Winter Weather — Smith, Kansas

2025-02-17 to 2025-02-18 · Smith, Kansas

Event narrative

Snowfall totals across the county were generally in the 2 to 5 inch range, with the highest reported total of 4.7 inches from the NWS Cooperative Observer in Lebanon.

Wider weather episode

The third winter weather system in a week brought the harshest set of winter conditions of the season to north central Kansas in terms of snow and cold both. This entry focuses more on the snow than the cold. For more detailed impacts of the cold, see the 'Extreme Cold/Wind Chill' event entry dated February 17-20.

Regarding the snow, a general 2 to 5 inch snowfall fell beginning during the day on the 17th and wrapping up around midday on the 18th. Snow amounts were driven by the longer nature of the event (36 hours) rather than snow intensity. However, there were bursts of heavier snow, largely during the day on the 17th, followed by a 'lull' in the action during the evening and overnight, before some more steady snow moved across the area on the 18th. As temperatures dropped well below zero, winds remained steady in the 15 to 20 mph range, with gusts at times over 25 mph. This resulted in occasional visibility restrictions of less than one mile at times. While most snow amounts were less than 5 inches, there was at least one outlier, such as near Burr Oak where 6' of total snow was reported by the NWS Cooperative Observer. Other higher snow amounts included 4.7' at Lebanon, 4.4' at Beloit and 4.3' at Kirwin. Looking at the lighter side, only 1.6' of snow was measured 10 miles south-southwest of Beloit.

This event was driven by another shortwave moving through a broad cyclonic upper level flow. Unlike the previous two events, this upper flow was a bit more from the north/northwest, which helped filter the extreme cold farther south. Low level moisture was sparse due to the extreme cold, but mid-level was plentiful and the primary source for the longer duration event. Mid-level frontogenesis was most pronounced in the 700-500 MB layer and accentuated by the broad lift of the shortwave and upper flow. Increasing upper divergence associated with the entrance region of a 120 knot 300 MB jet streak over Iowa helped spur the initial round of snow on the 17th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1240505. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.