Winter Storm — Washington, Kansas

2022-12-21 to 2022-12-22 · Washington, Kansas

Event narrative

KS-WS-13: Palmer 0.6 SSW measured 1 inch of snow on top of a glaze of ice from a flash freeze event with drizzle and freezing drizzle Wednesday night before the Arctic front arrived. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused some blowing and drifting of snow while wind chills dropped into the -30 to -40 degree range which were the coldest in nearly 30 years.

Wider weather episode

Freezing drizzle preceded an Arctic cold front overnight on Thursday December 22nd. A light glaze of ice formed on roadways before a cold front swept through and caused air temperatures to drop to below zero and produced northwest winds of 25 to 50 mph. A period of moderate to heavy snow also occurred behind the front causing near blizzard conditions for a short time 1-2 hours early Thursday morning Dec 22nd. Snowfall measurements were hampered by the strong winds however most areas are estimated to have received 1-3 inches of snow. Areas of blowing snow persisted due to strong winds and dry snow through the day.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1060936. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.