Thunderstorm Wind in Atchison County, Missouri

A trained spotter near Watson, Missouri reported 80 mph wind.

On December 15, 2021, a large-scale weather event rolled through the Central Plains and Upper Midwest bringing tornadoes, dust storms, wildfires, and snow across several central and northern states. Record high temperatures were set across the region including Kansas City, with the Kansas City International Airport tying its all-time December high temperature.

Non-convective winds both ahead and behind the thunderstorms were quite strong. Several locations around the area reported wind gusts above 50 MPH with Lees Summit peaking at 53 MPH, St. Joseph reached 52 MPH, and Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe, KS reached 60 MPH. Once the line of storms arrived, several areas reported winds in excess of 75 MPH. The Kansas City Downtown Airport reached a peak gust of 77MPH. This resulted in the roof damage to a few airport buildings. Numerous trees and power poles fell across much of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Areas in far northwest Missouri observed winds of 80-90 MPH as the thunderstorms moved through. Several homes and buildings were damaged across northern Missouri including missing shingles, peeled siding, and blown out windows.