A widespread wind/dust/fire event impacted SW Kansas Tuesday. Wind gusts of 55-60 mph were common.
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 DDC wrote it up.
A widespread wind/dust/fire event impacted SW Kansas Tuesday. Wind gusts of 55-60 mph were common. Extreme fire danger resulted, and this was advertised early over social media and through DSS. A total of 8 hot spot notifications were issued. At least two fires were known to be significant, one across Hodgeman, and a large fire across Pawnee county. Some structural damage has been reported. Many DSS calls and verbal wind forecasts were delivered to these counties, highlighting critical wind shift changes. Strong winds also created blowing dust and reduced visibility, with law enforcement in Liberal reporting a multiple vehicle accident in the dust. Peak wind gusts measured included 63 mph at Hayne, 58 mph at Bloom, and 59 mph at Liberal and Pratt.
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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 29, 1:44 PM CST, 16 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Dodge City KS 244 PM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 ...UPDATE TO FIRE WEATHER... .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Wednesday) Issued at 100 PM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 Precip chances briefly return late tonight/early Wednesday morning as a strong broad scale upper level trough of low pressure shifts east through the Central Plains. Significant H7 frontogentic forcing developing in wake of the frontal boundary in conjunction with the arrival of mid/upper level moisture associated with the storm system itself will support the potential for areas of rain development generally after midnight. There is a potential for a brief transition over to snow toward daybreak as colder air surges southward into western Kansas. Relatively weak QPF fields and much drier air in the lower levels suggest minimal rain amounts and snow accumulations possible. Any precip chances are expected to dwindle later through the morning Wednesday. Colder air spilling into western Kansas tonight will send the 0C H85 isotherm through much of southwest Kansas by early morning, not to mention falling surface dewpoints as drier air spreads into the area. Look for lows well down into the 30s(F). Much cooler temperatures are still likely Wednesday as a colder air mass remains stretched across the Western High Plains with H85 temperatures ranging from around 0C in central Kansas to near 5C in extreme southwest Kansas. Expect highs only up into the mid/upper 40s(F) up closer to the I-70 corridor with the lower/mid 50s(F) possible farther south near the Oklahoma border. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday night through Tuesday) Issued at 221 PM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 A drier pattern sets up Thursday as a secondary upper level shortwave trough dropping southward out of the Northern High Plains turns eastward into the Central Plains while prevailing northwesterly downsloping in the lower levels continues to reinforce a much drier air mass across western Kansas. Expect the drier conditions to persist through at least mid-day Friday when another upper level shortwave trough pushes out of the Intermountain West into the Western High Plains, ushering an attendant cold front into western Kansas. Although moisture return will be lacking, there will be a brief window for rain chances later Friday afternoon into Friday evening with increased forcing present. Otherwise, drier conditions will continue through the weekend. Warmer temperatures are likely Thursday as departing surface high pressure gives way to a west-southwesterly downslope flow by the afternoon, allowing for warmer air to spread into western Kansas pushing H85 temperatures up around 5C in central Kansas to a little above 10C out near the Colorado border. Should expect to see afternoon highs up into the 50s(F) in central Kansas to the 60s(F) across much of southwest Kansas. The warming trend continues into Friday ahead of an approaching cold front with more widespread highs in the 60s(F) to possibly the lower 70s(F) near and along the Oklahoma border. A weak frontal passage late Friday is expected to halt the warming trend going into the early part of the weekend. