Category Archives: Cold

Wichita escapes hard freeze

3 May, 20137:56 a.m.

Gardeners – and wheat farmers – in the Wichita area can breathe a sigh of relief this morning.

The anticipated overnight freeze didn’t occur in south-central Kansas, forecasters say, thanks to stronger-than-expected winds and some convection that brought warmer temperatures aloft down to the ground’s surface.

That combination of factors kept temperatures in the mid- to upper 30s, said Vanessa Pearce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“It was a narrow band” of convection, Pearce said.

Narrow indeed: Great Bend dropped to 27 and Russell fell below freezing as well.

Lows tonight will stay well above freezing as well, though there’s still a slight chance of a few snow flurries.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Temperatures | Comments

Freeze warning for Wichita and surrounding area

2 May, 201310:20 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for Friday morning that covers more than a dozen counties in central and southern Kansas, including the Wichita metropolitan area.

The warning is in effect from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday. Temperatures are expected to be at or below freezing through daybreak. The lowest temperatures, hovering around 28 degrees, are expected to be in the Flint Hills.

The freeze warning is for Russell, Lincoln, Barton, Ellsworth, Saline, Rice, McPherson, Marion, Reno, Harvey, Butler, Kingman, Sedgwick, Harper, Sumner and Cowley counties.

Among the cities included are Wichita, Hutchinson, Great Bend, Winfield, Salina, McPherson, Marion, Harper, Newton, El Dorado, Kingman, Wellington and Winfield.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Temperatures | Comments

Cold April cracks Top 10 in Wichita

1 May, 20137:58 a.m.

April was so cold in Wichita it cracked the Top 10 for coldest Aprils in the city’s history.

The average temperature last month was 51.3 degrees, making it the 7th coolest April in Wichita since 1889, according to the National Weather Service. The normal April temperature in Wichita is 56.1 degrees. It hasn’t been this cold in Wichita since 1997, according to the weather service.

Chanute had its 6th coolest April since 1894. The average temperature of 52.4 degrees was more than 4 degrees below normal.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Records, Temperatures | Comments

Temperature records keep falling in Wichita

24 April, 20136:41 a.m.

Old Man Winter’s firm grip on the Great Plains late into April is leaving its mark on the record books in Wichita and around Kansas.

Add record low temperatures for April 23 and 24 in Wichita to the lengthening list.

Tuesday’s record low in Wichita reached 32 prior to midnight, and today has already set a new low reading of 25 – shattering the old mark of 31 set in 1967.

Much warmer temperatures are expected the rest of the week, so the end of the cold snap appears to be in sight.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Records, Temperatures | Comments

Records falling throughout the region on a wintry day in late April

23 April, 20135:21 p.m.

Nearly 10 inches of snow fell in Goodland.

Temperatures fell well below freezing throughout much of Kansas.

Not surprisingly, many records fell on a startlingly cold day for late April in the Sunflower State.

“It’s a record cold day,” National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Darmofal said.

The 9.2 inches of snow that fell in Goodland overnight is the most on record this late in the season, according to the National Weather Service.

Records aplenty fell in Wichita today as well. The record low of 34 from 1996 was bettered by a single degree early this morning – after sunrise, no less – and temperatures could fall still more after sunset tonight.

Today’s high of 37 actually came at 2 a.m., Darmofal said, and readings fell as the morning lengthened.

The record low high temperature for April 23 in Wichita took a beating. The old record from 1931 was 47, meaning the new mark is a full 10 degrees colder.

“We really shattered it,” Darmofal said.

Russell and Salina also set records for low high temperature, and Russell’s overnight low broke the record by one degree.

“This may be winter’s last gasp this spring,” Darmofal said.

But he’s not ready to guarantee it yet, even though May arrives next week.

“That’s the only thing that’s saving us, is time,” he said.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Records, Snow, Temperatures | Comments

Record low temperature set in Wichita

19 April, 20137:57 a.m.

Wichita set a record low temperature overnight – but just barely.

The temperature fell to 31, breaking the old record for April 19 of 32 in 1943.

The good news for gardeners and landscapers is that’s not a hard freeze, sparing vegetation of significant damage.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Records, Temperatures | Comments

Southern California freaks out about highs in the 50s

14 January, 20131:32 p.m.

Spotted this clip on AccuWeather vice president Mike Smith’s blog. It’s Jimmy Kimmel talking about folks in Los Angeles reacting to highs in the 50s.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold | Comments Off

Frigid weather suspected as cause of death for El Dorado woman

10 December, 20124:10 p.m.

Butler County authorities are hoping an autopsy will confirm what killed Beth Ann Noffsinger, but preliminary evidence indicates the 30-year-old El Dorado woman froze to death early Monday morning.

Her body was found at about 6:45 a.m. Monday in a rural field near the Greenwood County line, authorities said. She had bolted from her fiance’s vehicle parked on Cattle Pen Road just south of U.S. 54 shortly before 12:45 a.m., and multiple night-time searches of the surrounding Flint Hills proved unsuccessful.

Noffsinger was not wearing a coat, and wind chills in the area were below zero by dawn. Authorities say her fiance reported she became disoriented for some reason and ran from the vehicle.

The investigation into the incident continues.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold | Comments Off

A cold night in Wichita

27 November, 20129:41 a.m.

The temperature dropped to 16 early this morning in Wichita.

That’s the coldest it’s been in the city since February 12, according to the National Weather Service. But it’s not the start of an extended cold snap – warmer weather is expected the rest of the week.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Temperatures | Comments Off

Friday morning freeze warning for Wichita canceled, but new freeze warning issued for early Saturday morning

26 October, 20128:17 a.m.

The National Weather Service has shelved the Friday morning freeze warning for south-central Kansas, but issued a new freeze warning for the region for late Friday night and Saturday morning.

The new freeze warning is in effect from 10 p.m. today until 10 a.m. Saturday, and includes 11 counties – among them the Wichita metropolitan area. Temperatures are expected to fall into the mid-20s overnight.

The freeze warning is for Sedgwick, Harvey, Butler, Reno, Kingman, Sumner, Harper, Cowley, Greenwood, Woodson and Allen counties.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Cold, Temperatures | Comments Off