Very strong northwesterly winds overspread portions of central and south-central Kansas during the morning hours of December 18th. These strong winds continued throughout the afternoon hours with many sites reporting wind gusts between 60 and 75 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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.
Very strong northwesterly winds overspread portions of central and south-central Kansas during the morning hours of December 18th. These strong winds continued throughout the afternoon hours with many sites reporting wind gusts between 60 and 75 mph. If fact, a 77-mph wind gust was reported at the Russell Airport.
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 18, 5:30 AM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 530 AM CST Thu Dec 18 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - High wind event today with northwest wind gusts up to 60 mph along I-70, with gusts 50-55 for the remainder of the area. - Strong winds will lead to extreme grassland fire danger today. Any fire that starts will spread rapidly. - Unseasonably warm temperatures are expected through this weekend and next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 227 AM CST Thu Dec 18 2025 Currently, a potent low pressure system is centered over the Northern Plains with a cold frontal boundary extending across central Nebraska into northern Kansas. Ahead of this front, strong southerly winds are gusting around 30-35 knots. Behind the boundary, a brief period of extremely gusty winds is being seen. A few isolated gusts to 55 mph are possible for our central Kansas counties as this front passes through. Along and just ahead of the front, a few showers are showing up on radar over central Kansas. Though, with a sizable dewpoint depression, very little is reaching the surface. A few sprinkles can't be ruled out over the next few hours as these echoes progress eastward. For the rest of today, the main impact from this potent system will result from a tightening pressure gradient behind the boundary on Thursday. This will lead to gusty northwesterly winds with sustained winds between 35-40 mph for central Kansas and gusts of 55-60 mph. Further south across south-central and southeastern Kansas, sustained winds of 30-35 mph with gusts reaching between 50-55 mph are expected. These winds combined with low humidity and the overall dry pattern we've seen the past month will lead to elevated fire weather concerns primarily this afternoon. In addition, blowing dust will likely accompany the stronger wind gusts, especially across central Kansas. This could make driving very dangerous along I-70, especially for areas west of Salina. Slightly cooler, near normal temperatures are expected on Thursday behind the frontal boundary with highs reaching into the upper 40s to around 50 degrees. Headlines across the area generally remain the same. A High Wind Warning is in effect for portions of central Kansas with a Wind Advisory in place for south-central and southeastern Kansas through 00Z. The Red Flag Warning has been expanded to include all our counties as the high winds and low humidity will lead to areas of extreme fire danger into southeast Kansas. For Friday and Saturday, upper level flow will become zonal allowing temperatures to warm into the upper 50s to around 60 each afternoon under partly cloudy skies. Ahead of the next system, winds will turn southerly across the area and we'll see gusty winds again on Friday afternoon as the surface gradient tightens. The next quick hitting, weak system will pass through the Canadian Prairies and the Northern Plains on Saturday dragging an associated cold front through our area on Saturday night. This front will act to moderate our warming trend, nudging temperatures closer to normal for this time of year with highs on Sunday topping out in the lower 50s. Then temperatures will once again begin rebounding to above normal as strong ridging builds in for next week. Highs on Monday look to reach into the upper 50s to lower 60s with Tuesday and Wednesday hinting at lower 60s areawide. The first peak at Christmas tends to indicate temperatures well above normal with highs in the 60s continuing through the week. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 523 AM CST Thu Dec 18 2025 Winds have turned northwesterly for all sites except for CNU this morning with the front expected to arrive there in the next hour or two. Strong winds are expected through much of the day. Wind gusts between 20-30 knots this morning will increase to between 40-50 knots around 16Z. Winds will diminish rapidly after 00Z, with winds under 10 knots expected between 00-03Z. Winds will then turn southwesterly towards the end of the forecast period. