An arctic air mass dropped south across the plains on March 1st, with a mixture of freezing drizzle and sleet. This led to hazardous driving conditions across Kansas on March the 1st and March the 2nd, 2014.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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.
An arctic air mass dropped south across the plains on March 1st, with a mixture of freezing drizzle and sleet. This led to hazardous driving conditions across Kansas on March the 1st and March the 2nd, 2014. The wintry mixture of freezing drizzle and sleet eventually transitioned to all snow as a significant upper level trough moved across the Midwest. Snowfall amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the area, with some areas also receiving an inch of sleet. The heaviest snowfall occurred along US Highway 50 from just south of Hutchinson to Newton to near Mount Hope, where almost 5 inches of snow fell. Numerous auto accidents occurred from the mixture of freezing drizzle, sleet and 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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 7:30 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 730 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 729 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS SW US AT THIS TIME. WARM ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC LIFT CONTINUES AHEAD OF THIS STRONG SYSTEM...WITH LOTS OF MOISTURE STREAMING OVER THE TOP OF THE SHALLOW ARCTIC AIRMASS ALREADY IN PLACE ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. LOW LEVEL SATURATION HAS LED TO FREEZING DRIZZLE FOR MOST OF SOUTHERN KS AND LIGHT SNOW FURTHER NORTH IN THE COLDER AIR IN CENTRAL KS. SHALLOW COLD AIR IS PROBABLY SO COLD THAT ATMOSPHERE IS PROBABLY MAKING ICE CRYSTALS AS LOW AS 900H...WITH LIGHT SNOW BEGINNING TO DEVELOP INTO SRN KS AS WELL. COULD ALSO SEE SOME SEEDER-FEEDER PROCESSES AS MID LEVELS BEGIN TO SATURATE AND ICE CRYSTALS FORM IN THE MID LAYERS AND FALL INTO THE SATURATED LOW LAYERS. SO HAVE ADDED SNOW MENTION A LITTLE SOONER ACROSS SOUTHERN KS THEN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. THIS COULD LEAD TO SNOW TOTALS INCREASING SOME ACROSS SOUTHERN KS...STAY TUNED. NOT GOING TO RULE OUT PRECIP CHANGING BACK OVER TO A MIX OF SLEET AND SNOW AROUND MIDNIGHT...AS WARM ADVECTION INCREASES AND WARM NOSE IN THE MID LAYERS INCREASES. COULD BE SEEING SOME OF THIS IN 88D RADAR RETURNS NEAR KGCK. KETCHAM && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 345 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 HEADLINE: WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SE KS BEING EXTENDED UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT AT MID-NIGHT. TONIGHT-SUNDAY NIGHT: THE INTENSE UPPER-DECK WAVE THAT'LL BE MAJOR PLAYER WITH THE IMMINENT WINTER STORM THAT'LL INVADE MOST OF THE GREAT PLAINS HAD JUST CROSSED SOUTHERN CA THIS AFTERNOON. THE WAVE IS STILL SCHEDULED TO MOVE EAST OVER ARIZONA TONIGHT THEN OVER THE OK & TX PANHANDLES ON SUNDAY. WITH TIME AN ELEVATED FRONT STATIONARY FRONT DRAPED IN AN E-W MANNER ALONG THE RED RIVER WILL SLOWLY PIVOT IN A COUNTER-CLOCKWISE MANNER WITH THE EASTERN SEGMENT LIFTING N & NWAS A WARM FRONT FROM EASTERN OK & NORTHERN AR TO EXTREME SOUTHEAST KS. THIS WOULD INDUCE ELEVATED WARM ADVECTION OVER PRIMARILY SE KS THIS EVENING WHERE ~8,000FT TEMPERATURES MAY REACH 50F. COUPLED WITH AN ARCTIC AIRMASS CONTINUING TO SPREAD DUE SOUTH ACROSS KS A SHARP(!) INVERSION WILL BECOME EVEN MORE SO THIS EVENING OVER SC & ESPECIALLY SE KS. SOUNDINGS DEPICT A FAIRLY DRY LAYER FROM ~7,000-15,000FT WITH THE DRY LAYER DEEPEST OVER SE KS. THIS WOULD TRANSLATE INTO A HIGH POTENTIAL FOR SLEET OVER NEARLY ALL OF THE COUNTY WARNING AREA. THE EXCEPTIONS WOULD BE THAT PART OF CENTRAL KS GENERALLY ALONG & N OF I-70 WHERE LIGHT SNOW WOULD OCCUR. SE KS MAY EXPERIENCE A SLEET/LIGHT FREEZING RAIN MIXTURE THIS EVENING. AS THE UPPER-DECK WAVE CONTINUE TO SURGE EAST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THE ELEVATED FRONT WILL TRANSITION INTO A COLD FRONT & GET PUSHED SE LATE TONIGHT & SUNDAY. THIS WOULD PRODUCE A CHANGEOVER TO ALL SNOW ACROSS THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN A NW-SE MANNER WITH SOUTHEAST KS EXPERIENCING THE CHANGEOVER TO ALL SNOW AROUND NOON SUNDAY. GREATEST SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5-6 INCHES WILL OCCUR OVER THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA FROM RENO TO SALINE...MARION & CHASE COUNTIES...WITH 3-4 INCH ACCUMULATIONS ELSEWHERE. SOUTHEAST KS WOULD RECEIVE THE GREATEST ICE