Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Topeka, KS
Issued by NWS Topeka, KS
000 CXUS53 KTOP 031614 CLATOP CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 1014 AM CST MON JAN 03 2022 ................................... ...THE TOPEKA KS CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2021... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1887 TO 2022 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 114 07/24/1936 LOW -26 12/23/1989 HIGHEST 101 06/17 MM MM 97 08/28 LOWEST -21 02/16 MM MM 1 02/14 AVG. MAXIMUM 68.2 66.7 1.5 67.5 AVG. MINIMUM 45.9 44.9 1.0 45.3 MEAN 57.0 55.8 1.2 56.4 DAYS MAX >= 90 50 49.6 0.4 54 DAYS MAX <= 32 15 21.8 -6.8 10 DAYS MIN <= 32 100 113.9 -13.9 116 DAYS MIN <= 0 6 2.7 3.3 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 60.89 1973 MINIMUM 19.07 1963 TOTALS 36.64 36.53 0.11 35.50 DAILY AVG. 0.10 0.10 -0.00 0.10 DAYS >= .01 95 98.1 -3.1 86 DAYS >= .10 56 59.7 -3.7 56 DAYS >= .50 28 23.4 4.6 19 DAYS >= 1.00 13 10.5 2.5 12 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 2.34 08/13 TO 08/13 2.53 07/29 TO 07/29 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 48.6 1960 24 HR TOTAL 17.3 02/26/1900 TO 02/27/1900 SNOW DEPTH 18 03/16/1960 TOTALS 14.9 17.1 -2.2 5.8 SINCE 7/1 T 5.5 -5.5 MM SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 0 DAYS >= TRACE 23 12.0 11.0 29 DAYS >= 1.0 4 5.0 -1.0 2 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 4 01/02 2 02/15 02/14 02/13 24 HR TOTAL 0.0 MM 2.7 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 4397 4860 -463 4587 SINCE 7/1 1389 1925 -536 MM COOLING TOTAL 1666 1534 132 1537 SINCE 1/1 1666 1534 132 MM ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.4 RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 1/160 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 41/170 DATE 12/15 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 64/250 DATE 12/15 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.32 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 66 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 41 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 36 RAIN 49 LIGHT RAIN 103 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 2 HAIL 1 HEAVY SNOW 2 SNOW 6 LIGHT SNOW 19 SLEET 0 FOG 163 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 29 HAZE 51 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. REMARKS... AN EXTREME COLD SPELL IN FEBRUARY WAS BRACKETED BY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN JANUARY AND MARCH AS WELL AS WARMER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS IN THE AUTUMN AND DECEMBER TO RESULT IN A WARMER THAN NORMAL YEAR...RANKING AS THE THIRTEENTH-WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD. PRECIPITATION WAS NOT VERY HEAVY ON ANY PARTICULAR DAY WITH THE YEAR/S TOTAL SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. SOME HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR FOLLOW. NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF THE YEAR/S SNOW FELL ON JANUARY 1ST. JANUARY 14TH AND 15TH SAW NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH BOTH DAYS. THE WIND ON THE 15TH COMBINED WITH LIGHT SNOW TO BRING VISIBILITIES DOWN TO ONE QUARTER MILE AT TIMES. THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE TO OCCUR IN JANUARY WAS 16 DEGREES -- ONLY THREE OTHER JANUARYS HAD A WARMER LOWEST TEMPERATURE. FEBRUARY WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED FOR ITS EXTREME COLD. