An interesting weather event took place the evening of the 26th through the morning hours of the 27th as an intense shortwave trough swung through the central plains states. Strong warm advection ahead of the upper trough and modest elevated instability allowed scattered thunderstorms to develop, mainly across northeast and east central Kansas. A few reports of hail and strong winds were relayed to the NWS.  A strong surface cold front brought sub-freezing surface temperatures to the region quickly during the early morning hours. This shallow freezing layer and persistent warm advection aloft set the stage for a period of freezing rain and between one quarter and one half inch of ice accumulation, primarily across Jackson and Jefferson Counties. Light snow later in the afternoon brought a dusting of snow to up to around half of an inch for portions of northeast and east central Kansas. Several accidents were reported due to relatively heavy traffic flow after the Christmas holiday, but no injuries or fatalities occurred.

Ice Storm in OSAGE, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 04:15:00 to 27-DEC-08 07:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Spotters reported up to half of an inch of accumulated ice in Osage County.

Thunderstorm Wind in COFFEY, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 03:35:00 to 27-DEC-08 03:35:00 (CST-6)
Location: OTTUMWA
Magnitude: 61.00 EG
Property damage: 230.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Several reports of damage from New Strawn. The Southern Coffey County Middle School had a portion of it's roof torn off. All 24 doors at Bahr Storage were blown off.  A barn and a grain bin also sustained damage.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 04:12:00 to 27-DEC-08 04:12:00 (CST-6)
Location: PRINCETON
Magnitude: 61.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

A 100 foot tall tower was blown down in the town of Princeton.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 04:16:00 to 27-DEC-08 04:16:00 (CST-6)
Location: OTTAWA
Magnitude: 61.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Large pole barn reported to have been blown down onto it's side.

Thunderstorm Wind in COFFEY, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 03:30:00 to 27-DEC-08 03:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: BURLINGTON
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

La Hacienda restaurant, the Burlington Middle School sign, a grain bin at the intersection of Cross and Cleveland, and play equipment at the Trinity Lutheran Preschool were all damaged by the thunderstorm winds.

Ice Storm in JACKSON, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 04:00:00 to 27-DEC-08 07:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Ice accumulations of around one quarter of an inch were common across Jackson County, as measured by several trained spotters.

Hail in RILEY, KANSAS
From 26-DEC-08 23:54:00 to 26-DEC-08 23:54:00 (CST-6)
Location: MANHATTAN
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Ice Storm in JEFFERSON, KANSAS
From 27-DEC-08 03:45:00 to 27-DEC-08 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Ice across Jefferson County accumulated to one quarter to one half of an inch thick, as measured by trained spotters. Local emergency management also reported that up to 800 citizens were without power for a few hours on the 27th as a result of three main transformers failing when impacted by the ice.