A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain moved across the region during the early morning hours of the start of the new year, 2022. A band of snowfall moved across portions of central Kansas, with 3 to 5 inches, while a mix of sleet and snow fell across south central Kansas.
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.
A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain moved across the region during the early morning hours of the start of the new year, 2022. A band of snowfall moved across portions of central Kansas, with 3 to 5 inches, while a mix of sleet and snow fell across south central Kansas. Southeast Kansas saw mainly freezing rain with ice accumulations of a few hundredths to a tenth of an inch.
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 31, 11:44 PM CST, 16 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 1144 PM CST Fri Dec 31 2021 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday night) Issued at 235 PM CST Fri Dec 31 2021 MAIN FORECAST CHANGES * Added Saline, Ellsworth and Barton counties to the Winter Storm Warning. * No major changes to the ice/sleet potential across much of south central and southeast KS although values were trended lower over much of southern Kansas. We're still expecting a brief period of efficient snowfall production and high SLRs through the early to mid morning hours on Sat along our I-70 corridor where 4-6+" of snow will remain possible. Also, the winter weather advisory was segmented across far southeast KS where wind chill values will be slightly 'higher' when compared to points north and west and we also expect a slower onset of mixed-phase precipitation in far southeast KS when compared to locations across south central and portions of central KS which are lumped together in the other winter weather advisory segment. * A wind chill advisory will likely be hoisted once we get through the winter storm warning period from roughly 06Z through 18Z on Sunday for much of central KS. The first impactful winter storm of the season will be bearing down on our area late tonight and into the predawn hours on Sat. This system is expected to bring a wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow to the area through Saturday evening. A sleet snow mix will rapidly change to all snow across central KS as much colder air advects into the region tonight. This transition zone will propagate south and east across the region through the day on Saturday gradually changing all precipitation to light snow before diminishing late Saturday evening. Given the more prolonged period of ice pellets, many of those across southern Kansas will see lower snowfall amounts compared to previous forecasts. A light glace of ice will still be possible with the initial onset being a mixture of rain, quickly transitioning to freezing rain and ice pellets. There is some concern that precipitation could wrap up a bit sooner across southern Kansas as the dry slot rotates into the region on Sat afternoon, but low level saturation may still produce ice crystals or refreeze hydrometers producing a mixture of ice pellets and light snow as opposed to a period of freezing drizzle given the shallow cold airmass. Any lingering light snow is expected to diminish during the evening hours on Sat although a few flurries may linger across far southeast KS overnight. Northerly winds around 20 knots will produce dangerous wind chills of 15 to 20 below across central KS on Sat and Sat night with 5 to 10 below values anticipated across southeast KS. A wind chill advisory will be hoisted once we get through the winter storm warning period from roughly 06Z through 18Z on Sunday. Sun-Mon...Very cold air will be in place at the beginning of the day with dangerous wind chills across much of central KS. Temperatures will try to moderate as the mid/upper ridge begins to build into the central CONUS but values were trended lower from the previous forecast. Many locations will struggle to reach freezing with highs in the 20s. Below normal temperatures will prevail into Monday although it'll be trending warmer. Under sunny conditions, afternoon highs are expected to top out around 40 for most areas by Mon. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Friday) Issued at 235 PM CST Fri Dec 31 2021 We expect to see mild near normal temperatures to start the period with highs in the mid and upper 40s. The warm-up will be short-lived as another blast of arctic air is anticipated as we move into the latter portion of the week. We could also see another chance for light wintry precipitation in the Wed-Thu periods but confidence remains rather low at this time. The cold arctic air will be firmly entrenched on Thu with highs only climbing into the teens. Temperatures will begin to moderate toward the end of the week as high pressure translates eastward and southerly low level flow return. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Saturday night) Issued at 1132 PM CST Fri Dec 31 2021 Aviation concerns will revolve around winter precip as our first winter storm of the season affects the region. Water vapor imagery shows two distinct upper waves; one over southeast NM and another approaching western AZ. Starting to see some light radar returns over west-central KS and feel that this will continue to increase late tonight into Sat morning. Precip is expected to start out as a sleet snow mix across most of central KS and will eventually transition to all snow as low levels continue to cool. Further south(KICT) we may see a brief period of freezing rain in a few hours before changing to sleet then snow by late this morning/early afternoon. Starting to look like the predominant precip type here at KICT may end up being sleet, with peak time in the 12z-16z time frame. KRSL-KGBD will have the best chance to see a more prolonged period of snow, with peak time also in the 12z-16z time frame. Should see an overall decrease in precip generally after 20z. As far as ceilings go, confidence is high in widespread MVFR levels with pockets of IFR for areas along and east of I-135. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Wichita-KICT 18 19 4 27 / 90 90 30 0 Hutchinson 13 12 0 28 / 90 100 30 0 Newton 15 16 0 25 / 90 100 30 0 ElDorado 20 21 3 24 / 90 100 30 0 Winfield-KWLD 25 25 5 27 / 90 90 20 0 Russell 7 7 -9 27 / 100 100 20 0 Great Bend 8 7 -7 29 / 90 100 20 0 Salina 10 10 -8 25 / 90 100 30 0 McPherson 11 11 -3 25 / 90 100 30 0 Coffeyville 34 32 9 25 / 90 100 20 0 Chanute 28 27 7 22 / 90 100 30 0 Iola 27 26 5 22 / 90 100 30 0 Parsons-KPPF 31 30 7 24 / 90 100 20 0 && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM Saturday to midnight CST Saturday night for KSZ095-096-098>100. Winter Weather Advisory until midnight CST Saturday night for KSZ050>053-067>072-082-083-091>094. Winter Storm Warning until midnight CST Saturday night for KSZ032-033-047>049. && SHORT TERM...MWM LONG TERM...MWM AVIATION...RBL
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wichita KS 447 PM CST Fri Dec 31 2021 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-012300- 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- 447 PM CST Fri Dec 31 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Central Kansas, South Central Kansas and Southeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight Much colder air along with wintry precipitation will impact the area late tonight. Mixed precipitation will expand in coverage and intensity during the predawn hours on Saturday. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday through Saturday evening. Snow will develop across central Kansas during the early morning hour on Saturday becoming heavy at times through the morning hours. Total accumulations will range from four to six inches with locally higher amounts possible. Gusty north winds will cause blowing and drifting snow and reduced visibility. Further south, a mix of sleet and freezing rain will result in trace amounts to near two inches of accumulation across portions of south central and southeast Kansas. Some locations across south central and southeast Kansas could see ice accumulations up to around one-tenth of an inch. A winter storm warning is in effect for portions of central and northern Kansas while a winter weather advisory is posted for much of southern Kansas late tonight through Saturday evening. Furthermore, bitter cold wind chills around 20 below will spread south across the region on Saturday lasting through early Sunday morning, coldest across central and northern Kansas. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated tonight. && For a graphical version of this information, see our webpage at: https://weather.gov/crh/ghwo?sid=ict
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 winter weather, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement reported 3 to 5 inches across the county.
Snowfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches fell across the county. The Ellinwood Coop observer reported 2.5 inches.
Law enforcement reported 1 to 2 inches across the county.
Law enforcement reported 1 to 2 inches across the county. A Coop observer in New Cambria reported 1.4 inches.
Snowfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches fell across the county. The Coop observer in Windom and Bridgeport measured one inch. Law enforcement reported 2 inches in McPherson.
Snowfall amounts were around an inch across the county. A Coop observer in |Sterling reported one inch of snow.
Snowfall across the county ranged from an inch to an inch and a half.
A mixture of sleet, snow and freezing rain fell across the county. Freezing rain amounts were only a few hundredths of an inch. Snowfall amounts were around a half an inch. Eisenhower National Airport reported a half an inch of snow.
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet fell across the county. A Coop observer in Moran reported a tenth of an inch of freezing rain on trees and power lines.
A mixture of sleet, freezing rain and snow fell across the county. A Coop observer near Chanute reported one inch of snow and three hundredths of ice accumulation.
Law enforcement and a Coop observer reported widespread 5 inch snow amounts across the county. Drifts in some parts of the county were 6 to 12 inches.
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, January 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: 999783, 1002805, 1002806, 1002811, 1002819, 1002821, 1003673, 1003674, 1003675, 1003676, 1003677.