This Sunday was one of the windiest days of fall 2022 within this six-county North Central Kansas area, with most of the afternoon-evening featuring south-southwesterly sustained speeds commonly 30-40 MPH and frequent gusts 45-55 MPH (localized 58+ MPH). Fortunately, the local area managed to avoid any notable wildfire activity (albeit not by much, as two sizable fires ignited within five miles of the state line in far south central Nebraska). However, this area did endure a healthy dose of blowing dust, with at least a few hours of widespread visibility reductions to one mile or less, and more localized reductions to less than one-quarter mile (even near-zero). In tandem with the strong winds, the stage was set for the blowing dust thanks to unseasonably-warm temperatures and very dry conditions, with the majority of North Central Kansas in the midst of longer-term drought ranging from Moderate (D1) to Severe (D2),and with worse drought conditions including Exceptional (D4) noted in the dust's primary southwestern Kansas source region. Although impacts from the strong winds/blowing dust indeed materialized, fortunately the local area was spared the possibility of a more widespread severe thunderstorm threat. Despite roughly the eastern half of the area being assigned a Marginal to Slight Risk of severe storms by SPC, convective development proved to be very spotty/weak overall, with only one (unverified) Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for parts of Mitchell/Jewell counties. The day's biggest story locally was the blowing dust, which mainly concentrated between 2-6 p.m. CDT and during which time a Blowing Dust Advisory was in effect for all six counties. In addition, a more urgent Dust Storm Warning was issued for parts of Rooks, Osborne, Smith and Phillips counties mainly 2:30-4:00 p.m. CDT. Though ground-truth reports were limited, law enforcement reported near-zero visibility in the Stockton area, mainly resulting from larger-scale dust plumes surging up into the local area from the southwest. Getting back to the strong south/southwest winds themselves...most of the unofficial sensors within North Central Kansas clocked peak gusts of 45-55 MPH. However, there were isolated higher gusts that approached/barely breached High Wind criteria, including: 59 MPH near Beloit and 57 MPH in Plainville and Tipton. There were no known reports of significant wind damage.
Concluding with a closer look at the meteorological setup on the 23rd, the main player in the mid-upper levels was an expansive/deep trough slowly shifting from the Intermountain West into the Central Rockies over the course of the day. At the surface, the day began with a 988 millibar low pressure center over northeast CO. By early afternoon, an elongated, southwest-northeast oriented trough axis intensified to 986 millibars from northeast CO to far north central NE, with North Central Kansas firmly in the warm sector and within a tightening surface pressure gradient. This gradient, in tandem with steep low-mid level lapse rates and resultant deep mixing, drove the persistent 45-55 MPH gusts throughout the afternoon and early evening, with a subtle pre-frontal trough causing local winds to average more true southerly east of the Highway 281 corridor and more southwesterly to the west. The deep mixing also allowed temperatures to soar and dewpoints/relative humidity to plummet. High temperatures across most of North Central Kansas topped out in the upper 80s-low 90s (around 25 degrees above normal), while relative humidity values plunged to between 15-25 percent across most of the area during the mid-late afternoon. Strong south-southwest winds persisted after sunset, but by late evening the primary surface low migrated into the eastern Dakotas, allowing a trailing cold front to enter far western portions of the local area...turning winds northwesterly and easing gusts to more manageable levels as it passed. By around 2 a.m. CDT on the 24th, this front finally cleared the far southeastern fringes of North Central Kansas.

High Wind in MITCHELL, KANSAS
From 23-OCT-22 16:58:00 to 23-OCT-22 16:58:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 51.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A wind gust of 59 MPH was measured by an unofficial mesonet station located five miles south-southeast of Beloit.

Dust Storm in ROOKS, KANSAS
From 23-OCT-22 13:30:00 to 23-OCT-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Law enforcement reported near-zero visibility due to blowing dust in the Stockton area.