During a roughly 36-hour stretch between the evening of Sunday January 24th and the morning of Tuesday the 26th, a major winter storm took direct aim on the entire NWS Hastings coverage area, dropping a widespread 6-12 of heavy snow, with unofficial higher reports of up to around 15. For all areas, the majority of snow piled up between 6am-6pm on the 25th, snarling travel and shutting down countless schools and businesses at the start of the work-week. For some areas, this was the biggest winter storm (in terms of snow amounts) in at least five years, since at least the Groundhog Day storm/blizzard of Feb. 2, 2016. Although snow amounts varied somewhat across the area (generally highest within counties along/east of the Highway 281 corridor and lowest farther west), this event was a bit unique in that the entire coverage area received several inches of snow, with no truly sharp divide between low amounts and high amounts. While snow was the only precipitation type for most of north central Kansas, a brief period of freezing rain/light icing was noted mainly in/near Mitchell County KS. From a moisture (melted liquid) perspective, this storm was actually very beneficial, featuring widespread totals of mainly 0.50-1.20. This was not a bad thing considering the area was in at least moderate drought going into this storm. Despite causing significant disruptions to travel, fortunately this storm was not a true/crippling blizzard, as sustained winds speeds through most of it averaged 15-25 MPH/gusts up to 30-35 MPH. Snow became dry enough, though, to promote at least moderate drifting towards the end of the event. Temperatures were also not extreme during this event, generally in the teens and 20s.
Briefly covering the meteorological background and timing: The primary feature was a potent mid-upper level low pressure system that gradually tracked east-northeast from the CO/KS border area on the morning of the 25th, across the heart of our local area during the daylight hours (promoting the heaviest snow during that time), and then departing into IA by daybreak on the 26th. The first flakes started flying on the evening of the 24th, while the last few flurries faded away by sunrise on the 26th. From a forecasting perspective, this storm was a little bit sneaky in the sense that it was not obvious several days beforehand that it would end up being a major storm in terms of snowfall amounts. In fact, as little as 3 days before the event some computer models still suggested a weaker storm, with generally light to moderate amounts. However, by Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23), concern had grown enough in the potential for a bigger storm that the first Winter Storm Watch was issued for southeastern portions of the area. By early Sunday morning (Jan. 24), it was finally very apparent that this system was indeed going to be a major snow-maker, and a Winter Storm Warning was issued for all of north central Kansas.

Winter Storm in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 25-JAN-21 03:00:00 to 25-JAN-21 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Two-day storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 9 inches across the county. The highest totals included 7.5 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located 5 E of Phillipsburg and 6.0 inches from the Cooperative Observer located in Logan.

Winter Storm in SMITH, KANSAS
From 25-JAN-21 03:00:00 to 25-JAN-21 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Two-day storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 9 inches across the county. The highest totals included 7.0 inches from the Cooperative Observer located in Smith Center and 6.0 inches from the Cooperative Observer located in Lebanon.

Winter Storm in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 25-JAN-21 03:00:00 to 25-JAN-21 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Two-day storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 12 inches across the county. The highest totals included 12.0 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located 2 ENE of Webber, 8.8 inches from the Cooperative Observer in Ionia, and 6.0 inches from the Cooperative Observer in Jewell.

Winter Storm in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 25-JAN-21 03:00:00 to 25-JAN-21 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Two-day storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 8 inches across the county. The highest totals included 6.4 inches from the Cooperative Observer located 4 WNW of Plainville and 5.5 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located 10 WNW of Stockton.

Winter Storm in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 25-JAN-21 03:00:00 to 25-JAN-21 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Two-day storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches across the county, based on surrounding county reports and a total of 6.0 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located 6 NNE of Natoma.

Winter Storm in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 25-JAN-21 03:00:00 to 25-JAN-21 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Two-day storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches across the county. The highest totals included 9.5 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located 2 NNW of Hunter, 9.0 inches from the Cooperative Observer located in Beloit, 8.0 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located 4 SSW of Scottsville, and 7.5 inches from the Cooperative Observer located in Cawker City.