th, Jewell and Mitchell counties received a broad coating of 2 to 3.5 of snow, with lesser totals closer to 1 reported in eastern portions of Smith and Osborne counties. Per a combination of NWS cooperative observers, CoCoRaHs observers and trained spotters, a few of the highest overnight totals featured 3.5 at Lovewell Dam, 3.3 at Jewell and Simpson, 3.0 two miles north-northwest of Hunter and 2.6 at Mankato. Fortunately, light wind made this an almost ideal , relatively low-impact snowfall, as sustained easterly speeds only averaged around 5 MPH.
From a broader geographical perspective, the local North Central Kansas area resided along the northwestern fringes of a larger snowfall swath of generally 2-5 that mainly affected central and northeast portions of the Sunflower State. Between 9 p.m. and midnight on the 17th, steady snow spread into the local area from the south, before very slowly ending from west-to-east during the pre-dawn hours. On the large scale of the mid and upper levels, this fairly low-impact event was driven primarily by broad isentropic lift focused along and north of a low-amplitude shortwave trough shifting across KS and toward the MO/IA border through the night, with only a fairly weak contribution from frontogenetic forcing. At the surface, the very light wind was fostered by a weak pressure gradient on the southwest fringes of a broad high centered over the Upper Mississippi Valley.
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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 17, 8:27 PM CST, 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
827 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014
.UPDATE...
ISSUED AT 825 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014
CANNOT RULE OUT A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE UNTIL
AROUND 06Z BEFORE BETTER SATURATION OCCURS AND PCPN TRANSITIONS TO
LIGHT SNOW. HAVE EXPANDED FZDZ POTENTIAL TO OUR OUR ENTIRE CWA
FOR A FEW HOURS. CURRENT WINTER WX ADVISORY STILL LOOKS ON TRACK
ATTM.
&&
.SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY)
ISSUED AT 314 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014
AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE LIFTING FROM THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES INTO
THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL SPREAD LIGHT SNOWFALL ACROSS MUCH OF THE
LOCAL AREA OVERNIGHT. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL THEN RAPIDLY TRACK
EAST DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY...WITH A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING
DRIZZLE POSSIBLE DURING THE MORNING HOURS TOMORROW ON THE
BACKSIDE OF THIS DISTURBANCE.
FOR TONIGHT...EXPECT THE SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS SOUTHERN KANSAS
THIS AFTERNOON TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD NORTHWARD...WITH LIGHT
SNOWFALL EXPECTED TO BECOME LIKELY ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS DURING THE EVENING HOURS. WHILE THE BRUNT OF THE FORCING
FROM THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BE FOCUSED SOUTH AND EAST OF
THE LOCAL AREA...CONTINUE TO EXPECT SOME SMALL ACCUMULATIONS
MAINLY ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE LOCAL AREA...WITH A
SHARP GRADIENT EXPECTED THE FURTHER YOU WORK NORTHWEST. AS A
RESULT...ATTEMPTED TO FINE TUNE THE FORECAST SOME...INCREASING
TOTALS A BIT ACROSS THE ADVISED AREA...AND DECREASING THEM BY
ABOUT HALF ACROSS MOST OF OUR NEBRASKA COUNTIES.
OTHER THAN ADJUSTING SNOWFALL AMOUNTS...THE LARGEST CHANGE TO THE
SHORT TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST WAS TO REDUCE THE COVERAGE OF
FREEZING DRIZZLE...AS CONFIDENCE FOR IT BEING REALIZED...AT LEAST
DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...IS EXTREMELY LOW. WHILE AREAS TO OUR
WEST AND SOUTHWEST SAW SOME LIGHT DRIZZLE ACCUMULATIONS THIS
AFTERNOON...CALLS TO WESTERN PORTIONS OF OUR FORECAST AREA THIS
AFTERNOON HAVE LED US TO BELIEVE THAT THE SURFACE DEWPOINT
SPREADS ARE TOO GREAT ACROSS OUR LOCAL AREA FOR THE LIGHT RETURNS
ON RADAR TO BE REACHING THE GROUND. THEN...AS THE MID LEVELS OF
THE ATMOSPHERE BEGIN TO SATURATE OVERNIGHT WITH THE APPROACHING
DISTURBANCE...HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME SEEING FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL
BE ABLE TO DEVELOP GIVEN THE MODELED SOUNDINGS. HENCE...DECIDED TO
REMOVE DRIZZLE THROUGH MOST OF THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THAT
SAID...DID KEEP SOME DRIZZLE IN THE FORECAST AREA ON THE TAIL END
OF THE EVENT AS DRY AIR INTRUDES AT THE MID LEVELS...BUT
DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF ACCUMULATING SNOW...THIS MAY HAVE A
VERY MINIMAL IMPACT ON SURFACE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA.
