Critical Fire Weather for a Large Part of the Central U.S.; Areas of Severe Thunderstorms

Gusty to high winds and low relative humidity will bring elevated to critical fire weather across large parts of the Great Plains and more localized parts of the Great Basin and central Rockies Thursday into Friday. Severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging wind gusts are possible over the central Plains Thursday into this weekend. Read More >

A slow moving storm system brought a long duration of freezing rain to portions of North Central, Northeast, and East Central Kansas. The event began late Monday afternoon and continued into the afternoon hours on Tuesday. Liquid precipitation amounts ranged from one to three inches over the area. With surface temperatures at or below freezing, combined with a warm layer of air just above the surface, the precipiation fell in the form of freezing rain. Ice accumulated on many surfaces, especially trees and power lines. The most supportive conditions for freezing rain were found in a fairly narrow swath over portions of North Central and Northeast Kansas, where one inch of ice was reported in numerous locations. This led to widespread power outages and trees down. Winds increased to 10 to 15 mph in the overnight hours Tuesday night, causing additional problems as the increased stress from the wind caused further tree and power line damage.

Many schools and businesses were closed across the region due to travel problems as well as widespread power outages.

Photos From Topeka, Kansas