During the late evening and overnight hours a strong cold front moved south out of Nebraska into Northwest Kansas. Behind the front northerly winds briefly increased, with wind gusts around 60 MPH reported at several locations.
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 GLD wrote it up.
During the late evening and overnight hours a strong cold front moved south out of Nebraska into Northwest Kansas. Behind the front northerly winds briefly increased, with wind gusts around 60 MPH reported at several locations. The strongest wind gust was 67 MPH reported at 4 N of Atwood.
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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 16, 10:37 PM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 937 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 151 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 CONCERNS THROUGH TOMORROW WILL BE WINDS TONIGHT AND FIRE WEATHER ISSUES MONDAY. COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT AND 3 HOUR PRESSURE RISES BEHIND THE FRONT INDICATE THAT WINDS WILL BE NEAR WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA. MODELS INDICATE THAT WINDS AT 850 MB WILL BE IN THE 40 TO 50 KNOT RANGE. PROBLEM IS THAT LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE POOR DUE TO DECOUPLING FROM THE SURFACE. SOUNDINGS SHOW THE LOW LEVEL INVERSION REMAINING INTACT. ALSO STRONGEST DOWNWARD MOTION OCCURS AFTER THE STRONGEST LOW LEVEL WINDS HAVE MOVED OFF TO THE EAST. ALSO SINCE DO NOT THINK THERE WILL BE ANY PRECIPITATION AROUND...THE HIGHER WINDS SHOULD NOT BE MIXED DOWN TO THE GROUND. SO DO NOT PLAN ON ISSUING A WIND ADVISORY BUT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED THAT WE COULD SEE GUSTS TO NEAR 45 MPH RIGHT AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. NOT A LOT OF COLD AIR BEHIND THIS FRONT. THAT COMBINED WITH A STRONG DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT TO THE WINDS SLOWING DOWN THE COOLING...LOW TEMPERATURES SHOULD STAY RATHER MILD AND MAY STAY ABOVE FREEZING IN SOME LOCATIONS. SHOULD SEE PLENTY OF SUN ON MONDAY. SURFACE RIDGE WILL MOVE TO THE SOUTH OF THE AREA BY LATE MORNING WITH A NEW LEE TROUGH DEVELOPING TO OUR WEST. WINDS WILL SHIFT FROM WEST TO NORTHWEST IN THE MORNING TO SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON. MODELS DO NOT COMPLETELY GET RID OF LOW LEVEL INVERSION. HOWEVER WITH ONLY WEAK COOLING AND DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT TO THE WIND...TEMPERATURES MAY END UP BEING WARMER THAN TODAYS MAXES. DID RAISE MAXES A LITTLE BASED ON THE DRY AIR MASS...850 MB TEMPERATURES...AND A BLEND OF THE BETTER PERFORMING GUIDANCE FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS. REFER TO THE FIRE WEATHER SECTION FOR HOW THIS ALL AFFECTS FIRE WEATHER ISSUES. .LONG TERM...(MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 146 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 THE WARM DRY PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS A DRY ENVIRONMENT WILL PERSIST OVER THE AREA. A SURFACE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. BEHIND THE TROUGH WINDS WILL BECOME BREEZY EAST OF THE COLORADO BORDER TUESDAY AFTERNOON. WEDNESDAY A SHORT WAVE RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. THE ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES TO LOOK UNFAVORABLE FOR PRECIP. DEVELOPMENT AS THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS BRINGS A DRY SLOT OVER THE TRI-STATE AREA AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. WITH THE ADDED LIFT OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE THERE MAY BE ENOUGH LIFT TO GENERATE SOME PRECIP. FROM THE SHALLOW SATURATED LAYER. DRY CONDITIONS AND SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES MOVE OVER THE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY AS ZONAL FLOW FOLLOWS THE TROUGH FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT. FRIDAY NIGHT ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA BRINGING A STRONGER COLD FRONT WITH IT. MODELS HAVE FLATTENED THE TROUGH OUT CONSIDERABLY FROM YESTERDAY WHICH IN TURN HAS SHOVED THE DEEPER MOISTURE FURTHER NORTHEAST. AS A RESULT PRECIP. CHANCES HAVE DROPPED...WITH DRY CONDITIONS FORECAST FOR MUCH OF THE AREA FOR FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE FRONT WILL BE 10 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. SUNDAY A WARM FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA BRINGING TEMPERATURES BACK TO NORMAL. