Freezing drizzle preceded an Arctic cold front overnight on Thursday December 22nd. A light glaze of ice formed on roadways before a cold front swept through and caused air temperatures to drop to below zero and produced northwest winds of 25 to 50 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 TOP wrote it up.
Freezing drizzle preceded an Arctic cold front overnight on Thursday December 22nd. A light glaze of ice formed on roadways before a cold front swept through and caused air temperatures to drop to below zero and produced northwest winds of 25 to 50 mph. A period of moderate to heavy snow also occurred behind the front causing near blizzard conditions for a short time 1-2 hours early Thursday morning Dec 22nd. Snowfall measurements were hampered by the strong winds however most areas are estimated to have received 1-3 inches of snow. Areas of blowing snow persisted due to strong winds and dry snow through the day.
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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 21, 6:16 PM CST, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Topeka KS 616 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 ...Update to aviation forecast discussion... .DISCUSSION... Issued at 220 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 Key points: * Wintry precipitation, mainly snow, increases tonight, diminishes Thursday * Strong winds combine with the snow and very cold temperatures for blowing concerns and dangerous wind chills into at least early Friday Overall the forecast remains largely on track. A weak upper wave moving overhead today with decent mid-level lapse rates and moisture for some very light snow in mainly northern and western locations today. Latest radar imagery from surrounding sites shows the weak returns pushing east, but under this, southerly flow ahead of the Arctic cold front in a saturated low-level airmass has allowed for freezing drizzle to develop in south-central Kansas. As we lose any seeder/feeder effect from the precip aloft, the drizzle could become more of an issue later this afternoon to around sunset as WAA continues. Have inserted a mention of freezing drizzle for most western areas through then and will need to monitor trends for additional downgrading of conditions. The local area could see dewpoint depressions remain high enough to keep much freezing drizzle in check. Expect WAA to fall off as the the front approaches per recent short-range guidance. The cold front was near northwest Kansas at 19Z and may again be a bit faster the earlier guidance, surging south through the local area in the 02Z to 10Z period. Strong frontogenetic forcing looks to produce a band of more shallow-based precipitation immediately behind the front, then a higher-based band associated with the upper low. There may be an hour or two at onset with the first band where more drizzle/freezing drizzle could fall until the column cools enough for ice to return to the cloud though any accumulations should be very small. QPFs are fairly similar to previous runs, with the challenges of the very strong wind fields aloft potentially counteracting the -15 to -25 C temps over the bulk of the troposphere to bring high snow ratios. This sill brings the most likely snow amounts in the 1-3 inch range. The winds near Advisory range behind the front tonight into at least early Thursday afternoon will bring the potential for blowing snow and with falling and fallen snow and reduced visibilities. Brief near-blizzard to blizzard conditions are possible and if snowfall and winds over- produce from expectations, a Warning could be needed. Wind chills are on track to fall into Warning levels late tonight and persist through Friday morning and will likely be around Advisory levels into early Saturday but much time remains for details to be determined. The amplified upper flow pattern becomes more zonal with time, however there are indications of a weak wave moving southeast through the region Sunday night into Monday which could bring some light precip. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Thursday evening) Issued at 605 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 The next 3-4 hrs should see periods of -FZDZ. The front begins to enter the terminals by 04-05Z but may be starting to move a bit faster. Would expect onset of snow with IFR Cigs and possibly LIFR Cigs for much of the overnight period along with reduced Vis at times which could drop to LIFR as well. Winds will remain strong behind the front through the period. && .TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until midnight CST Thursday night for KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059. Wind Chill Warning from midnight tonight to noon CST Friday for KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059. && DISCUSSION...65 AVIATION...Drake
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Topeka KS 624 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-230030- Republic-Washington-Marshall-Nemaha-Brown-Cloud-Clay-Riley- Pottawatomie-Jackson-Jefferson-Ottawa-Dickinson-Geary-Morris- Wabaunsee-Shawnee-Douglas-Lyon-Osage-Franklin-Coffey-Anderson- 624 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST THURSDAY NIGHT... ...WIND CHILL WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON CST FRIDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Kansas, east central Kansas, north central Kansas and northeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight. More detailed information can be accessed at... http://www.weather.gov/media/top/DssPacket.pdf Winter Storm Warning. Wind Chill Warning. Snow will overspread the area tonight with accumulations of up to two inches in northeast Kansas. Areas of light freezing drizzle will continue for much of the area before the snow arrives. Strong northwest winds may cause some areas to see reduced visibility due to blowing snow. Wind chill values fall into the negative 25 to negative 40 degree range late tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. More detailed information can be accessed at... http://www.weather.gov/media/top/DssPacket.pdf Winter Storm Warning. Wind Chill Warning. The snow ends from northwest to southeast from around dawn Thursday to early Thursday afternoon with total amounts of one to three inches expected. The strong northwest winds will persist into Thursday night and keep the potential for blowing snow and reduced visibilities in place through this time. Wind chills values will continue to be dangerously-cold through Friday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. && More detailed information can be found at: www.weather.gov/media/top/DssPacket.pdf
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
404 PM CST WED DEC 21 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0402 PM FREEZING RAIN 1 ESE MANHATTAN 39.18N 96.56W
12/21/2022 U0.01 INCH RILEY KS BROADCAST MEDIA
FREEZING DRIZZLE IS LEADING TO HAZARDOUS
DRIVING CONDITIONS. SEVERAL CARS OF ALREADY
SLID OFF THE ROAD IN MANHATTAN.