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE ON FEBRUARY 15TH WAS -1 AND THE LOW ON THE 16TH WAS -21. THE -21 DEGREE READING TIES FOR THE SEVENTH-COLDEST TEMPERATURE FOR ANY DAY ON RECORD AND WAS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE SINCE DECEMBER 23RD...1989. THE -1 DEGREE HIGH TIED FOR THE ELEVENTH-COLDEST DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD AND WAS THE COLDEST DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE SINCE DECEMBER 22ND...1989. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE SEVEN-DAY PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 10TH THROUGH FEBRUARY 16TH WAS THE WAS 3 DEGREES...PLACING AS THE 26TH-COLDEST WEEK ON RECORD. HIGH TEMPERATURES EACH DAY FROM FEBRUARY 7TH THROUGH FEBRUARY 16TH WERE AT OR BELOW 15 DEGREES. THIS IS THE LONGEST SUCH STREAK ON RECORD. WIND CHILL VALUES DROPPED TO -10 ON FEBRUARY 10TH AND REMAINED NEAR THIS LEVEL THROUGH FEBRUARY 14TH...THEN PLUNGED TO -20 TO -30 FOR FEBRUARY 15TH AND 16TH. VERY WARM CONDITIONS FOLLOWED HOWEVER...WITH A 71-DEGREE HIGH TEMPERATURE ON FEBRUARY 23RD. THIS 92-DEGREE RISE FROM FEBRUARY 16TH WAS THE LARGEST ONE-WEEK SWING IN TEMPERATURES ON RECORD. THE MIDDLE OF MARCH WAS DAMP WITH AT LEAST A TRACE OF PRECIPITATION FALLING EVERY DAY FROM MARCH 12TH THROUGH MARCH 18TH. THUNDERSTORMS WITH SMALL HAIL JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT OF MARCH 14TH WERE FOLLOWED BY TRACE AMOUNTS OF SNOW THAT EVENING. SOUTH WINDS ON MARCH 29TH REACH 53 MPH AT BILLARD AIRPORT AND 58 MPH AT FORBES FIELD. NORTH WINDS FOLLOWED THE NEXT MORNING WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH. SNOW FELL FROM THE THE PRE-DAWN HOURS TO THE MID-MORNING HOURS OF APRIL 20TH WITH 3.1 INCHES ACCUMULATING. THIS WAS THE EIGHTH-HIGHEST SNOWFALL FOR ANY DAY IN APRIL ON RECORD AND WAS THE SECOND-LATEST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL ON RECORD. THE BULK OF THE SNOW MELTED AWAY BY MID-AFTERNOON. MAY SAW ANOTHER STRETCH OF WET CONDITIONS WITH AT LEAST 0.01 INCHES FALLING FROM MAY 15TH TO MAY 23RD AND OTHER RAIN EVENTS BRINGING MEASURABLE AMOUNTS TO SEVENTEEN DAYS OF THE MONTH. INTENSE SUMMER HEAT BEGAN BY LATE JUNE WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES REACHING AROUND 103 FROM JUNE 17TH TO JUNE 20TH. THE AIR TEMPERATURE REACHED 101 DEGREES ON JUNE 17TH...WHICH WAS THE FIRST INSTANCE OF TEMPERATURES REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS SINCE 2018. OVERNIGHT CONDITIONS WERE RATHER WARM ON JUNE 18TH WITH THE LOW TEMPERATURE ONLY REACHING 81...SETTING THE RECORD FOR THAT DAY. MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION FELL ON EACH OF THE LAST SEVEN DAYS OF THE MONTH WITH SEVERE WEATHER ON JUNE 25TH...INCLUDING 77 MPH WINDS BEFORE DAWN AT FORBES FIELD AND 60 MPH WINDS IN CENTRAL TOPEKA THAT AFTERNOON. JULY BROUGHT SEVERAL DAYS OF RATHER HIGH HEAT LEVELS...INCLUDING A FOUR-DAY STRETCH FROM JULY 27TH TO JULY 30TH WHERE THE HEAT INDEX PEAKED FROM 106 TO 112. NINE DAYS IN AUGUST SAY HEAT INDICES PEAK AROUND 105...WITH FOUR DAYS OF SUCH HEAT OCCURRING ON CONSECUTIVE DAYS...AUGUST 9TH THROUGH 12TH AND AUGUST 23RD THROUGH 26TH. THE AUTUMN MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER SAW TEMPERATURES FREQUENTLY ABOVE NORMAL AND ONLY A FEW DAYS WITH PRECIPITATION...THOUGH WHEN PRECIPITATION DID FALL THE AMOUNTS WERE BENEFICIAL. DECEMBER WAS VERY WARM AND DRY. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS THE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD THAT INCLUDED RECORD HIGHS ON THREE DAYS -- DECEMBER 2ND WITH 72 DEGREES...DECEMBER 15TH WITH 76 DEGREES...AND DECEMBER 24TH WITH 74 DEGREES. DECEMBER 15TH RANKS AS THE SECOND-WARMEST DAY DECEMBER DAY EVER RECORDED WHILE DECEMBER 2ND TIED FOR THE NINTH-WARMEST DECEMBER DAY ON RECORD. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THIS MONTH WAS THE EIGHTH-DRIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. THE LACK OF PRECIPITATION AND LACK OF COLD AIR LEAD TO A LACK OF SNOW AS WELL...WITH NO MEASURABLE SNOW FALLING IN DECEMBER OR FOR THE COLD SEASON TO DATE. ONLY SEVEN OTHER COLD SEASONS HAD A LATER FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL. A VERY INTENSE STORM SYSTEM RAPIDLY CROSSED THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON DECEMBER 15TH. SOUTH WINDS GUSTED UP TO 65 MPH AHEAD OF A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT BLASTED THROUGH THE CITY IN 30 MINUTES. SOUTHWEST WINDS WITH THE STORMS GUSTED TO SIMILAR SPEEDS. BEHIND THE STORMS...WEST-SOUTHWEST WINDS GUSTED UP TO 63 MPH. WIND GUSTS OVER 50 MPH FOR NEARLY SEVEN HOURS THAT DAY. POWER OUTAGES WERE SCATTERED ACROSS THE CITY WITH TREE AND SOME MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE. -- SEASONAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES PLACING IN THE TOP 20 ON RECORD -- AUTUMN......11TH WARMEST /TIED...SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER/ -- SEASONAL TOTAL PRECIPITATION PLACING IN THE TOP 20 ON RECORD -- NONE -- SEASONAL TOTAL SNOWFALL PLACING IN THE TOP 20 ON RECORD -- NONE -- MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES PLACING IN THE TOP 20 RECORD -- JANUARY.....15TH WARMEST FEBRUARY.....8TH COLDEST MARCH.......11TH WARMEST JUNE........17TH WARMEST SEPTEMBER...12TH WARMEST /TIED/ DECEMBER.....2ND WARMEST -- MONTHLY TOTAL PRECIPITATION PLACING IN THE TOP 20 ON RECORD -- JANUARY.....11TH WETTEST FEBRUARY....14TH DRIEST OCTOBER.....13TH WETTEST DECEMBER.....8TH DRIEST -- MONTHLY SNOWFALL PLACING IN THE TOP 20 ON RECORD -- APRIL.......10TH HIGHEST -- DAILY RECORDS -- HIGHEST MAXIMUM - NOV 27.....71 F /TIED/ DEC 2......72 F DEC 15.....76 F DEC 24.....74 F HIGHEST MINIMUM - JUN 18.....81 F LOWEST MAXIMUM -- FEB 15.....-1 F LOWEST MINIMUM -- FEB 14......4 F /TIED/ FEB 15.....-9 F FEB 16....-21 F PRECIPITATION --- NONE SNOWFALL -------- APR 20....3.1 IN -- THUNDERSTORM-RELATED SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS -- WIND - 77 MPH GUST AND TREE DAMAGE JUNE 25 55 TO 65 MPH GUSTS AND SCATTERED TREE DAMAGE JULY 10 SCATTERED TREE DAMAGE AUGUST 20 SCATTERED TREE AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE DECEMBER 15 $$