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 158 PM CST Wed Dec 17 2025 Extreme fire danger likely across most of the area on Thursday with very high fire danger possible on Friday. Northwest winds will quickly increase late this morning with gusts in the 50 to 60 mph range likely by the early afternoon, with the higher speeds over central KS. By the early afternoon, RH values are forecast to be in the 20-30% range with the lower end of these values for locations west of I-135. Any fires that start today will be difficult to control, especially across central KS where winds will be slightly stronger. For Friday, winds will flip around to the southwest with gusts in the 30-40 mph range possible during the afternoon. Afternoon RH values will be in the 25 to 30% range and will combine with the winds to produce very high grassland fire danger for much of the area. && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until 6 PM CST this evening for KSZ032-033- 047>053. Red Flag Warning from 10 AM this morning to 6 PM CST this evening for KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100. Wind Advisory until 6 PM CST this evening for KSZ067>072-082- 083-091>096-098>100. && DISCUSSION...AMD AVIATION...AMD FIRE WEATHER...BRF
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wichita KS 309 AM CST Thu Dec 18 2025 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-190915- 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- 309 AM CST Thu Dec 18 2025 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Central Kansas, South Central Kansas and Southeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Very strong northwest winds are expected today with gusts 50 to 60 mph likely. See latest High Wind Warning and Wind Advisory for additional details. The very strong northwest winds will also create areas of blowing dust and reduced visibilities, especially across central Kansas. The strong winds and low relative humidity will support very high to extreme grassland fire danger from late this morning through this afternoon. See latest Red Flag Warning for additional details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday For Friday, gusty winds shift to southerly, leading to another afternoon of very high grassland fire danger. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated today or tonight. && For a graphical version of this information, see our webpage at: https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=ict
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Wichita KS
605 AM CST Thu Dec 18 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0415 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 E Hutchinson 38.07N 97.87W
12/18/2025 M58 MPH Reno KS ASOS
ASOS station KHUT Hutchinson Municipal
Airport.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Long duration wind event with sustained speeds in the 35-50 mph with gusts up to 77 mph.
A 60 mph wind gust was measured at the Ellsworth Airport at 215 PM. Several other wind gusts in excess of 50 mph were observed from late morning through early afternoon.
The 65-mph wind gust was measured via a personal weather station. In addition, a semi was blown over on Highway 156, two miles east of Claflin.
A Kansas State Mesonet site five miles south-southeast of Ash Grove measured a wind gust of 59 mph.
A 64 mph wind gust was reported at KHUT. Winds gusted between 50-65 mph from late morning through mid to late afternoon.
Several nearby observation sites in neighboring counties reported wind gusts in-excess of 60 mph. These include 71 mph at Salina, 63 mph at Elmdale, and 59 mph near Moundridge.
Damaging winds will measured at the Salina Airport from 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM. Sustained speeds were between 50-60 mph with gusts up to 71 mph. Wind knocked down a large street lamp post along S 9th Street in Salina which was relayed by KSAL.
A 59 mph wind gust was measured via a personal weather station three miles south of Moundridge. Winds gusted up to 60 mph from late morning through mid to late afternoon.
A 63 mph wind gust was reported near Elmdale. Winds gusted between 50-60 mph from midday through midafternoon.
A 61-mph wind gust was measured at KICT. Winds gusted between 50-60 mph from late morning through mid to late afternoon.
A 64 mph wind gust was reported at KCNU. These strong winds persisted from around 1 to 2 PM.
Around 2:30 in the afternoon, several broadcast media sources reported a motorcycle accident south of El Dorado near the intersection of 50th and Haverhill Road. It was reported the motorcyclist lost control due to strong winds, and unfortunately, the motorcyclist lost his life. The nearest observation at the Jabara Airport was reporting sustained winds around 30-35 mph with gusts around 50-55 mph at the time of the crash. Peak wind gusts of 59 mph were reported around 4:30 in the afternoon at Jabara Airport.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Butler | 2025-12-18 | 53 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kansas in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, December 2025
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: 1300225, 1302618, 1300228, 1300248, 1302622, 1307839, 1300221, 1302623, 1302626, 1302624, 1302637, 1306207, 1308697.