A swath of mostly light snow impacted much of the area with many locations generally seeing around two to five inches of snow accumulations from the 11th through the 12th. While accumulations remained on the lighter side, there were still travel impacts and school closures that occurred across the region.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 swath of mostly light snow impacted much of the area with many locations generally seeing around two to five inches of snow accumulations from the 11th through the 12th. While accumulations remained on the lighter side, there were still travel impacts and school closures that occurred across the region.
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 Feb 11, 10:46 PM CST, 14 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 1046 PM CST Tue Feb 11 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Slight chance for freezing drizzle across southeast KS this evening - Widespread snow arrives late this evening into Wednesday; highest accumulations along the Interstate 70 corridor - Bitter wind chills as cold as -15 Wednesday and Thursday mornings; coldest across central KS - Additional chances for snow late Friday into Saturday && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 228 PM CST Tue Feb 11 2025 As of 230 PM Tuesday afternoon, broad southwesterly midlevel flow has established across the entire central and southern Plains. Strong, surface, cold air advection continues across the region with temperatures hovering in the upper 10s and 20s across central KS to the 30s across southeast KS. An initial push of midlevel WAA is overspreading portions of western and northern KS ahead of a broad trough across the southwest US. Latest RAP forecast soundings suggest convective instability upwards of 20-40 J/kg. Based on agitated midlevel clouds it appears this instability is being realized and snow showers will continue predominately north and west of the forecast area. Transitioning into the evening hours, weak, low-level, WAA is progged across southeast KS. Cloud bases are forecast to gradually drop below 1kft. The combination of the 2 may create patchy drizzle. With temperatures dropping below freezing after sunset, freezing drizzle may become a concern. This concern should be brief as deeper midlevel moisture advects overhead to transition precipitation types to snow. Further west, an area of snow has developed across the high Plains of CO as the initial 700 mb shortwave trough progresses from the Rockies. This axis of snow will gradually spread east and northeast throughout the evening and nighttime hours. Moderate and even heavy snow is expected late tonight into Wednesday morning on the nose of a 700 mb jet. 12Z guidance remains largely unchanged with the nose anchoring in the vicinity of Interstate 70 across central KS. Forecast soundings from the RAP, NAM, ECMWF, and GFS all depict a deep isothermal layer through ~600 mb. In addition, this isothermal layer is positioned within the dendritic growth zone (DGZ). This should support efficient snowfall rates with snow-to-liquid ratios approaching 20:1. The overlap of the deep DGZ and strong lift look to persist along the I-70 corridor for 4-6 hours. With snowfall rates likely to approach or exceed 1" per hour, this still translates to 5-8" of snow accumulation for areas along/near I-70. This convergence zone will gradually weaken and slide to the east as the main deformation zone expands across eastern KS. Further south across south central into southeast KS, the main 700mb speed max is progged to eject into the state late tonight into Wednesday morning. Steep midlevel lapse rates on the order of 7-8C will contribute to instability up to 200 J/kg above 650 mb. This will most certainly result in banded snowfall across south central and southeast KS with snow rates exceeding 1" per hour at times. Furthermore, this instability may allow for ice pellets from time to time and even a rumble of thunder. Unfortunately, these snow bands may overlap with the morning commute, including across the Wichita metro area. Visibility of 1/2 mile or less can be anticipated within these bands. While overall snow amounts are less across southern and southeast KS, hazardous travel conditions are still probable. As the main midlevel trough slides through the Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening, all snowfall will progress east of the area, setting the stage for a very cold night. In regards to the cold, bitterly cold wind chills are expected Wednesday and Thursday morning as temperatures plunge towards zero and even below zero. The coldest temperatures are expected across central KS. Coupling in a brisk north wind up to 25 mph will create wind chill values as cold as -15. A Cold Weather Advisory may be needed with subsequent forecast packages. Beyond Thursday, shortwave ridging will slide across the central US in-advance of the next trough progged to arrive late Friday into Saturday. Winds on Friday will likely be strong as a tight pressure gradient develops across the area combined with strong winds approaching 70 mph at 850mb. This may result in blowing snow conditions from Wednesday's snowfall. Temperatures on Friday are expected to rise above freezing which may help with snow melting; though, these warmer temperatures will be short-lived as we move into Saturday. Temperatures are expected to drop again as the Arctic air with the next upper level wave moves into the area. This wave could bring another round of snow to central KS and rain to southeast KS. Timing and evolution of this system will be monitored closely. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1041 PM CST Tue Feb 11 2025 SUMMARY...Widespread snow and IFR to LIFR conditions will spread across the region tonight into Wednesday morning. DETAILS...A strong storm system approaching from the west will spread areas of light-moderate to occasional heavy snow west to east across the region from about 07-09z through 13-17z overnight into Wednesday morning. Only went prevailing 1 1/2SM in light snow at this time, but there will likely be pockets of 1/4 to 3/4SM in moderate to heavy snow. Additionally, cannot rule out a few lightning strikes (i.e. thunder snow) between 07-14z, given some elevated instability, which would locally enhance snowfall rates. Furthermore, gusty north winds will develop later tonight and persist through Wednesday, producing some blowing and drifting of snow. && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM CST Wednesday for KSZ032-033- 047>053. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM CST Wednesday for KSZ067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100. && DISCUSSION...BRF/GC AVIATION...ADK
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wichita KS 910 PM CST Tue Feb 11 2025 KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-130315- 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- 910 PM CST Tue Feb 11 2025 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of Central Kansas, South Central Kansas and Southeast Kansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight Patchy freezing drizzle is possible across southeast Kansas before about 3 AM. Patchy slick spots are possible, especially on bridges, overpasses, and untreated roads. Light to moderate snow will spread east across the region after midnight. The snow could be heavy at times, along with some possible thundersnow. Over far southern and southeast Kansas, the snow could mix with sleet at times late tonight and early Wednesday. The highest snow accumulations will affect areas generally along and north of I-70, where amounts through Wednesday morning could range from 6 to 8 inches. Southern Kansas will likely see less snow, with accumulations through Wednesday morning ranging from 1 to 4 inches, lowest near the Oklahoma border. Please refer to the Winter Storm Warning and the Winter Weather Advisory products for additional details. Below zero wind chills will impact central Kansas late tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Snow will gradually end from west to east Wednesday morning, although breezy north winds could create some blowing and drifting snow in open areas through the afternoon. Below zero wind chills are expected in the early morning hours on Wednesday for central Kansas, and area-wide Wednesday night through early Thursday. Wind chill values as cold as 15 below zero are likely for central Kansas early Thursday. Another storm system could bring more snow to the region late Friday night into Saturday. Stay tuned as we continue to refine forecast details in the coming days. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated tonight. && For a graphical version of this information, see our webpage at: https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=ict
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 winter weather, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A snow total of 5 inches was reported about four miles east-southeast of Dorrance. Based on additional reports, around 3 to 5 inches of snow fell across Russell County.
A snowfall total of 3 inches was reported about one mile southeast of Lincoln. Based on additional observations, around 2 to 3 inches of snow feel across Lincoln County.
A snowfall total of 3.5 inches was reported in Brookville. Based on additional observations, around 2 to 4 inches of snow occurred across Saline County.
A snowfall report of 3 inches about three miles west-northwest of Great Bend. Based on additional observations, around 1 to 3 inches of snow fell across Barton County.
A snowfall total of 3 inches was reported in Ellsworth. Based on additional observations, around 2 to 3 inches fell across Ellsworth County.
A snowfall total of 5.1 inches was reported about eight miles northeast of Lyons. Based on additional reports, around 1 to 5 inches of snow occurred across Rice County with the highest amounts occurring across the northeast portions of the county.
There were several snowfall total reports of 3 inches across the county. Around 2 to 3 inches of snow fell across McPherson County.
A snowfall total of 4 inches was reported in Florence. Based on additional reports, around 2 to 4 inches of snow fell across Marion County.
A snowfall total of 3 inches was reported in Cottonwood Falls. Based on additional observations, around 2 to 3 inches of snow fell across Chase County.
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, February 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: 1242811, 1243969, 1243981, 1243985, 1243989, 1242814, 1243999, 1244003, 1244008.