OTHERWISE...EXPECT CLOUDY AND SEASONABLY COOL TEMPERATURES OVER
THE NEXT 24 HOURS...WITH LOWS OVERNIGHT NEAR 20 DEGREES...AND
HIGHS ON THURSDAY NEAR 30 THANKS TO THE LINGERING CLOUD COVER
ACROSS THE REGION BEHIND THIS DISTURBANCE.
.LONG TERM...(THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)
ISSUED AT 314 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014
PATTERN: FAIRLY LOW AMPLITUDE FLOW HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND WILL
MODIFY TO INCREASING AMPLIFICATION AS A TROF DEVELOPS NEAR THE
DATELINE...FORCING SUBTROPICAL HIGH PRES TO BREAK OFF AND SETUP OVER
THE E PAC. THIS WILL RESULT IN A LONGWAVE TROF DEVELOPING OVER THE
CNTRL AND ERN USA NEXT WEEK.
THE PAST 3 RUNS OF THE EC/GFS/GEM ARE IN OUTSTANDING AGREEMENT WITH
EACH OTHER AND THEIR ENSEMBLE MEANS...AS WELL AS THE LAST 2 UKMET
RUNS...REGARDING THE LARGE-SCALE PATTERN/LONGWAVE FLOW. THIS
SUGGESTS ABOVE NORMAL PREDICTABILITY.
BOTTOM LINE IS TEMPS WILL GRADUALLY EDGE UPWARD THRU THE WEEKEND
THEN TURNING COLDER...WITH NO MAJOR PRECIP POTENTIAL.
ALOFT: A WEAK SHORTWAVE TROF WILL MOVE THRU FRI NIGHT AND WILL BE OF
LITTLE CONSEQUENCE. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROF WILL MOVE THRU SUN JUST
AHEAD OF A STRONG 175 KT ANTICYCLONICALLY-CURVED JET STREAK. THE
ASSOCIATED POTENT SHORTWAVE TROF WILL BE CROSSING THE NRN ROCKIES
SUN AND DIVE INTO THE PLAINS MON...SLOWING DOWN WITH THE
AMPLIFICATION AND CLOSING OFF AND MID-LVL LOW. NNW FLOW WILL MOVE IN
TUE-WED WITH RISING HEIGHTS AS THE NEXT TROF APPROACHES THE PAC NW
COAST.
SURFACE: HIGH PRES WILL BE OVER THE GREAT LAKES FRI AND GRADUALLY
SLIP E INTO SAT...AS A WEAK LOW FORMS OVER ALBERTA AND EJECTS ONTO
THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES. A WEAK WARM FRONT WILL TRY TO DEVELOP AND
EXTEND SOUTHWARD INTO THE CNTRL PLAINS. STRONGER LOW PRES SHOULD
THEN FORM OVER ALBERTA SUN AND DIVE SE INTO THE NRN PLAINS MON
...WITH THE INITIAL LOW FADING. ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL CROSS
THE CNTRL PLAINS MON. HIGH PRES SHOULD FOLLOW TUE-WED.
THE DAILY DETAILS...
THU NIGHT-SAT: PERSISTENCE SEEMS WISE AS GFS/NAM CROSS SECTIONS HAVE
A LOW STRATUS SIGNAL. IT HAS BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO DISLODGE THE PAST
SEVERAL DAYS...EVEN AFTER THE LOW THAT MOVED THRU HERE SUN. IT DOES
APPEAR THE WRN EDGE WILL BE CLOSE TO THE WRN FRINGE OF THE FCST AREA
/NEAR HWY 283/ THRU FRI. DOES THE STRATUS LINGER INTO SAT FOR ALL OR
PART OF THE FCST AREA? CONFIDENCE IS VERY LOW ON IF/WHEN/WHERE
STRATUS REMAINS OR DEPARTS BUT WE HAVE INDICATED GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT
FROM THE W FRI NIGHT INTO SAT.
