Temperature
2024 was a warm year across Kansas. The average temperature for the year was 57.5° or 3.4° above normal. This ranked 2024 as the 2nd warmest of the last 130 years (tied with 1935) according to NCEI, the National Centers for Environmental Information, whose monthly climate averages date back to 1895 (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/mapping). Kansas was not alone in being above normal; a total of 17 states recorded their warmest year on record. Kansas was one of 13 states to finish at 2nd warmest. Nationally, it was the warmest year on record, about one-quarter degree ahead of 2012’s mark.
Ten of the twelve months averaged above normal in Kansas; only January and July were below normal (Table 1). Of the 366 days in the year, 237, or 64.8%, were above normal, based on data from the Kansas Mesonet. The most below-normal month was January (statewide average departure of -5.2°), largely due to a bitterly cold air mass that brought sub-zero temperatures to the state. There was a 13-day period of below-normal temperatures from January 9-21, the year's longest stretch. The year’s coldest temperature was recorded during this period: -22° on the 15th at the Wallace County Mesonet site and in Herington on the 16th. Interestingly, this cold spell was followed by the year’s longest stretch of above-normal days, 19, that began on January 22 and lasted through February 9. This helped February finish as the most above-normal month of the year (+8.8°). Ten counties recorded their warmest February on record, including Brown County, where the departure of +11.7° was the highest in the state.
All three months of meteorological spring (March, April, and May) averaged above normal in all divisions, and when combined, it was the 2nd warmest spring on record in southeast Kansas, the 3rd warmest in east central, and the 6th warmest in northeast Kansas. The average temperature in the summer months of June, July, and August was slightly less than one degree above normal in the state, thanks in part to a colder-than-normal July. The summer was still hot, and most locations exceeded their average number of 90-degree days, including Dodge City (78/normal 71), Wichita (77/65), Goodland (75/52), and Topeka (57/50). But the counts of the hottest days, when highs were at or above 100, were close to or fewer than normal at many locations, such as Dodge City (10/normal 14), Topeka (4/6), Manhattan (2/10), and Pittsburg (0/5). Medicine Lodge won the “triple crown” by having the most 90-degree days (113), the most 100-degree days (37), and the hottest reading recorded anywhere in the state: a sizzling 115° on August 24th.
Autumn was very warm, and the combined months of September, October, and November ranked as the 4th warmest meteorological fall in the state. In northwest Kansas, the average temperature of 57.4° tied 1963 for the warmest fall on record, a departure from normal of +4.1°. The remaining divisions in the state all ranked between 4th and 6th warmest fall out of the past 130 years. December continued the above-normal trend; it was the fifth consecutive above-normal month in the state and helped to boost the year-end ranking from 4th warmest for the first 11 months of the year to tied 2nd warmest. Northwest Kansas led the way again, setting a new record for their warmest December. The average December temperature of 37.2° exceeded the old record of 37.0° in 2021.
Table 1. Monthly average temperatures and precipitation for Kansas, along with departures from normal. Source: National Centers for Environmental Information.
|
|
Temperature |
Precipitation |
||
|
Month |
Average (°F) |
Departure |
Average (in.) |
Departure |
|
January |
25.9 |
-5.2 |
1.30 |
+0.58 |
|
February |
43.8 |
+8.8 |
0.94 |
-0.03 |
|
March |
47.1 |
+2.3 |
0.93 |
-0.86 |
|
April |
57.3 |
+3.4 |
2.31 |
-0.37 |
|
May |
65.3 |
+1.4 |
4.04 |
-0.17 |
|
June |
77.2 |
+3.0 |
4.47 |
+0.42 |
|
July |
78.0 |
-1.0 |
2.88 |
-0.97 |
|
August |
77.6 |
+0.5 |
3.47 |
-0.04 |
|
September |
71.1 |
+2.3 |
1.62 |
-0.90 |
|
October |
62.5 |
+6.3 |
0.91 |
-1.41 |
|
November |
46.4 |
+3.1 |
4.33 |
+3.03 |
|
December |
38.0 |
+4.8 |
0.18 |
-0.89 |
|
YEAR |
57.5 |
+2.5 |
27.38 |
-1.62 |
Precipitation
While annual precipitation averaged below normal in 2024, it was Kansas’ wettest year since 2019. 2024 was the 5th consecutive year with below-normal precipitation, but the total was closer to normal than in the previous four years. The state’s average precipitation for 2024 was 27.38”, or 1.62” below the normal amount of 29.00” (Table 1). Only two divisions were above normal for the year: southwest (departure +0.90”) and west central (+0.20”) Kansas. Northeast Kansas was close to normal, finishing 2024 less than one-quarter inch below normal (-0.21”). North central was the most below normal division for the year, with a departure from normal of -3.56”. Only three months had above normal average precipitation: January, June, and November.