&&
AJSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service Topeka KS 431 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054-055-058-220000- Republic-Washington-Marshall-Nemaha-Brown-Cloud-Clay-Riley- Pottawatomie-Jackson-Jefferson-Ottawa-Dickinson-Geary-Morris- Wabaunsee-Shawnee-Douglas-Lyon-Osage-Coffey- Including the cities of Belleville, Washington, Hanover, Clifton, Linn, Greenleaf, Marysville, Blue Rapids, Frankfort, Sabetha, Seneca, Hiawatha, Horton, Concordia, Clay Center, Manhattan, Wamego, St. Marys, Holton, Valley Falls, Oskaloosa, Perry, McLouth, Grantville, Meriden, Nortonville, Minneapolis, Bennington, Abilene, Herington, Junction City, Council Grove, Alma, Eskridge, Maple Hill, Alta Vista, McFarland, Harveyville, Paxico, Topeka, Lawrence, Emporia, Osage City, Carbondale, Lyndon, Burlingame, Overbrook, Burlington, and Lebo 431 PM CST Wed Dec 21 2022 Light freezing drizzle will persist ahead of a cold front moving into the area. As temperatures remain around or below freezing. Expect pavement temperatures to also be near or below freezing. Any drizzle that falls will thus freeze on contact and likely cause areas of black ice. Travel with caution and take it slow if any drizzle is falling.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
518 PM CST WED DEC 21 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0517 PM FREEZING RAIN 1 NE EMPORIA 38.41N 96.17W
12/21/2022 U0.01 INCH LYON KS BROADCAST MEDIA
SLICK ROADS AROUND EMPORIA WITH CARS SLIDING
INTO DITCHES.
&&
AJPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
519 PM CST WED DEC 21 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0518 PM FREEZING RAIN 1 NE SENECA 39.84N 96.05W
12/21/2022 U0.01 INCH NEMAHA KS EMERGENCY MNGR
FREEZING DRIZZLE IN NEMAHA COUNTY WITH
SEVERAL CARS SLIDING OFF THE ROAD.
&&
AJPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
741 PM CST WED DEC 21 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0715 PM FREEZING RAIN CHAPMAN 38.97N 97.02W
12/21/2022 U0.00 INCH DICKINSON KS TRAINED SPOTTER
FREEZING DRIZZLE WAS INTERMITTENT. A TRACE
REPORTED.
&&
BDThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
COOP station reported 2 inches of snow on top of a glaze (0.02) of ice. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.
Spotters measured near 2 inches of snow on top of a glaze of ice. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.
KS-CD-1: Jamestown 2.4 NW reported 2 inches of snow on top of a glaze of ice from a flash freeze event. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.
County officials estimated 1-2 inches of snow on top of a glaze of ice from a flash freeze event with drizzle and freezing drizzle Wednesday night before the Arctic front arrived. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.
KS-WS-13: Palmer 0.6 SSW measured 1 inch of snow on top of a glaze of ice from a flash freeze event with drizzle and freezing drizzle Wednesday night before the Arctic front arrived. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.
COOP site 1 E of Bremen measured 2 inches of snow on top of a glaze of ice from a flash freeze event with drizzle and freezing drizzle Wednesday night before the Arctic front arrived. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 2022
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: 1060926, 1060928, 1060932, 1060935, 1060936, 1060939.