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 928 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. THE COLD FRONT HAS ALREADY MOVED THROUGH KGLD AND WINDS HAVE SHIFTED TO THE NORTHWEST...A LITTLE EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. THE COLD FRONT WILL HAVE MOVED THROUGH KMCK BEFORE 06Z WITH NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 15 KTS AFTER BRIEFLY HIGHER WIND SPEEDS AND GUSTS. BASED ON OBSERVATIONS AT KGLD AND UPSTREAM...DID NOT INCLUDE GUSTS IN FOR THE INITIAL PREVAILING GROUP AT EITHER TERMINAL. HOWEVER...BUFKIT RAP SOUNDINGS STILL INDICATE WINDS INCREASING OVERNIGHT WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 TO 35 KTS BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z. SINCE THE RAP SEEMS TO BE CATCHING THE CURRENT CONDITIONS AND UPSTREAM SITES HAVE GUSTS AROUND 35 KTS...DECIDED TO GO WITH THIS FOR NOW. TOMORROW AFTERNOON WINDS WILL SHIFT AGAIN TO THE WEST- SOUTHWEST...WITH GUSTS AROUND 20 TO 25 KTS. WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH AROUND SUNSET...REMAINING SUSTAINED AROUND OR UNDER 10 KTS WITH NO GUSTS. && .FIRE WEATHER... ISSUED AT 151 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 MUCH OF THE AREA WILL SEE RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OF 20 PERCENT OR SLIGHTLY LESS. QUESTION WILL BE THE WINDS. BELIEVE MODELS ARE OVERDOING WINDS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS. SURFACE RIDGE WILL HAVE NOT MOVED AWAY TOO FAR PLUS CROSS MOUNTAIN COMPONENT IS NOT THE GREATEST TO ALLOW A QUICK AND STRONG DEVELOPMENT OF A LEE TROUGH. ALSO THERE IS LITTLE TO NO DOWNWARD MOTION. IN FACT ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL BE MOVING THROUGH. LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE NOT VERY GOOD AND THAT COMBINED WITH THE LACK OF DOWNWARD MOTION...MAKES ME THINK THAT MODELS ARE OVERDOING THE MIXING. HAD CONSIDERED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR THE SOUTHWEST PORTION WHERE THE BEST COMBINATION OF WINDS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WERE. HOWEVER AS SPECIFIED ABOVE...BELIEVE WILL NOT HAVE STRONG ENOUGH WINDS AND DO NOT BELIEVE RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL BE MET FOR THREE HOURS. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...NONE. CO...NONE. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...BULLER LONG TERM...JTL AVIATION...ALW FIRE WEATHER...BULLER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 240 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-171200- YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON- SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA- DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW- 240 PM MST SUN FEB 16 2014 /340 PM CST SUN FEB 16 2014/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA DURING THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. BEHIND THE FRONT...NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE INTO THE 20 TO 35 MPH RANGE WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH POSSIBLE. THESE STRONG WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO LAST TOO LONG. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ON MONDAY...LOCATIONS ALONG AND WEST OF A GOODLAND TO TRIBUNE LINE WILL HAVE GUSTY WINDS AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OF 20 PERCENT OR LESS. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS COULD DEVELOP FOR A SHORT TIME IN THIS AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. BULLER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two locations reported high wind gusts during the overnight hours. The first one was 4 N of Atwood, with a peak gust of 67 MPH. The second location was the Atwood airport with a peak gust of 60 MPH.
Reported at the Oakley airport.
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, February 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: 491367, 491368.