Widespread heavy rain moved across central Kansas causing widespread inconveniences to area travelers with some road closures in low lying areas and a water rescue at another. 5 inches to just over 4 inches.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Widespread heavy rain moved across central Kansas causing widespread inconveniences to area travelers with some road closures in low lying areas and a water rescue at another. Rainfall amounts over a 48 hour period ranged from around 1.5 inches to just over 4 inches.
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 12, 8:50 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 850 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 850 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ALONG A STATONARY FRONT THAT AT 8 PM CURVED FROM FAR NORTHERN MO TO ALONG & JUST NW OF THE TURNPIKE THRU NW OK TO W TX. AIRMASS CONTINUES TO STABILIZE WITH MLCAPES NOW UNDER 250 J/KG PER SPS MESO ANALYSIS BUT WITH VERY IMPRESSIVE 6-KM BULK SHEAR INCREASING FROM ~50KTS TO ~65KTS...AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM OR 2 THAT MAY PRODUCE SOME SMALL HAIL REMAIN POSSIBLE FOR MOST AREAS (LINCOLN...RUSSELL & BARTON COUNTIES ARE THE EXCEPTIONS.) FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. HAVE ALSO FINE-TUNED POPS & TO A LESSER EXTENT RAINFALLS PER HRRR GUIDANCE. ALL PRODUCTS...INCLUDING THE HWO...HAVE BEEN UPDATED. && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 312 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 THE SURFACE FRONT WILL REMAIN FAIRLY STATIONARY THROUGH THE LATE EVENING HOURS...WITH SHOWERS/STORMS DEVELOPING ALONG AND NORTH OF FRONT OVER CENTRAL KANSAS. A SECONDARY AREA OF SHOWERS/STORMS SHOULD DEVELOP OVER SOUTHEAST KANSAS LATER THIS EVENING...AS THE WARM CONVEYOR BELT SURGES NORTHWARD FROM EASTERN TEXAS. A FEW STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT MAINLY FOR LOCATIONS ALONG AND EAST OF THE KANSAS TURNPIKE. THE PRECIPITATION COVERAGE WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD LATER TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO THE MORNING HOURS ON SUNDAY...AS THE UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS INCREASES AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING STRONG PV ANOMALY. SOME HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS. THIS WEATHER SYSTEM DOES NOT HAVE THAT STRONG COLD AIR INFUSION FROM THE NORTH LOOKING AT THE LOCAL SURFACE OBSERVATIONS ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEBRASKA INTO WESTERN KANSAS...WHERE TEMPERATURE READINGS REMAIN IN THE LOW TO MID 30S. THEREFORE THIS SYSTEM WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GENERATING ITS ON COLD AIR TO CHANGE THE PRECIPITATION OVER FROM RAIN TO SNOW...DUE TO STRONG DYNAMIC LIFT COOLING THE LOW-LEVEL VERTICAL COLUMN WHICH LOOKS MORE FAVORABLE OVER WESTERN KANSAS. A VERY PRONOUNCED TROWAL AIRSTREAM WILL DEVELOP DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY AND WRAP AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE CENTER INTO WESTERN KANSAS...AND WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES OCCUR OVER WESTERN KANSAS DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY WITH THE HEAVY SNOW. THE KEY THING TO MONITOR WILL BE THE TIMING OF COOLING THE LOW LEVELS ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS...SO TEMPERATURES CAN DROP NEAR THE FREEZING MARK THUS MAKING CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO OCCUR. THE VERY WARM TROWAL AIRSTREAM COULD ALSO DELAY THE CHANGE OVER TIME FOR CENTRAL KANSAS. WE ARE EXPECTING A CHANGE OVER FROM RAIN TO SNOW TO OCCUR SOMETIME EITHER SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING...WITH AN EARLIER CHANGE OVER PROMOTING HIGHER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THE SNOW SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS. WE WILL KEEP THE WINTER STORM WATCH HEADLINES IN PLACE ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS DUE TO UNCERTAINTY FROM TIMING OF THE COOLING/CHANGE OVER. .LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 312 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 WE ARE STILL EXPECTING COLDER TEMPERATURES THIS PERIOD...AS MODELS SHOW A LONG WAVE UPPER TROUGH AXIS REMAINING OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS. NOT LOOKING AT A MAJOR COOL DOWN BUT JUST CLOSER TO NORMAL VALUES FOR MIDDLE OF DECEMBER. OTHERWISE TEMPERATURES SHOULD BEGIN TO MODERATE HEADING INTO NEXT WEEKEND WITH UPPER LEVEL RIDGING AMPLIFYING OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS. JAKUB && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 615 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 A STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDING FROM NC MO TO ALG THE KS TURNPIKE TO THE TX PANHANDLE HAS RESULTED IN A MESSY SITN THIS EVE. NW OF THE FRONT NMRS SHRA/TS HAVE BROKEN OUT FROM EXTREME NRN OK THRU SC KS TO THE NE KS/SE NEBRASKA BDR. LIFR CIGS COVER MOST OF THESE AREAS THE EXCEPTIONS BEING CLOSE TO THE FRONT WHERE BKN ~2,500FT DECKS HAVE BEEN SITUATED OVER KICT & VCNTY. VSBYS FM 1/2SM TO 2SM COVER NEARLY OF CNTRL KS & WL DO SO FOR THE REST OF THE NGT. WITH THE FRONT DRAPED ACRS THE RGN ALL OF CNTRL KS TO RMN IN LIFR STATUS THRU SUN MRNG WITH SCT TSRA SPRINTING NE ACRS SE KS PRODUCING OCNL MVFR CIGS & VSBYS. DETAILS FROM 15Z ONWARD WL BE ADDRESSED WITH THE 06Z EDITION. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WICHITA-KICT 48 49 33 53 / 100 100 50 0 HUTCHINSON 43 44 32 50 / 90 100 80 10 NEWTON 47 49 32 51 / 100 100 60 10 ELDORADO 52 53 34 54 / 100 100 40 10 WINFIELD-KWLD 51 52 34 56 / 100 90 40 0 RUSSELL 36 37 29 44 / 90 100 90 10 GREAT BEND 37 38 29 45 / 90 100 90 10 SALINA 44 44 31 46 / 90 100 80 10 MCPHERSON 43 44 31 48 / 90 100 80 10 COFFEYVILLE 61 62 38 56 / 100 100 40 0 CHANUTE 60 60 37 55 / 100 100 40 10 IOLA 60 60 37 54 / 100 100 40 10 PARSONS-KPPF 60 61 38 56 / 100 100 40 10 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR KSZ032-033-047. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 807 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-140215- 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- 807 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW THAT MAY PRODUCE HAIL UP TO ONE HALF INCH DIAMETER...REMAIN POSSIBLE FOR MOST AREAS FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. THE EXCEPTIONS WOULD BE LINCOLN...RUSSELL AND BARTON COUNTIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO SNOW ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING. ACCUMULATIONS FROM 3 TO 7 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. FOR DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO THE WINTER STORM WARNING THAT IS IN EFFECT FOR LINCOLN...RUSSELL AND BARTON COUNTIES FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON UNTIL LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. && FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR WEBPAGE AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/ ES
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS 918 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 KSZ051-068-130345- HARVEY KS-MCPHERSON KS- 918 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A * SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR... WESTERN HARVEY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS... SOUTHEASTERN MCPHERSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL KANSAS... * UNTIL 945 PM CST * AT 916 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER MOUNDRIDGE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... NEWTON...HESSTON...HALSTEAD...MOUNDRIDGE...SEDGWICK...BURRTON... GALVA AND CANTON. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IN THE EVENT THE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE...OR A WARNING IS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. && LAT...LON 3791 9738 3791 9765 3830 9772 3848 9737 TIME...MOT...LOC 0316Z 212DEG 35KT 3817 9754 KLEINSASSER
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
946 PM CST SAT DEC 12 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0945 PM HEAVY RAIN MCPHERSON AIRPORT 38.35N 97.69W
12/12/2015 M0.97 INCH MCPHERSON KS AWOS
RAINFALL OCCURRED IN 45 MINUTES. LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED
VERY MINOR STREET FLOODING ACROSS THE CITY OF MCPHERSON.
&&
ADKThe Wichita radar (KICT), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:20 UTC.
5 flood, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Nuisance flooding was causing standing water of 6 to 8 inches over the road. This was non-life threatening.
Many reports of high water over the low water crossings across the county. A few county roads were closed for this reason.
A water rescue was performed by the Wichita Fire Department at the intersection of 85th st. N and 215th st. W. The car was stranded in running water.
Rapidly running water was rushing across the road at the merger of Emma east and Emma west creeks.
Law enforcement reported a few roads closed near Gypsum creek. Especially along Highway 4. A culvert collapsed under McReynolds Road.
Several low water crossings were closed across the county due to the heavy rains and water over the road. This was a non-life threatening incident.
Several low water crossings were closed across the eastern sections of the county due water over the road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 2015
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: 612548, 612549, 612545, 612546, 612551, 612552, 612554.