This Thursday marked the second straight day of intense north-northwest winds across North Central Kansas, with most of the daylight hours featuring relentless sustained speeds commonly 30-40 MPH and frequent gusts 45-55 MPH (with sporadic, marginally-severe higher gusts). Per various mesonet stations, peak gusts featured: 60 MPH in Jewell, 58 MPH a few miles west-northwest of Jewell (KSU sensor) and 56 MPH at Smith Center airport. Like the preceding day, there were no known reports of notable wind damage, but the combination of relentless wind and worsening drought conditions promoted fairly widespread areas of blowing dust, reducing visibility to one mile or less in various spots. Sustained speeds finally eased down below 30 MPH (and gusts below 45 MPH) on a consistent basis by around 9 p.m. CDT on the 7th, signaling the end of back-to-back days of higher-end winds (though moderately-windy conditions continued for several more days).
In the mid-upper levels, the main driver behind the fierce winds continued to be a quasi-stationary and powerful/deep closed low churning over the Wisconsin area. At the surface, a nearly co-located intense low pressure center resided over WI during the day, although its central pressure slowly weakened from around 994 millibars (mb) to around 1000 mb. Despite the gradual weakening of this primary surface low, if anything, conditions within the state of Kansas were even more favorable for high winds than the previous day. For one thing, the mid-day (18Z) west-to-east pressure gradient across the state was slightly stronger, registering around 13 mb (ranging from 1012 mb in far northeast KS to 1025 mb far southwest). Furthermore, steep low-level lapse rates allowed efficient downward momentum transfer from aloft during the daylight hours, with wind speeds in the 850-700 millibar layer averaging 45-55 knots (roughly 5 KT higher than on the 6th). From a broader perspective, the high winds of April 6-7 were only two of several markedly windy days during April 2022 across North Central Kansas, as this likely ended up being the overall-windiest April since at least 1996 in the area (per analysis of data from nearby Concordia/Hill City airports).

High Wind in JEWELL, KANSAS
From 07-APR-22 10:00:00 to 07-APR-22 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times. A wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located in Jewell.

High Wind in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 07-APR-22 10:00:00 to 07-APR-22 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

High Wind in OSBORNE, KANSAS
From 07-APR-22 10:00:00 to 07-APR-22 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

High Wind in SMITH, KANSAS
From 07-APR-22 09:00:00 to 07-APR-22 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

High Wind in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 07-APR-22 09:00:00 to 07-APR-22 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.

High Wind in PHILLIPS, KANSAS
From 07-APR-22 08:00:00 to 07-APR-22 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Sustained northwesterly speeds near or exceeding 40 MPH were common during the day based on nearby observations, along with gusts near 60 MPH at times.