textproduct: Wichita

KEY MESSAGES

- Areas of fog (some dense) may linger into the early to mid morning hours across central and portions of south central KS.

- Warm and dry weather returns through much of the upcoming week.

- A very high grassland fire danger is expected Monday through Thursday, with extreme grassland fire danger on Tuesday for areas west of I-135.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 211 AM CST Sun Feb 15 2026

Fog on the western periphery of the low stratus continues to expand as the storm system responsible for the recent rainfall moves eastward away from the area. Dense fog has been confined to the high plains so far but as the stratus begins to thin or dissipate we could see some dense fog develop into parts of central KS and a dense fog advisory will be in effect through 15Z. If fog and stratus can mix out by mid to late morning, we expect to see above average highs return with values topping out in the mid 60s.

A mid/upper ridge is progged to build eastward into the central CONUS bringing rising heights/increasing thickness and rising temperatures as we move through the middle of the upcoming week. This is expected to bring mild and dry weather to the region and some fire weather concerns (See fire weather section below). The first half of the week will feel like Spring with most areas seeing highs in the 70s Mon-Wed.

A negatively tilted trough is progged to emerge over the Northern Plains on Thursday driving a cold front south over the Central Plains late in the period. This will result in a northwest wind shift while ushering in slightly cooler air while remaining much above average for late Feb. A series of shortwave troughs rotating over the Northern Plains will send a reinforcing shot of cooler air over the area Fri-Sun resulting in more seasonable temperatures for late Feb. Some low pops were maintained on Sunday but dry weather will most likely prevail through the period.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/

Issued at 1135 PM CST Sat Feb 14 2026

Poor aviation conditions will affect much of the area with low clouds in IFR/LIFR range persisting into the morning hours. Meanwhile areas of dense fog look to affect parts of central Kansas during the overnight and early morning hours. Low clouds and fog will gradually scatter out from late Sunday morning into the afternoon hours.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 211 AM CST Sun Feb 15 2026

A very high grassland fire danger is expected across portions of south central and southeast KS on Monday afternoon due to gusty southwest winds and above average temperatures.

For Tuesday, strong winds, above average temperatures, and low relative humidity will result in extreme grassland fire danger for areas west of Interstate 135 and a Fire Weather Watch is in effect. A very high grassland fire danger is expected for the rest of the area, and will remain in place areawide during the afternoon hours on Wednesday and Thursday.

ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Dense Fog Advisory until 9 AM CST this morning for KSZ032-033- 047>051. Fire Weather Watch from Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday evening for KSZ032-033-047>051-067-082-091.