ACCUMULATIONS 0.1 TO 0.2 INCH LIKELY SUNDAY MORNING. THE COMBINED ICE & SNOW ACCUMULATIONS DICTATE KEEPING THE WINTER STORM WARNING INTACT FOR TONIGHT & SUNDAY...HOWEVER THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SE KS HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL MID-NIGHT SUNDAY. WIND CHILLS AROUND 15 BELOW ARE LIKELY IN PRIMARILY CENTRAL KS LATE TONIGHT & SUNDAY MORNING WITH VALUES FROM 10 BELOW TO 15 BELOW ELSEWHERE. THE SNOW WILL GRADUALLY END IN A NW-SE MANNER LATE SUNDAY NIGHT BY WHICH TIME DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS WILL HAVE INVADED THE AREA. WIND CHILL ADVISORIES WOULD CERTAINLY BE REQUIRED FOR ALL AREAS FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THRU MONDAY MORNING. SOME RECORD COLDEST HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS ARE SURE TO BE BROKEN. THE ARCTIC HIGH CONTINUING TO SPREAD SE ACROSS THE KS NEIGHBORHOOD GUARANTEES A BITTERLY COLD START TO THE WORK-WEEK WITH HIGHS MONDAY STRUGGLING TO REACH 20 DEGREES. .LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 345 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 FORECAST CONCERNS FOR THE EXTENDED REVOLVE AROUND A SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER FOR SATURDAY. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF SEEM TO BE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT REGARDING WEDNESDAY WITH BOTH MODELS INDICATING TEMPERATURES BELOW FREEZING IN THE MORNING. LIGHT PRECIPITATION WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST AND QUICKLY MOVE THROUGH BY THE EARLY EVENING HOURS WITH PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW IN THE MORNING...TRANSITIONING TO A RAIN/SNOW MIX OR LIGHT RAIN BY THE AFTERNOON HOURS. FAIRLY NICE WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH LOWS HOVERING AROUND THE FREEZING MARK AND AFTERNOON HIGHS CLIMBING INTO THE LOW TO MID 50S. THE MODELS THEN DIFFER SOMEWHAT REGARDING SATURDAYS WEATHER. THE GFS REMAINS THE DRYER AND WARMER SOLUTION WITH JUST A VERY LIGHT AREA OF PRECIPITATION TRANSITIONING THROUGH THE AREA AND TEMPERATURES CLIMBING INTO THE LOWER 50S. THE ECMWF BRINGS A STRONGER COLD FRONT THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING WITH HIGHER PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS AND TEMPERATURES REMAINING IN THE LOWER 30S SO HAVE OPTED TO MAINTAIN 20 TO 30 POPS SINCE THE ECMWF HAS HAD A LITTLE BETTER RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. SMITH && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 546 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 EXPECT POOR AVIATION CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AS A MAJOR WINTER STORM APPROACHES THE AREA AND WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. AREAS OF FREEZING DRIZZLE AND VERY LIGHT SNOW/SLEET CAN BE EXPECTED FOR THE EVENING HOURS. THE WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY LATE TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING ACROSS ALL AREAS. SNOW AND SLEET ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE PRIMARY WINTER WEATHER TYPES FOR EARLY SUN MORNING. MVFR AND PATCHY IFR CIGS AND VSBYS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE MORNING HOURS...BUT EXPECT MOST VSBYS TO BECOME IFR AS SUN MORNING PROGRESSES AS MOST OF THE PRECIP BECOMES ALL SNOW. COULD EVEN SEE SOME LIFR VSBYS AROUND 1/2SM IN KSLN...DURING THE HEAVIEST SNOW FROM 14-18Z/SUN. KETCHAM && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 6 9 -2 17 / 100 90 30 0 HUTCHINSON 4 7 -5 17 / 100 90 20 0 NEWTON 4 6 -5 15 / 100 90 30 0 ELDORADO 5 8 -4 15 / 100 90 40 10 WINFIELD-KWLD 10 13 0 18 / 100 90 40 0 RUSSELL 2 8 -8 22 / 90 80 10 0 GREAT BEND 3 8 -8 21 / 90 80 10 0 SALINA 2 6 -9 17 / 100 90 20 0 MCPHERSON 3 6 -8 16 / 100 90 20 0 COFFEYVILLE 13 16 0 20 / 100 90 70 10 CHANUTE 9 12 -3 16 / 100 90 70 10 IOLA 8 11 -5 15 / 100 90 70 10 PARSONS-KPPF 12 14 -2 18 / 100 90 70 10 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST SUNDAY NIGHT FOR KSZ070>072-094>096-098>100. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST SUNDAY FOR KSZ048>053- 067>069-082-083-091>093. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST SUNDAY FOR KSZ032-033-047. