Although snow amounts ended up lower than suspected a few days beforehand, this was nonetheless the first real snow event (meaning at least 1-3 inches) of the winter season for much of this six-county North Central Kansas area. All snow accumulation occurred between the evening of Sunday the 13th and the very early morning hours of Monday the 14th. Snow amounts varied considerably across the area, ranging from one-half inch or less in some places, to as high as 4 in parts of mainly Rooks and Osborne counties. According to NWS cooperative observers, some of the highest totals featured 4.0 at Covert rural station (nine miles east-northeast of Natoma), 3.0 in Natoma, 3.4 four miles west-northwest of Plainville and 2.2 at Lebanon. Despite north-northwest winds gusting up to around 30 MPH, the very wet nature of this snow greatly minimized blowing/drifting. Speaking of wet, when all was said and done, the wintry aspect of this event was not even the big story locally. Instead, it will be most remembered for soaking rainfall (and even a few thunderstorms initially), which was the primary precipitation type from when precipitation first broke out on the evening of the 12th until the changeover to a mix of rain, snow and even some sleet on the evening of the 13th. Storm total precipitation averaged 2.00-2.50 across most of the area, providing very beneficial early-winter moisture. Just to name a few, two-day precipitation totals included 2.52 at Beloit, 2.43 at Phillipsburg and 2.31 in Burr Oak. Put another way, this event alone provided generally two to three times as much December precipitation as the 30-year monthly normal/average.
Breaking down timing, steady rain got underway on the evening of the 12th into the early morning of the 13th and persisted through most of the day before a brief lull arrived later in the afternoon. This first wave of precipitation focused well out ahead of a powerful, closed mid level low pressure system that churned across the Texas Panhandle into western Oklahoma during the day of the 13th. Then, round two of the event, during which all snow accumulation occurred, began on the evening of the 13th in the form of a classic, generally north-south oriented deformation zone tied to the northwest quadrant of the mid level low. All local precipitation ended by daybreak on the 14th as the center of this mid level circulation departed east-northeast to the IA/MO/IL border area. From a forecast perspective, it appeared 36 to 48 hours in advance that a more widespread snowfall of 4-7 might occur. However, as time went by, it became increasingly-apparent that low-level temperatures would remain quite marginal for appreciable snow production.

Winter Weather in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 13-DEC-15 18:00:00 to 14-DEC-15 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A snowfall total of 3.4 inches occurred 4 miles west northwest of Plainville.

Winter Weather in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 13-DEC-15 21:00:00 to 14-DEC-15 04:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A snowfall total of 4 inches occurred at Covert Rural station, which is approximately 9 miles east-northeast of Natoma. Also, 3.0 inches fell in Natoma.