Mid-February 2021 unleashed a relentless blast of brutal cold, the likes of which North Central Kansas had not endured in several decades. Of the few long-time NWS cooperative observer temperature stations within the six-county area, the 10-day stretch from the 7th-16th marked the overall-coldest 10 days in either 32 years (since Dec. 1989) or 38 years (since Dec. 1983)...based on average/mean temperature. Focusing specifically on the Smith Center observer data (84 years of available records), the 10-day average temperature between the 7th-16th was -0.3 degrees (F), an incredible 32 degrees below the 30-year normal. Daily highs over the course of the 10 days ranged from -2 to +14 degrees, while daily lows ranged from -20 to 0. Among other temperature tidbits for Smith Center, nine straight days of sub-zero lows at the official NWS observer station matched the previous record first achieved in Dec. 1983, and the nearby unofficial airport AWOS spent AROUND 45 HOURS AT-OR-BELOW ZERO between the early afternoon of the 14th and late morning of the 16th (this likely hadn't occurred since at least Feb. 1989). In addition, the low temperature of -20 on the 15th set a new February record (coldest low since Dec. 1989), while the high temperature of -2 on the 15th matched the existing February record first set in 1989. Factoring in winds (albeit relatively light through the majority of the 10-day period), the most frigid wind chill readings occurred between the evening of the 14th and the morning of the 16th, prompting a long-fuse Wind Chill Warning for all of North Central Kansas. On both mornings of the 15th and 16th, a handful of unofficial automated stations recorded wind chill values well down into the -30 to -40 range, highlighted by -37 at mesonet stations near Lebanon and Kirwin on the 15th and -37 at Smith Center airport on the 16th.
Focusing on impacts, the local North Central Kansas area was just a tiny sliver of an expansive swath of the central and southern United States that battled this historic cold, as sub-freezing temperatures surged all the way into south Texas (even promoting a light coating of snow at Galveston). This cold outbreak put a considerable strain on not only the local, but especially the regional power and energy industry. While North Central Kansas avoided more serious/longer-lasting power disruptions that ravaged many southern states, fairly brief rolling blackouts (typically around 30 minutes) occurred within the area on the 15th-16th, as called for by the Southwest Power Pool (the independent regional transmission organization that manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for portions of 14 central and southern states, including Kansas). Turning to the large-scale meteorological picture, this prolonged/intense cold outbreak was driven in the mid-upper levels by a parade of troughs circulating around a quasi-stationary parent vortex churning over southern Canada, each one further reinforcing/intensifying the magnitude of Arctic air allowed to spill southward through the central United States. At the surface, persistent, predominantly northerly flow prevailed for days on end as a sprawling Arctic high increasingly-dominated much of the central and northeastern United States. Also contributing to the magnitude of persistent cold in North Central Kansas was a variable blanket of snow cover, generally ranging from 1-2 inches south of Highway 24 to as deep as 6-9 inches in some areas along/north of Highway 36, where a series of snow events brushed the area between the 6th-14th. Concluding with a brief rundown of how North Central Kansas finally crawled out from underneath the 10-day crush of ruthless cold, improvement finally got underway on the 17th and trended upward for several days thereafter, with high temperatures across most of the area recovering into the teens on the 17th, 20s on the 18th, 30s-40s on the 19th (ending a 13-day sub-freezing streak at Smith Center), 40s-50s on the 20th, and even reaching the 70s by the 23rd.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in SMITH, KANSAS
From 07-FEB-21 00:00:00 to 16-FEB-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

The following are the coldest recorded wind chills for the period: on the morning of Feb. 15th: -37 degrees two miles south of Lebanon; -35 degrees at Smith Center Airport AWOS. On the morning of Feb. 16th: -37 degrees at Smith Center Airport AWOS; -33 degrees two miles south of Lebanon.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 07-FEB-21 00:00:00 to 16-FEB-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The following are the coldest recorded wind chills for the period: on the morning of Feb. 15th: -37 degrees four miles west-southwest of Kirwin; -35 degrees six miles east of Phillipsburg; -34 degrees two miles north of Phillipsburg; -33 degrees one mile northeast of Woodruff. On the morning of Feb. 16th: -35 degrees one mile west of Logan; -34 degrees six miles east of Phillipsburg; -32 degrees two miles north of Phillipsburg.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 07-FEB-21 00:00:00 to 16-FEB-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Based on observations from nearby counties, all of Jewell County likely observed very cold wind chills of -30 to -40 degrees on the mornings of Feb. 15th and 16th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 07-FEB-21 00:00:00 to 16-FEB-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Based on observations from nearby counties, all of Rooks County likely observed very cold wind chills of -30 to -40 degrees on the mornings of Feb. 15th and 16th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 07-FEB-21 00:00:00 to 16-FEB-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Based on observations from nearby counties, all of Osborne County likely observed very cold wind chills of -30 to -40 degrees on the mornings of Feb. 15th and 16th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 07-FEB-21 00:00:00 to 16-FEB-21 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Based on observations from nearby counties, all of Mitchell County likely observed very cold wind chills of at least -30 degrees on the mornings of Feb. 15th and 16th.