Winter Storm — Marion, Kansas

2002-01-29 to 2002-01-31 · Marion, Kansas

Event narrative

On the 28th, an Arctic Front surged south across Kansas, leaving a shallow layer of sub-freezing air in it's wake. Meanwhile, an 850mb low was positioned over New Mexico. As the 850mb low moved east across New Mexico on the 29th and 30th, much warmer, moisture-laden air was transported north across the southern plains in a layer approximately 3,000 feet thick, trapping the sub-freezing layer beneath. On the evening of the 30th, the 850mb low crossed the New Mexico/Texas border. A mid-upper level trough moving east across the southern Rockies provided sufficient lift across the region.Widespread freezing rain and sleet developed late in the afternoon of the 29th across south-central Kansas and continued through the night of the 30th, eventually changing to snow early on the morning of the 31st. The result was a major ice accumulation of 1-2 inches on trees and power lines across south-central Kansas that severed power to much of the area. The most prolonged power outages occurred across southeast Butler and Cowley Counties where the outages lasted for nearly a week. Trained spotters and area newspapers contributed greatly to this report.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5276833. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.