Seasonal Weather in Wichita, Kansas Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The dog days of summer seem to last for a very long time, until cool fronts arrive to break the high heat and humidity. Where do most of the cool and cold air masses that influence the Central Great Plains come from?

Answer: Canada

The northern interior of Canada provides the cool to cold continental air that overspreads most of the United States from fall to spring; only in the summer, when the jet stream is located far to the north, are these air masses prevented from traveling south.

The Pacific Ocean typically moderates temperatures in the Plains during the winter, the Gulf of Mexico supplies warm and moist air throughout the year, and the Atlantic Ocean very rarely affects weather in the middle of the continent.

2. As with most of the US east of the Rocky Mountains, the Wichita area obtains most of its moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. However, especially during the fall season, moisture occasionally arrives from which surprising source?

Answer: The Pacific Ocean

Weather in the US usually travels west to east, so the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes rarely play a role in the weather around Wichita. The Gulf of Alaska will sometimes play an indirect role, but only during the winter storm season when an active storm track brings Pacific systems onto the west coast and over the Rockies.

However, Pacific moisture will travel over Mexico and the desert southwest, sometimes associated with the remnants of Pacific hurricanes that strike the Mexican coast. This Pacific moisture adds to the fall season rain totals in the Central and Southern Great Plains.

3. Those refreshing cool fronts of the fall eventually turn colder, bringing frosts, freezes, and winter precipitation. However, the cold air in the Plains can be extremely shallow, leaving Wichita in frigid temperatures while keeping this Rocky Mountain city in a neighboring state in relatively balmy conditions.

Answer: Any/All of These

All three of these cities are situated at the front range of the Rocky Mountains at approximately a mile in altitude. The frigid Canadian air can be shallower than this altitude, so in the winter, these Colorado cities can sometimes be warmer than Wichita.

4. When the winter storm track is not active, cold high-pressure sytems tend to settle over the Great Plains, and the weather pattern becomes stagnant. This stable pattern, with all the cold air in place, encourages the development of this weather phenomenon over a large portion of the Plains--a phenomenon more typically associated with London or San Francisco.

Answer: Fog

The fog can be very persistent, reducing visibility across hundreds of miles and causing safety concerns for travelers. Of particular concern is the ice that forms on road surfaces, especially on bridges.

5. Winter can be a dry season in the Central Great Plains, but Pacific storms that hit the California coast can travel through the Rocky Mountains and "tap into" the moisture from the Gulf, emerging into the Plains re-energized. What kind of precipitation does Wichita see from these winter storms?

Answer: Any/All of These

The conditions and track of each storm are different, so Wichita can see one, two, or all three of these different types of precipitation within the same storm--sometimes within the same day. The winds in these winter storms can be very strong, and the changeover from rain to snow can be extremely sudden.

6. Prolonged snow events occur in Wichita when Gulf moisture wanders northward and overrides cold air in place over the Great Plains. This situation often develops when this type of front is aligned east to west to the south of Wichita, across the state of Oklahoma.

Answer: Stationary Front

Cold fronts travel from the north and west to the south and east, pushing moisture away from the area. In the winter, the "overrunning" situation occurs when a very slowly advancing warm front or a stationary front is located across the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma. Warm, moist air overruns this frontal boundary, providing many hours of steady snow in the state of Kansas.

7. March weather in Kansas is very changeable, but the warming conditions signal the arrival of spring and the beginning of the tornado season. Other states in Tornado Alley have sustained more damage or report a higher density of tornado events per unit area, but Kansas has gained lasting fame as a favored target of tornadoes, thanks to which well-known book and movie?

Answer: The Wizard of Oz

"The Wizard of Oz" is actually a favorite among many Kansans, to the point that (in the days before cable TV) college students would schedule parties specifically to watch the network television broadcast of this movie classic.

8. In the late winter and early spring, warmer temperatures are sometimes brought in by strong winds blowing in from the southwest. These winds travel over large tracts of bare ground left behind by melting snow and not yet protected by grass. As a result, solid particles are brought into the air and darken an otherwise sunny sky. These particles include:

Answer: All of These

Much of the Great Plains is farmland, so there is much dirt, dust, and organic material available to be picked up by the winds in this area. This phenomenon can also occur in the winter, if dry conditions leave the surrounding areas without snow cover.

For example, in the winter of 1980-1981, a very windy storm dropped five inches of "snirt" (snow and dirt) in the Wichita area--the dirt having been scoured off the farmlands of Nebraska and Kansas by sustained 45-mph winds. Needless to say, the resulting mixture gathered in drifts and was very difficult to shovel.

9. Tornadoes are obviously a major concern in Wichita during the spring months, and several measures are used to warn people about incoming severe weather. These measures include:

Answer: All of These

Radio and television bulletins promptly announce weather watches and warnings. Sirens warn people to take cover during particularly severe thunderstorms or when an area is under a tornado warning. Tornado chasers go up close--often dangerously close--to assist forecasters with up-to-the-minute information on tornado strengths and tracks.

10. As spring gives way into summer, cool-air incursions become few and far between, and temperatures in Wichita often soar above 100 deg F. However, this does not mean the end of the storm season, as the plentiful Gulf moisture in the area needs only the appropriate catalysts to trigger powerful thunderstorms. These catalysts can include:

Answer: Both of These

Dry lines are low-pressure troughs that travel west to east, and the air behind them is drier (but not cooler) than the air ahead. These incursions of dry air from the Southwest Desert are typically associated with thunderstorm and tornado development further south, in Oklahoma and Texas, but effects are felt in Kansas as well. Thunderstorms generated by daytime heating, on the other hand, are a phenomenon that overspreads much of the US in the summer when sufficient moisture is available. The sun shining on the land produces rising columns of air and cloud development, and the afternoon will see areas of isolated to widespread thunderstorm activity, depending on conditions.

Source: Author traderider

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Few areas in the US experience the extremes in weather conditions that are seen in the city of Wichita, Kansas. Take this quiz and learn what it is like to live in the heart of the Great Plains. Good luck, and enjoy!

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