Winter Storm — Smith, Kansas

2011-01-31 · Smith, Kansas

Event narrative

Storm total snowfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches combined with strong winds of 25 to 30 mph and periodic gusts approaching 45 mph brought reduced visibilities, occasional white out conditions and hazardous travel to the county. On Monday morning, a woman was killed in a one vehicle accident when she lost control and rolled, with the vehicle coming to a rest on its top. The accident was on Highway 36, 6 miles east of Kensington, and occured as the woman was driving to work in Smith Center.

Wider weather episode

Following a brief warm spell in late January, winter quickly returned to North Central Kansas on the last day of the month as a large upper level low pressure system carved into the central United States, bringing some of the coldest air of the season with it. On Monday the 31st, the day started out with widespread light freezing drizzle across the area, with slick roads contributing to a single-fatality car accident in Smith County. As the day wore on into the evening, the freezing drizzle gave way to light snow, with accumulations of 1-3 inches by midnight in some locations. However, the bigger story became increasing north winds, with sustained speeds to around 30 MPH and gusts to over 40 MPH resulting in at least minor drifting and visibility restrictions to less than one half mile. In addition, with temperatures plunging toward zero, the strong winds ushered in the coldest wind chill temperatures of the season, with readings plunging to between 25 and 30 degrees below zero by the morning of the 1st. The combination of light snow, strong winds and dangerous wind chills continued into February 1st, when near white-out conditions occurred in some areas mainly along and east of the Highway 281 corridor. By the time snow ended for good on the 1st, storm total accumulations of 1-3 inches were common across much of North Central Kansas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 278579. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.