Wednesday’s heat bumps Wichita closer to record just hours before snowstorm

Wednesday’s warm weather helped push Wichita into a new category for warm winter days — just hours ahead of an expected record-setting snowstorm.

Wichita surpassed 60 degrees for the third straight day on Wednesday. That makes 27 days this winter so far, according to the National Weather Service. There were also 27 days that reached 60-plus degrees in the winter (December-February) of 1889-1890.

The only winter that had more 60-plus degree days was in 1975-1976, which had 30. Records date back to 1888.

Vanessa Pearce, a NWS meteorologist in Wichita, said “it would be close” for Wichita to again reach the 30 mark. Sunday and Monday could reach 60-plus degrees. Another warm day would have to pop up after that.

The average monthly temperature provides another snapshot of how warm winter has been.

December’s 41.1-degree average temperature was the warmest reported in records dating back to 1895, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The next closest was 38.5 degrees in 1957.

January’s average was 29.8 degrees, which was slightly below the trend line and well below the high of 41.3 degrees in 2006.

The heat in Wichita on Wednesday (Feb. 16) — 65 degrees around noon and 69 a few hours later — is a stark contrast to the -17 degree record set last year.

The temperature swing is also going to be significant going into tonight.

Around midnight, it’s expected to be around 38 degrees. And by noon Thursday, it’s expected to be around 20 degrees, making a 24-hour temperature swing of more than 40 degrees.

The Feb. 17 snowfall record measured at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport was 1.9 inches in 1979. Wichita is expected to see between 4 to 8 inches of snow Thursday.

This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 3:06 PM.