The late evening of Monday the 24th into the morning of Tuesday the 25th featured one of the most intriguing snow events of the 2019-20 winter season within this six-county North Central Kansas area. While roughly the northeast half of the area (particularly Jewell/Mitchell counties) received little to no overnight accumulation, an intense/narrow mesoscale band dumped as much as 6-9 of wet snow along a northwest-southeast axis through the heart of Phillips and Osborne counties (and clipping northeast Rooks and southwest Smith counties along the way).  Amounts this high concentrated within a swath no more than 10-15 miles wide, with totals tapering off to barely a dusting only a few miles on either side. Per several official reports (NWS coop observer/CoCoRaHS) and a few unofficial ones, some of the highest totals featured: 9.2 six miles east of Phillipsburg, 8.1 in Phillipsburg, 8 at Logan and 7-9 sixteen miles south-southeast of Osborne. To the southwest of the main band, more modest amounts included 3.2 four miles west-northwest of Plainville and 2 at Natoma. Despite the hefty totals within the primary snow stripe, the fact that this was a late night/early morning event and that winds averaged only 10-15 MPH through most of it kept travel impacts somewhat in check through roughly sunrise. However, north winds picked up as the day of the 25th wore on, with frequent gusts of 25-35 MPH combining with residual light snowfall to promote some drifting and reduced visibility.
Breaking down timing, the main event associated with the intense mesoscale band unfolded over primarily a 7-9 hour span, getting underway between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. as spotty light rain transitioned to steady snow, and weakening/gradually sinking south of the area between 7-9 a.m. In the mid-upper levels, the primary player was a potent shortwave trough diving into the Central Plains from the north-northwest, featuring a compact/intense closed circulation that peaked in intensity while traversing the local area (especially evident at 700 millibars). As the already-strong zone of deep convergence/frontogenesis intercepted a pocket of steep mid-level lapse rates, the pronounced mesoscale band blossomed, starting out oriented predominantly north-south but gradually pivoting considerably more northwest-southeast in response to the movement of the parent system. At the surface, the relatively light breezes through the night resulted from the region temporarily residing within the heart of an inverted trough axis, before this boundary slipped south around sunrise and allowed stronger northerly winds to kick in. Temperature-wise, the wet nature of snow resulted from overnight readings holding up mainly in the low 30s F. From a forecast perspective this was a challenging event, as although it became increasingly evident 24-48 hours out that mesoscale banding might ensue, its eventual placement/intensity remained a major question mark until it materialized on radar. In the end, although forecasted maximum snow amounts proved to be significantly under-done, a good chance for at least 2-4 within the broader general area became apparent by the afternoon of the 24th, prompting the issuance of a Winter Weather Advisory.

Heavy Snow in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 24-FEB-20 23:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall reports generally ranged from 6 to 9 inches, with the highest amounts falling in a narrow 10-15 mile wide corridor that ran north-northwest to southeast through the heart of the county. Extreme northeastern portions of the county had very little snow. NWS cooperative observer and trained spotter totals included 9.2 inches six miles east of Phillipsburg, 8.1 inches in Phillipsburg, 8 inches in Logan and 7 inches at Kirwin Dam. Public-reported totals included 5 inches seven miles north of Phillipsburg and 5 inches seven miles east-southeast of Prairie View.

Heavy Snow in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 25-FEB-20 02:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

The highest storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 9 inches, falling in a narrow 10-15 mile wide corridor running northwest to southeast through the heart of the county. A trained spotter located 16 miles south-southeast of Osborne reported 7 to 9 inches. North of this main band, very little, if any, snow fell. To the south of it, NWS cooperative observer reports included 3 inches at Covert and 2 inches at Natoma.

Heavy Snow in SMITH, KANSAS
From 25-FEB-20 02:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 08:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Based on ground-truth storm total snowfall reports from adjacent counties and visible satellite data, it is highly likely that far southwestern portions of the county were clipped by a 10-15 mile wide corridor of amounts at least 6-8 inches. For the remainder of the county, most locations had little to no snow, except perhaps closer to 1 inch across the far north.

Heavy Snow in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 24-FEB-20 23:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Based on ground-truth storm total snowfall reports from adjacent counties and visible satellite data, it is highly likely that far northeastern portions of the county were clipped by a 10-15 mile wide corridor of amounts at least 6-8 inches. Totals quickly tapered off south of that corridor, with the majority of the county receiving no more than around 3 inches, included a NWS Cooperative Observer four miles west-northwest of Plainville reporting 3.2 inches.