THE PREVIOUS SHIFT INSERTED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF FRZG DRZL THU NIGHT
INTO FRI MORNING. WE AS FCSTRS HAVE VERY LITTLE SKILL IN FORECASTING
FRZG DRZL AND THE FCST MOISTURE DEPTH APPEARS TOO SHALLOW TO ME
BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE...BUT LOOK AT THE 12Z LBF SOUNDING THIS AM.
THEY HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH IT W OF HERE TODAY. SO IT HAS BEEN
EXPANDED FROM 6 PM THU-12 PM FRI...BUT IT IS JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE.
CONFIDENCE IS LOW.
STRATUS ALWAYS HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR TEMPS. THAT MEANS
THERE IS SIGNIFICANT BUST POTENTIAL WHERE IT LINGERS AND WE DONT
HAVE IT OR WHERE IT CLEARS AND WE DO.
SUN: PARTLY-MOSTLY CLOUDY. IT COULD BE SURPRISINGLY WARM DEPENDENT
ON CLOUD COVER.
SUN NIGHT: POSSIBLY A NARROW/SMALL ARC OF BROKEN SHWRS WITH A PRE-
FRONTAL TROF.
MON: A COUPLE MORE BRIEF SHWRS WITH COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE.
TUE: NW WINDS CRANK IN COLD AIR ADVECTION. COULD SEE A LITTLE WRAP-
AROUND LIGHT SNOW ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE DIMINISHING LOW OVER IA.
ANY SNOWFALL WILL NOT BE A BIG DEAL. THE MID-LVL CIRCULATION IS
CURRENTLY FCST TO REMAIN N OF THE FCST AREA AND THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR
DECENT PRECIP HERE.
WED: ANOTHER DAY IN THE COLD SECTOR AS A POTENTIALLY INTENSE /SUB
980/ LOW CRANKS OVER THE GREAT LAKES.
&&
.AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z KGRI/KEAR TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY EVENING)
ISSUED AT 518 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014
COMPLICATED WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE TAF PERIOD WITH MVFR TO IFR
CONDITIONS. STRATUS HOLDS FIRM ACROSS THE REGION AND WEST OF THE
TERMINAL AREAS OF BR HAVE DEVELOPED WITH LIFR CIGS AND SOME HIT
MISS FZDZ. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CROSS THE PLAINS
TONIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY BRINGING CHCS FOR SNOWFALL TOWARD 06Z
AND PERSISTING UNTIL AROUND 12Z BEFORE SUBSIDING. THE GREATER SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE FOCUS ACROSS KANSAS AND FAR SOUTHERN
NEBRASKA.
&&
.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...NONE.
KS...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM CST THURSDAY FOR KSZ007-018-
019.
&&
UPDATE...FAY
SHORT TERM...ROSSI
LONG TERM...HALBLAUB
AVIATION...FAYHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 811 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 181200- PHILLIPS-SMITH-JEWELL-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-VALLEY-GREELEY-NANCE- SHERMAN-HOWARD-MERRICK-POLK-DAWSON-BUFFALO-HALL-HAMILTON-YORK- GOSPER-PHELPS-KEARNEY-ADAMS-CLAY-FILLMORE-FURNAS-HARLAN-FRANKLIN- WEBSTER-NUCKOLLS-THAYER- 811 PM CST WED DEC 17 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. LIGHT SNOWFALL IS FORECAST ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA TONIGHT...AND LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY MORNING. THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR ACCUMULATIONS OVER 1 INCH IS FOCUSED MAINLY SOUTH OF A LINE EXTENDING FROM PHILLIPSBURG KANSAS TO HEBRON NEBRASKA...AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR JEWELL...MITCHELL AND OSBORNE COUNTIES...WHERE TWO OR MORE INCHES OF SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR FURTHER DETAILS. IN ADDITION TO ACCUMULATING SNOW...PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT SNOW AND PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE CONTINUES INTO THURSDAY MORNING...AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR OSBORNE...JEWELL AND MITCHELL COUNTIES IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL 9 AM. ADDITIONALLY...THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE THURSDAY NIGHT UNTIL ABOUT NOON FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT...BUT SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL MEASUREMENTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported 3.3 inches of snowfall in Simpson. CoCoRaHS observer reports included 3.0 inches measured two miles north-northwest of Hunter and 2.7 inches measured 10 miles south southwest of Beloit.
Cooperative observers measured 3.5 inches at Lovewell Dam, 3.3 inches at Jewell, 2.6 inches in Mankato and 2.4 inches in Burr Oak.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 2014
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: 545934, 545933.