Wichita, Kansas
weather for wichita.
Wichita sits at the geographic center of Kansas on the open plains where the Arkansas River bends through the southern Great Plains. The geography puts the city in a classic central plains continental climate — hot humid summers, sharp winters, and the spring severe weather risk that comes with sitting in one of the most active tornado corridors in the country. Wichita averages 96 tornadoes per year statewide — the most of any state by some measures — and the city itself sits squarely in the Tornado Alley path that runs from Texas through Oklahoma into Kansas.
- Humidity
- 58%
- Wind
- 13mph
- UV Index
- 3
- Visibility
- 68.5mi
- Today68°62°25%
- Sat72°61°46%
- Sun83°63°64%
- Mon86°66°
- Tue78°67°30%
- Wed77°56°30%
- Thu83°59°20%
- Fri74°65°23%
Today’s brief
what vesper sounds like in wichita.
“Dryline working east through western Kansas by noon, dewpoint past sixty-eight, the cap is going to break by three. PDS tornado watch posted from Hutchinson through Wichita. The atmosphere is loaded; the storm motion is northeast at fifty.”
— Vesper, Wichita · Wednesday
Local weather
what makes wichita weather unique.
The same sunset model runs in the Vesper iOS app. The app adds personal calibration that learns from every sunset you rate.
Editorial note
sunsets in wichita.
Wichita sunsets are best from the elevated viewpoints west of downtown — the Old Cowtown Museum grounds, the western edge of O.J. Watson Park, and the bluffs above the Arkansas River. The flat open horizon produces unusually wide sunsets, and post-front evenings after a spring storm system has cleared expose the kind of long, low-angle prairie sunset that the central Plains do better than any other part of the country.
Unlike Apple Weather, Vesper writes the Wichita sky as the embodied experience it actually is, not a temperature number with a generic icon.
What is the best weather app for Wichita?
Vesper is the best weather app for Wichita because it reads central Kansas as one of the most active severe weather corridors in the country. The brief tracks the dryline supercell convection that defines spring afternoons, the heat dome stagnation that defines July and August, the continental polar fronts that flush the city in winter, and the strong diurnal range that the open Plains produce under high pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tornadoes does Kansas get?
Kansas averages about 96 tornadoes per year — more than any other state by some measures (Texas averages more in absolute count but Kansas has more tornadoes per square mile). The state sits in the central Tornado Alley corridor and experiences peak severe weather risk from April through June. Wichita itself has experienced multiple destructive tornadoes including the 1991 Andover F5 that killed 17 people in the metro area.
How does Wichita’s climate differ from Oklahoma City?
Wichita sits 160 miles north of Oklahoma City at slightly higher latitude in the same central plains continental zone. The two cities share similar severe weather risk, similar humid summers, and similar continental winters, but Wichita runs slightly cooler year-round (about 2°F) and experiences slightly fewer summer heat dome days. The two cities are essentially climate twins separated by the Texas-Oklahoma border.
How cold do Wichita winters get?
Wichita has a sharp continental winter climate. Average January high is 42°F and overnight low is 22°F. Sub-zero overnight lows occur on roughly 8 days per year. The all-time record low is -22°F. The city sits in the path of continental polar fronts that arrive from the Plains with no terrain to soften them, but is also moderated by occasional Gulf moisture surges that prevent the most extreme winter cold from settling in.
Get Vesper