MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas will soon mark the anniversary of one of the worst blizzards in recent memory. 

“While October of 1995 and 1996 had early fall snow storms, 1997 is the year people will use as a benchmark,” said State of Kansas climatologist Mary Knapp. “On Oct. 25, 1997, snow accompanied by 50 to 60 mile an hour wind produced near zero visibility and wind chills of 20 degrees below zero. By the end of the storm snowfall totals ranged from 10 to 24 inches.”

Knapp, who runs the Kansas Weather Data Library based at Kansas State University, said that snow drifts on that fateful day in 1997, ranged from 6 to 10 feet, with some reaching 25 feet.

“There were even drifts of one to two feet in the attics of houses,” she said.

 More than 35,000 head of cattle were killed in the storm, but fortunately there were no reports of human fatalities, Knapp said. 

Information about Kansas weather is available on the Weather Data Library Web site: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/wdl/. “Weather Wonders” audio reports are available on the K-State Research and Extension News Media Web site at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/. 

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