Although most of this six-county North Central Kansas area was spared the overall-higher snow totals that slammed Nebraska counties to the north, the first two days of February nonetheless featured one of the most significant winter storms/blizzards to strike the local area in several years, with the majority of impacts occurring on Tuesday the 2nd as a crippling combination of heavy snow and strong winds closed roads and largely brought travel and commerce to a halt. With the glaring exception of the Mitchell County area (which received no more than 3 inches of snow), the majority of the five other local counties accumulated anywhere from 5-12, with the greatest concentration of 10-12 and also true-blizzard conditions focused within Phillips and Smith counties. During the height of the storm during the pre-dawn and daytime hours of the 2nd, sustained winds across most of the area averaged 25-35 MPH with gusts commonly 35-45 MPH, initially out of the northeast but gradually shifting more north-northwest with time.  Given that this storm primarily struck on Feb. 2nd, many will remember it as the Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2016.
According to several NWS cooperative observers, some of the highest storm totals featured 12.0 at Phillipsburg, 10.5 at Webster Dam, 10.2 at Lebanon, 10.0 in Logan and 9.5 at Burr Oak. In contrast, the Mitchell County area was spared significant storm impacts due the combined factors of slightly warmer air aloft keeping the initial precipitation as rain longer, followed by the fairly quick invasion of a mid-level dry slot nosing up from the south and lingering overhead through most of the event. As a result, official snow totals in Mitchell County ranged from merely 0.5 in Beloit to 3 in Cawker City. In terms of liquid equivalent precipitation, this storm brought beneficial amounts of generally 0.60-1.20 to most of the local area. At places such as Smith Center, the storm total of 0.98 boosted the entire meteorological winter into a top-10 wettest on record.
Breaking down the timing and meteorological background of this two-day event, the initial bands of a mixed bag of light snow, sleet and rain started sneaking into the area from the southwest during the pre-dawn and daytime hours of the 1st, driven mainly by broad mid-level lift well out ahead of the primary large-scale trough approaching from the Intermountain West. Little to no snow accumulation took place through the day, although by 730 p.m. a spotter in Long Island reported 1-2. During the pre-dawn hours of the 2nd, conditions went downhill fast across most of the area as an organized, large band of moderate to heavy snow lifted across the area from south-to-north, driven by increasing synoptic-scale forcing to the north of a powerful, closed mid-level low churning into southwestern Kansas. At the same time, north-northeast winds continued ramping up in response to surface low pressure deepening to around 994 millibars over central Kansas by daybreak. Across most of the six-county area, the majority of snow had already fallen by sunrise, as most of the steady accumulation during the daytime and evening hours of the 2nd focused north of the state line in Nebraska. However, primarily northern portions of Phillips, Smith and Jewell counties saw at least a few inches of additional snow during the day within the southern end of the deformation zone associated with the nearly vertically-stacked, powerhouse low pressure system as it tracked to the KS/NE/IA/MO border area by sunset. By mid-evening, the vast majority of lingering snow ended as the surface and upper-level storm system departed into Iowa. However, travel remained dicey thanks to northerly winds still gusting 35-40 MPH. Fortunately, winds eased considerably during the overnight hours, and by daybreak on the 3rd speeds were down to 5-15 MPH.
From a forecast perspective, this event was an overall victory. The initial Winter Storm Watch came out nearly 2.5 days in advance of the worst conditions and the first Blizzard and Winter Storm Warnings were issued nearly 36 hours before the main impacts began. In addition, although the details certainly evolved with time, this was one of those fairly rare instances where computer models correctly latched onto the likelihood for a high-impact winter storm more than a week in advance.

Blizzard in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 02-FEB-16 02:00:00 to 02-FEB-16 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A snow total of 12.0 inches occurred in Phillipsburg, 10.0 inches occurred in Logan, and 7.0 inches occurred at Kirwin Dam. The combination of this snow and frequent wind gusts over 40 mph caused visibility to be one quarter mile or less.

Blizzard in SMITH, KANSAS
From 02-FEB-16 03:00:00 to 02-FEB-16 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A snow total of 10.2 inches occurred in Lebanon and 8.6 inches occurred in Smith Center. The combination of this snow and frequent wind gusts over 40 mph caused visibility to be one quarter mile or less.

Winter Storm in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 01-FEB-16 21:00:00 to 02-FEB-16 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A 2-day snow total of 10.5 inches occurred at Webster Dam and 8.4 inches occurred 4 miles west northwest of Plainville. The combination of this snow and frequent wind gusts 30 to 40 mph caused visibility to be one mile or less, at times.

Winter Storm in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 01-FEB-16 21:30:00 to 02-FEB-16 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A 2-day snow total of 8.5 inches occurred in Covert, 8.0 inches occurred in Natoma, and 5.0 inches occurred 2 miles southwest of Alton. Also, 5.5 inches occurred in Osborne, reported by the general public. Frequent wind gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range, and caused visibility to be less than a mile at times.

Winter Storm in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 01-FEB-16 22:00:00 to 01-FEB-16 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A 2-day snow total of 9.5 inches occurred in Burr Oak, 6.0 inches occurred at Lovewell Dam, 5.2 inches occurred in Jewell, and 5.0 inches occurred in Ionia, with frequent wind gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range, and caused visibility to be less than a mile at times.