The year ended with a 'flurry' of activity as a well-defined upper-deck cyclone moved slowly east from New Mexico across the Southern Plains. No doubt, the slow-moving cyclone played a vital role in the production of prolonged light snow that occurred from early in the morning on the 30th thru New Year's Eve morning.
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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.
The year ended with a 'flurry' of activity as a well-defined upper-deck cyclone moved slowly east from New Mexico across the Southern Plains. No doubt, the slow-moving cyclone played a vital role in the production of prolonged light snow that occurred from early in the morning on the 30th thru New Year's Eve morning. Widespread 2-3 inch accumulations resulted and since the event occurred on a holiday, traffic was hampered.
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 29, 11:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 1135 PM CST MON DEC 29 2014 ...UPDATED FOR 06Z AVIATION DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 234 PM CST MON DEC 29 2014 ARCTIC AIR OVER THE DAKOTAS/NEBRASKA WAS CONTINUING TO SURGE SOUTH AND WILL SPREAD ACROSS KANSAS FOR TONIGHT AND REMAIN OVER THE AREA FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MEANWHILE SNOW CURRENTLY OVER NORTHWEST KANSAS WILL EXPAND EASTWARD INTO CENTRAL KANSAS FOR TONIGHT WITH SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE...WITH A TRACE TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE. THE SNOW SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF QUICKLY FOR TUESDAY MORNING...AS THE VERTICAL MOTION FROM UPPER LEVEL WAVE DIMINISHES. WIND CHILLS WILL DROP TO DANGEROUS LEVELS FOR TUESDAY MORNING AND COULD AGAIN FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY COULD BE HOISTED BY LATER SHIFTS FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING IF TRENDS MAINTAIN. TEMPERATURES SHOULD MODIFY AND WARM A BIT COME THURSDAY AS DOWNSLOPE FLOW HELPS BOOSTS DAYTIME HIGHS. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 234 PM CST MON DEC 29 2014 SOME UNCERTAINTY REMAINS BETWEEN THE GFS/ECMWF MODEL AS EXPECTED THIS FAR OUT IN TIME WITH POSITIONING OF THE FRI/SAT SYSTEM...BUT NONE THE LESS WINTER PRECIPITATION STILL SEEMS REASONABLE FOR MAINLY SOUTH CENTRAL/SOUTHEAST KANSAS. BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER KANSAS...AND TEMPERATURES COULD BE EVEN COLDER IF FRESH SNOW FALLS ACROSS THE REGION. JAKUB && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1135 PM CST MON DEC 29 2014 LIGHT SNOW IS MOVING ACROSS THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA IMPACTING KRSL/KHUT/KICT AND WILL SOON IMPACT KSLN. MVFR TO IFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES ARE ALSO IMPACTING THE TERMINALS. EXPECT THIS TO PERSIST THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THE SHORT- TERM HIGHER RES RUC GUIDANCE SHOWS THE SNOW DIMINISHING AROUND SUNRISE...WHILE THE NAM KEEPS PRECIP AROUND LONGER. HAVE TRENDED TOWARD THE RUC AT THIS TIME IN THE TAFS ENDING THE SNOW AROUND SUNRISE AND EVENTUALLY LIFTING THE CEILINGS TO HIGH END MVFR AND IN SOME CASES VFR BY THE END OF THE PERIOD. NORTH TO NORTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE FORECAST. BILLINGS WRIGHT && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 15 19 4 21 / 60 10 10 0 HUTCHINSON 10 15 2 20 / 100 20 10 0 NEWTON 11 17 2 20 / 50 10 10 0 ELDORADO 14 20 4 22 / 30 10 10 0 WINFIELD-KWLD 18 22 6 23 / 30 10 10 0 RUSSELL 4 9 -3 18 / 100 30 10 0 GREAT BEND 6 10 -2 18 / 100 30 10 0 SALINA 8 12 -1 19 / 90 10 10 0 MCPHERSON 9 14 1 20 / 100 10 10 0 COFFEYVILLE 23 28 9 25 / 30 10 10 0 CHANUTE 19 24 5 23 / 10 10 10 0 IOLA 18 23 4 22 / 10 10 10 0 PARSONS-KPPF 21 26 7 24 / 20 10 10 0 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON CST TUESDAY FOR KSZ032-033- 047-048. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 448 PM CST MON DEC 29 2014 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-302300- 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- 448 PM CST MON DEC 29 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD CENTRAL KANSAS TONIGHT. BETWEEN A HALF INCH AND TWO INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR LOCATIONS GENERALLY NEAR INTERSTATE 70. ARCTIC AIR WILL SPILL SOUTH TONIGHT ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH VERY COLD TEMPERATURES TO PRODUCE DANGEROUS WIND CHILL VALUES BETWEEN 0 AND MINUS 20 DEGREES...WITH THE LOWEST VALUES OVER CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES IN THE ZERO TO MINUS 20 DEGREE RANGE WILL BE IN PLACE TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE LOWEST WIND CHILL VALUES ARE EXPECTED OVER CENTRAL KANSAS. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE AREA LATE IN THE WEEK...BRINGING INCREASING CHANCES FOR WINTRY PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE REGION. HOWEVER...THERE REMAINS QUITE A BIT OF UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING THE TRACK AND TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM...SO STAY TUNED FOR LATER FORECASTS. .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 CJ
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
At 7 AM CST a CO-OP Observer measured 2.0 inches 7 miles south of Windom.
At 7 AM CST a CO-OP observer measured 3.0 inches in Turon.
At 705 AM CST a CO-OP observer measured 2.9 inches in Inman.
At 705 AM CST a CO-OP observer measured 1.5 inches in Hutchinson.
At 820 AM CST the Emergency Manager measured 2 inches in Hutchinson.
At 341 PM CST a trained spotter measured 2.0 inches 3 miles north of Murdock.
At 410 PM CST a trained spotter estimated 2.5 inches in Spivey.
At 700 AM CST on the 31st a CO-OP observer measured a 24-hour total of 2.2 inches in Kingman ending at 700 AM on the 31st.
At 700 AM CST on the 31st a CO-OP observer measured a 24-hour total of 2.5 inches 1 mile west southwest of Willowdale ending at 700 AM on the 31st.
At 700 AM CST on the 31st a CO-OP observer measured a 24-hour total of 3.0 inches in Mount Hope ending at 700 AM CST on the 31st.
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: 552008, 552010, 552012, 552014, 552021, 552025, 552026, 552027, 552028, 552029.