This past November was the second wettest on record, averaging 4.33” across the state. The normal amount for November is just 1.30”. 2024’s total was 0.35” shy of the record holder, 4.68” in 1909. It was the wettest November on record in both northwest and west central Kansas and the second-wettest November in south central as well as in southwest Kansas, where the average of 3.26” was over five times the monthly normal and finished just 0.05” behind the wettest November on record in 1909. At least 30 observing sites in the state recorded their wettest November on record, including at Wichita (6.99”), Dodge City (6.38”) and Goodland (3.35”). The wettest location in the state was in Montgomery County at Havana 4.2 N (CoCoRaHS observer), with 10.55”. The last time any location in the state had 10 inches or more of precipitation in November was back in 1998. Of the nine months with below-normal precipitation, October had the lowest percentage of normal (39%), and when combined with September, the two-month period was the 10th driest September and October on record.
Approximately 63% of the state had below-normal precipitation for the year, based on data from the most complete data records in 2024, which number about 400. Goodland’s total of 14.46” was 4.63” below normal, while Wichita, which had about twice as much precipitation (28.97”), was 5.34” below normal. One county south, Wellington in Sumner County, had one of the largest deficits in the state; their total for 2024 was 25.84”, or 10.30” below normal. Other locations more than 6 inches below normal for 2024 include Independence (-9.52”) and Salina (-7.58”).
Despite the majority of below-normal totals, there were some high precipitation totals for the year. Humboldt in Allen County had the most in the state in 2024 with 50.70”, or 8.40” above normal. Greensburg (+9.15”), Dodge City (+8.45”), and Cimarron (+7.28”) were also at least 6 inches above normal for the year.
Snowfall totals across Kansas for the calendar year were generally a few inches below normal. The highest amount in the state for the year, 25.6” at Goodland, was 4.4” below the normal annual amount of 30.0”. Dodge City’s 16.3” was 2.8” below average, while Topeka’s total of 12.6” was 4.5” below normal. Wichita’s 6.3” for the year was just under half the normal amount of 12.7”. While it is normal for southeast Kansas to have the least snowfall on average, 2024’s totals were well below normal. Erie, in Neosho County, had just 2.4” of snow for the year. Other low totals include 2.5” in Columbus, 3.4” in Arkansas City, and 4.6” in El Dorado.
December was a dry month, so there was a lack of snow across the state. Goodland recorded no snow during the month for only the fifth time on record. The last time no snow fell in Goodland during December was in 2002. Wichita was snow-free in December, and Dodge City and Topeka measured only a trace.
Drought
Drought conditions in Kansas at the end of 2024 were better than at the start of the year at most locations. A measure of the collective improvement during the year is the Drought Severity and Coverage Index (DSCI), a single numerical value that describes the average drought condition across Kansas. It is based on the percentages of each state within each drought category and can range from 0 (the entire state is drought-free) to 500 (the entire state is in D4, the worst drought category). At the start of 2024, the DSCI was 155. The highest value during the year was 211 on October 29 and was lowest on July 9 at 69. The DSCI at year’s end was 94. A total of 35% of the state was drought-free in the final drought update on December 31. The state’s drought-free percentage was as high as 49% in February and fell to a low of 1.5% on November 5. There was no D2 or worse drought anywhere in the state at the end of the year; the last remaining D2 was removed on November 19. The last time Kansas had no areas in D2 or worse status prior to this year was back in July 2021.
Severe Weather
Kansas averages 85 tornadoes a year (Source: Storm Prediction Center). The preliminary count of tornadoes in 2024 in Kansas is 89. Despite the above-normal count, there was only one strong (rated EF2 or higher) tornado in the state this year. It was an EF3 that struck Westmoreland in Pottawatomie County on April 30. Sadly, there was one fatality associated with this tornado, but this was the only tornado death in the state this year. There were nearly 500 reports of severe hail of 1” or greater in diameter during the year (495). May had the most reports in a calendar month with 137. There were 86 reports of hail at least 2” in diameter during the year. Of these, the largest report was 4.5” diameter hail in Gove County on May 1st. Wabaunsee, Dickinson, and Phillips Counties had 4” diameter hail reports. The Manhattan area had 3.5” diameter hail on June 13.
Matthew Sittel, Assistant State Climatologist
msittel@ksu.edu