The Christmas storm of 2009 was a snow event that lasted the better part of three days across northeast Kansas. The day of December 24th started out with light freezing rain, with a brief transition into sleet then snow. Once the snow began it didn't fully quit snowing until the 27th of December. Most of the snow, however, fell during the day of the 24th and overnight into Christmas morning. The strongest part of the storm took place overnight on Christmas Eve into the early morning hours on Christmas day. Winds were measured by instruments up to 45 mph overnight. Although blizzard conditions were not officially recorded by these observation sites many residents from the area reported that visibility was well below a quarter mile Christmas Eve night. When all was said and done almost 10 inches of snow had fallen across the area between December 24 and December 27.