Power Outage in Atchison, KS

Through the afternoon on December 15th strong wind caused sustained winds in the 40 to 50 mph range, with frequent gusts well over 60 mph. While most ASOS and AWOS stations recorded gusts around 65 mph, there were several reports of higher winds and damage representative of around 70 mph, such as tree damage and powerlines down. This all preceded strong thunderstorms that also caused strong winds and scattered damage across the area.

Damage was done to a power pole near Neosho.

During the day on December 29, a potent winter storm moved into the area. The precipitation started as primarily snow during the morning hours producing a couple inches of accumulation, but switched to freezing rain just before 10 am as warm air aloft moved over the area. Moderate, to at times heavy rain ensued through the rest of the morning and early to middle afternoon hours, before eventually moving out by the evening hours. The main impact from this storm was 10,000 to 20,000 without power in and around the area. Due to the rain rates, not all of the nearly 1 inch of liquid precipitation accreted on surfaces, but a quarter to half inch did accrete, causing a significant disruption to the power, and closing numerous roads.

A low topped supercell produced a tornado in Atchison County Kansas. This supercell was part of a larger group of supercells across northeast Kansas. Structural damage wasn't noted, but several power poles were snapped as a result of the narrow tornado.

A dry line punched through the area on the afternoon of November 11, bringing 50 to 60 mph synoptic straight line winds. Local ASOS observations reported gusts near 60 mph across the area, but the winds also damaged, trees, power lines, and a few outbuildings. This dry line also created some thunderstorm activity, which caused some isolated convective wind damage.

Thunderstorm winds gusted to an estimated 65 mph. Numerous trees were reported down in the city, blocking roads and causing power outages.

Up to three quarters of an inch of ice was reported across the county. Numerous tree limbs and power lines were reported down.

The sheriff's department reported downed trees and power lines blocking roads.

A strong system ejected eastward into the central part of the country just after Christmas. While the temperatures at the surface remained well below freezing, temperatures just off the surface remained warm enough to melt any ice that was produced in the cloud. Therefore, there was freezing rain that formed, generally along the HWY 36 corridor, producing numerous power outages and causing several vehicle accidents.

After nearly two years without a significant winter weather event in the local area, a major winter storm impacted the region from the evening of Wednesday December 19th through the morning on Thursday, December 20th. Despite temperatures in the upper 30s to lower 40s, warm and moist air streamed in aloft just after sundown, ingiting showers and thunderstorms across the region. The lightning was prolific at times and a few of the stronger thunderstorms even produced small hail. ||A powerful cold front then began to sweep across the region after midnight, resulting in a brief period of sleet (and more thunder) before the precipitation changed to snow. As temperatures fell into the 20s, northwest winds increased dramatically, reaching sustained speeds of 20 to 35 mph with frequent gusts of 40 to 50+ mph during the early morning hours. The wind was the greatest impact with this storm, resulting in blizzard conditions as visibilities dropped to near zero for several hours early this morning due to significant blowing snow. Periods of snow fell heaviest across eastern Kansasi during the pre-dawn hours and then shifted toward northeast and mid Missouri by mid to late morning. Strong winds continued throughout the day, with winds chills in the single digits and teens.||Snowfall totals generally ranged from 1 to 3 inches across the area, with localized amounts upwards of 5. The heavy wet snow, coupled with the very strong winds resulted in widespread power outages reaching into the tens of thousands by late Thursday morning, although improvements were noted by afternoon as weather conditions improved. Driving conditions were equally impacted, especially during the morning commute with many interstates, major highways and secondary routes suffering from closures due to numerous vehicle accidents. Rainfall during the overnight hours froze to the surface once temperatures fell below freezing, creating a thin glaze of ice beneath the freshly fallen snowfall. The road and weather conditions led to widespread school closings across the area.