Kansas Environment & Hazard Risk

A wall of dust formed along the cold front that was advancing across the east half of the county. Loose soil from a field near I-70 added to the dust in the air. The visibility fell to zero at MM 28 just east of Edson leading to a multi-vehicle accident in both east and westbound lanes. Seventy-one vehicles, and 80 people, were involved in the accident. All but one of the fatalities/injuries were in the eastbound lanes. All fatalities except for one occurred at the accident scene. One fatality occurred at a local hospital. The dust was so thick that rescuers standing at arm's length could not see one another; there was no frame of reference for up and down at times.

A highly visible tornado tracked across portions of Andover, Kansas, during the early evening hours of April 29th, 2022. The tornado went through a highly populated portion of town, including 2 different subdivisions. Also a health club took a direct hit, but no injuries occurred due to actions taken by the health club. Only 1 direct injury occurred from the tornado, with 3 indirect injuries occurred during search and rescue operations. Total damaged house or destroyed structures in Andover and rural Butler County were 205. Of the damaged properties, approximately 180 were residences and the rest were businesses or city buildings. Damage estimates were around $37 million.

Just before 10am local time, a pickup truck traveling west on interstate 70 struck a guardrail near Abilene, KS and traveled along and on top of the rail before falling around 25 feet off of a bridge coming to rest on its top. All 4 inside the vehicle were killed. The snow reduced visibility to around 1/2 to 1 mile at times. A winter weather advisory was in effect and 1 to 2 inches of snow fell during this event.

Heavy snow fell during the morning hours on February 17. Roughly 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county, with some isolated higher totals. The day after the snow fell, a Dodge Ram with four occupants from Texas was traveling north on HWY 69, just south of HWY 52 when it ran off the icy road and tumbled into a flooded adjacent ditch. All four occupants were killed.||https://www.kmbc.com/article/four-killed-in-linn-county-crash-caused-by-ice/39148898 .

Despite rainfall towards the end of the month and some improvement across the eastern portion of the county, drought conditions continued across the region through the month of December. The US Drought Monitor indicated the Western half of the county as being in Extreme (D3) Drought with the remainder of county in Severe (D2) Drought. Impacts across the region were primarily felt in larger scale agriculture. Farm and stock ponds saw some continuing impacts with ground water levels and reservoirs showing slight drought condition improvement. Estimated monetary crop losses included in this months report are for drought conditions through December 31st, 2022. Drought conditions continued into 2023 and estimated losses for 2023 will be included beginning January 1st until drought conditions end and loses are assessed.

A long-lived supercell produced a substantial swath of very large hail in the Mankato and Jewell areas, with large hail produced for a significant amount of time. A public report of golf ball size hail was received at 7:45 p.m. CDT in Mankato. By 7:50 p.m. CDT, the hail size in Mankato reached a measured diameter of 4 inches, with tennis ball size hail still falling in town at 8:10 p.m. CDT. At 8:13 p.m. CDT, golf ball size hail was reported about 3 miles northwest of Randall. At 8:15 p.m. CDT, 4 inch diameter hail was reported 2 miles north of Jewell, with baseball size hail in Jewell. Significant hail damage to homes, vehicles and crops occurred in the area. As just one example, local media reported that the Jewell County EMS Director's vehicle incurred major hail damage, including a shattered windshield.