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Wednesday afternoon) Issued at 1100 AM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 VFR conditions will prevail in vicinity of all TAF sites through late evening. Widespread MVFR cigs will then be possible generally after 06Z with low level stratus expected to develop along and behind a cold front pushing through western Kansas tonight. Areas of rain will be possible as well behind the front with a potential transition over to snow toward daybreak resulting in possible brief periods of MVFR/IFR vsbys. Strong southwest winds around 30 to 40kt with gusts up to 50kt will persist across central and portions of southwest Kansas through late afternoon ahead of a strengthening area of low pressure edging east out of eastern Colorado into northwest Kansas while westerly winds around 15 to 30kt are expected to develop behind an attendant trough axis pushing east across west central and southwest Kansas. Winds are then expected to begin gradually subsiding this evening with the loss of daytime heating before turning northerly 20 to 35kt generally after 03Z as a cold front pushes through western Kansas. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 237 PM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 Critical fire weather conditions will continue through early evening due to strong southwest winds up around 50 to 60 mph and low relative humidity down around 10-15 percent. Conditions are then expected to gradually improve through the later evening hours as a surface trough axis pushes across southwest Kansas into central Kansas allowing winds to subside while becoming more westerly. A strong cold front will push across western Kansas overnight resulting in gusty north winds through early Wednesday morning. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DDC 33 52 27 61 / 50 30 0 0 GCK 33 52 26 61 / 50 20 0 0 EHA 32 53 29 64 / 60 20 10 0 LBL 33 55 27 64 / 50 20 0 0 HYS 33 48 26 58 / 40 40 0 0 P28 36 55 31 61 / 30 30 0 0 && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 10 PM CDT this evening for KSZ030-031- 044>046-062>066-074>081-084>090. High Wind Warning until 6 PM CDT this evening for KSZ046-064>066- 076>080-085>088. Blowing Dust Advisory until 7 PM CDT this evening for KSZ064- 077>080-085>089. && SHORT TERM...JJohnson LONG TERM...JJohnson AVIATION...JJohnson FIRE WEATHER...JJohnson
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Dodge City KS 501 AM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-074>081-084>090-301015- Trego-Ellis-Scott-Lane-Ness-Rush-Hamilton-Kearny-Finney-Hodgeman- Pawnee-Stafford-Stanton-Grant-Haskell-Gray-Ford-Edwards-Kiowa- Pratt-Morton-Stevens-Seward-Meade-Clark-Comanche-Barber- 501 AM CDT Tue Mar 29 2022 /401 AM MDT Tue Mar 29 2022/ ...High Wind Warnings and Red Flag Warnings are in effect for today for parts of central and western Kansas... This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...south central...southwest and west central Kansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Day 1 Discussion ---------------- Very critical fire weather conditions can be expected this afternoon and evening. Winds will be very strong from the southwest along with very low humidity. See the latest fire weather message (TOPRFWDDC) for details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this evening across south central Kansas including Pratt and Barber counties. && For more details visit our webpage https://weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=ddc
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
1202 PM CDT TUE MAR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1147 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 NE HAYNE 37.15N 100.75W
03/29/2022 M58 MPH SEWARD KS MESONET
MESONET STATION UR350 4.4 NE HAYNE (UPR).
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
1223 PM CDT TUE MAR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1202 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 NE HAYNE 37.15N 100.75W
03/29/2022 M60 MPH SEWARD KS MESONET
MESONET STATION UR350 4.4 NE HAYNE (UPR).
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
1259 PM CDT TUE MAR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1237 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 WSW LIBERAL 37.03N 100.97W
03/29/2022 M59 MPH SEWARD KS AWOS
AWOS STATION KLBL LIBERAL.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
135 PM CDT TUE MAR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0130 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 W BLOOM 37.49N 99.96W
03/29/2022 M58 MPH FORD KS MESONET
MESONET STATION DW9907 BLOOM.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
209 PM CDT TUE MAR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0150 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 NE HAYNE 37.15N 100.75W
03/29/2022 M58 MPH SEWARD KS MESONET
MESONET STATION UR350 4.4 NE HAYNE (UPR).
&&
ASThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A fire broke out southwest of Hanston and eventually consumed approximately 1,075 acres. Several outbuildings were destroyed.
A fire broke out just southwest of Garfield and travelled towards the town of Larned before turning south as a cold front swept into the area. Several outbuildings were destroyed. Approximately 17,900 acres were burned.
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, March 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: 1016362, 1016363.