Coldest since... and there's relief in sight already

We keep hearing about how cold this air will be, and there's no arguing it will be some of the coldest one would expect for Kansas. The chance that highs will stay below zero is not a routine occurrence around here, but we may see that Thursday (especially for northern Kansas).

The last time Goodland had a high below zero: 

• February 14, 2021: -1°

Wichita hasn't had a high temperature below zero since:

• December 24, 1983: -2°

Looking back at some very cold Decembers - 1989 and 1983 stand out. 

1989 looked like this:

1983:

Safe to say for Kansas, this cold snap is only the coldest since February 2021. We had nearly TWO weeks that stayed below freezing, with some of the coldest days occurring Feb. 14-16. This cold snap won't be nearly as long.

What's expected out of the midweek system:

This will not be a big snow maker for Kansas given a couple of factors. 

• System approaches from the northwest - limited moisture and not a good connection to Gulf of Mexico
• Moving quickly - the snow may fall for about 8-10 hours, but then it pushes on to the east. 

That means, if the forecast holds, much of the state still appears to be in the running for a White Christmas (even if most of the snow is in the ditch, or piled up alongside the house):

We will see if record lows are a reality on Friday. Right now, most of them might be just out of reach. However, two places in particular that stand a chance would be Goodland and Garden City. Here's a look at what the current records are, and just how cold we'd need to be in order to make history.

Look at the forecast for next week - much milder air will spread back across the west and get into Kansas (maybe as early as Christmas Day). Safe to say, the pattern looks much different to wrap up 2022 and get us into the new year. It also looks dry for most of the week too.