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 424 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-022230- 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- 424 PM CST SAT MAR 1 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WINTER STORM WILL AFFECT THE AREA...WITH THE LIGHT WINTRY MIX INCREASING IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR DETAILS. VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILLS OF 10 BELOW TO 20 BELOW ZERO ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH SUB-ZERO WINDS CHILLS ACROSS THE REST OF THE AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE AREA ON SUNDAY WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR DETAILS. FROM SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING...WIND CHILLS OF 10 BELOW TO 20 BELOW ZERO ARE FORECAST. WIND CHILLS BETWEEN ZERO AND 5 BELOW ZERO ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY MORNING ROUGHLY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 54. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN MIXED WITH SNOW ON WEDNESDAY ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL KANSAS. NO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT...HOWEVER SNOW...SLEET AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
654 PM CST SAT MAR 01 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0652 PM SNOW 6 SSE WESTFALL 38.86N 97.96W
03/01/2014 E0.5 INCH ELLSWORTH KS TRAINED SPOTTER
LIGHT SNOW WITH A HALF INCH OF ACCUMULATION.
&&
JMBWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
857 PM CST SAT MAR 01 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0854 PM SNOW MARION 38.35N 97.02W
03/01/2014 E0.5 INCH MARION KS EMERGENCY MNGR
HALF AN INCH OF SNOW ON THE GROUND AND RECEIVING SLEET
CURRENTLY AT 855PM.
&&
JMBWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
911 PM CST SAT MAR 01 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0910 PM SNOW MCPHERSON 38.37N 97.66W
03/01/2014 E1.5 INCH MCPHERSON KS LAW ENFORCEMENT
ESTIMATED 1 TO 1.5 INCHES OF SNOW CURRENTLY ON THE GROUND
ACROSS MCPHERSON COUNTY. CURRENTLY SLEETING AT 910PM
SATURDAY. VISIBILITY OVER SOUTHERN PART OF COUNTY IS 1/4
TO 1/2 MILE.
&&
JMBWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
946 PM CST SAT MAR 01 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0944 PM SNOW WICHITA MID CONTINENT A 37.66N 97.44W
03/01/2014 E0.4 INCH SEDGWICK KS OFFICIAL NWS OBS
&&
JMBWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
1007 PM CST SAT MAR 01 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1006 PM SLEET ASSARIA 38.68N 97.60W
03/01/2014 E1.00 INCH SALINE KS FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
REPORTED ON TWITTER FROM ASSARIA FIRE.
&&
JMBWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
1105 PM CST SAT MAR 01 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1105 PM SLEET MARION 38.35N 97.02W
03/01/2014 E0.50 INCH MARION KS EMERGENCY MNGR
ESTIMATED 1/2 INCH OF SLEET WITH 1/4 OF SNOW ON THE
GROUND.
&&
JMBWThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 winter storm, 4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A significant wintry mix of precipitation fell across the county hampering travel. A half inch of sleet and 2 to 3 inches of snow fell across the county.
Four to five inches of snow fell across the area. A half inch to an inch of sleet also fell creating slick streets.
Four to five inches of snow fell across the area. Mid Continent Airport in Wichita picked up 2.6 inches of snow and a half an inch of sleet. One to two inches of sleet feel across the northern half of the county. Numerous auto accidents and slide offs occurred with the snow.
A wintry mix of one to two inches of snow combined with a half an inch of sleet and some freezing drizzle to produce slick streets across the county. Travel was significantly hampered.
One to three inches of snow fell and sleet fell across the county. Kingman received 3 inches of snow.
A mixture of sleet and snow fell across the county. One inch of sleet combined with 3 to 5 inches of snow to cause numerous auto accidents and slide offs.
A mixture of sleet and snow feel across the county. Lindsborg received 1 inch of sleet, with 1 to 3 inches of snow near Windom and Lindsborg. Travel across the county was severely hampered.
One to three inches of snow combined with a half an inch of sleet and freezing drizzle to create slick streets across the area. Numerous auto accidents and slide offs were reported.
Two to four inches of snow fell across the county. The CO-OP observer in Anthony reported 3.5 inches.
One to three inches of snow fell across the county.
One to three inches of snow fell across the county. The heaviest snow was over the western half of the county.
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, March 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: 508076, 506767, 506774, 508081, 506784, 506751, 508083, 508084, 507529, 507531, 507533.