December 19th-20th 2011 winter storm

A strong upper level storm system moved from the Texas Panhandle on Monday into eastern Kansas on Tuesday and dumped a swath of significant snowfall on western and central Kansas. Blizzard conditions occurred in southwest Kansas where snowfall amounts up to 12 to 15 inches occurred with drifts of 2 to 4 feet. Several highways were closed across western Kansas as a result. North central Kansas observed snow amounts ranging from 4 to 9 inches. On the eastern fringes of the heavy snow swath, a wintry mixture of rain, sleet, and snow occurred in portions of central and south central Kansas creating some slick and slushy spots on roads. The slow-moving low pressure system also produced copious rainfall amounts of generally 1.5 to 2.5 inches across much of south central and southeastern Kansas (see 24 hour liquid precipitation map below).

Storm total snowfall amounts for December 19-20th, 2011, valid as of 2 pm cst December 20th.

Individual Storm Reports for December 19-20, 2011 via Interactive Map

Visible satellite image from the morning of December 21st showing snow cover from the Texas Panhandle into Northeast Kansas