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Shaded-relief map of Little River, Kansas: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
KANSAS · RICE COUNTY

Little River

468 people, 1,620 ft above sea level in Rice County.

1,620 ftElevation, city center
468People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Clear 46°
Clear now Dew point 27° · ESE 13 mph · high 45°
City of Little River River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Little River plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Little River

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 6:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW MCPHERSON (KMPR) · 6:55 PM
Clear
46° Clear Feels like 41° · high of 45° near 7 PM
WindESE 13 mphno gusts
Humidity46%rising to 79% by morning
Pressure30.16 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dry43° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 40.13 in · 10 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Rice County
NWS Wichita and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 7:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:12 AM5:20 PM ↓
10 h 8 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
32
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
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4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
windy
mostly clear night
TEMPERATURE °F
45°
36°
51°
34°
52°
40°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
8
7
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5
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3
3
3
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10
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 28 to 43° More humid: 43° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
45° 36°
0% rain — ESE 8 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
52° 32°
10% rain — SSE 6 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 38°
0% rain — S 10 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
58° 43°
0% rain — S 16, gusts 28 A
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
62° 46°
10% rain — S 17, gusts 29 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
64° 51°
20% rain — SSE 7 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
67° 53°
60% rain up to 0.8″ S 17, gusts 30 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Little River about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the central Plains three days ago, and over Texas a day ago, about 760 miles back along its path. It came down from about 9,000 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Rockies. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 14, 1999

The hottest this week has been

83° on Nov. 14, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1941. Next is 81° in 2016.

81°
83°
20161999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Kanopolis Lake record since 1941.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Little River stands on

Little River’s center stands about 1,620 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,560 ft to 1,730 ft, a difference of 170 ft: gently rolling country.

The section below crosses 5 rock units mapped at the surface.

Little River, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,500 ft1,600 ft1,700 ft LITTLE RIVER1,620 ftLyons1,690 ftHigh point of the line1,750 ftLow point1,460 ft ← W · LyonsE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Loess

Silt. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 12 mi of the line.

Kiowa Shale and Cheyenne Sandstone

Sandstone, black-shale. Age: Early Cretaceous, 100 to 145 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Dakota Formation

Claystone, mudstone, shale. Age: Early Cretaceous, 100 to 145 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Sand, silt, clay. Age: Pleistocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Sand, silt, clay. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Little River’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Little River reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Little Arkansas, the Arkansas and the Mississippi: about 1,420 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Little River≈ 1,420 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF LITTLE RIVER ≈ 1,420 mi to the Gulf of America Little Arkansas → Arkansas → Mississippi

Lakes on the way: Murray Lake and Ozark Lake.

600 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Little River; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Little River’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1941 · Kanopolis Lake, 15 mi north-northeast

Little River has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 92° in July; winter nights fall to about 19° in January. A normal year brings about 12 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 30 inches of water.

42°19°46°22°57°31°66°40°75°52°87°62°92°67°90°65°82°56°69°44°55°31°44°22° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY LITTLE RIVER 29.6 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average92° / 67°high / low, the warmest month
January, average42° / 19°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow29.6 inwettest months: May and June
Snow a year11.6 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record111°FAugust 20, 2023
Coldest on record−24°FDecember 23, 1989
Wettest day on record5.93 inJuly 22, 2025
Snowiest day on record15.0 inFebruary 8, 1980
90° days a year57about 9 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°125and 24 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 24, to the last in spring, about April 18 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and upJune 25 to Aug. 18; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezingNov. 12 to March 20; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 13.0 of the year’s 29.6 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Little River normally reaches 56° and falls to 32°. The record high is 83°, in 1999; the record low 4°, in 1986. The most rain on this date, 0.21 in, fell in 1993.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high42°46°57°66°75°87°92°90°82°69°55°44°
Normal low19°22°31°40°52°62°67°65°56°44°31°22°
Rain and melt, in0.711.121.692.544.904.133.953.512.732.271.090.97
Snow, inches3.23.01.60.10.00.00.00.00.00.00.82.9
Record high79° (2015)84° (1954)97° (2026)103° (1989)100° (2014)110° (1953)111° (1980)111° (2023)107° (2000)99° (1954)87° (2006)76° (1995)
Record low−17° (1982)−18° (1971)−8° (1960)10° (1975)27° (1976)36° (1983)44° (1970)46° (1988)26° (1984)15° (1993)−3° (1976)−24° (1989)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1941 at Kanopolis Lake, 15 miles north-northeast, 130 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Little River on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Hutchinson KS · 24 MI 24 miles south Salina KS · 36 MI 36 miles northeast Wichita KS · 61 MI 61 miles southeast Olathe KS · 176 MI 176 miles east Overland Park KS · 183 MI 183 miles east Tulsa OK · 195 MI 195 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Little River, Kansas. Explore the plate
KANSAS · RICE

Little River

468 people, 1,620 ft above sea level in Rice County.

1,620 ftElevation
468People
0 sq miLand
Clear 46°
ClearDew point 27°
1

Today in Little River

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy night 45° 0%
10p mostly cloudy night 42° 1%
1a mostly cloudy night 40° 2%
4a mostly cloudy night 38° 6%
7a mostly cloudy day 36° 2%
10a partly cloudy day 42° 2%
Showers
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
36
45
A
Sun10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
32
52
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
54
B
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
43
58
A
Wed10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
46
62
C
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
51
64
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
53
67
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 14, 1999

83°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1941.

2

What Little River stands on

Little River’s center stands about 1,620 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,560 ft to 1,730 ft, a difference of 170 ft: gently rolling country.

Little River, west to east Little River1,620 ftHigh point1,750 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,620 ft
Within 3 miles1,560 to 1,730 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (170 ft of relief)
5

Little River’s year

Little River has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 92° in July; winter nights fall to about 19° in January. A normal year brings about 12 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 30 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 29.6 in
July, average92° / 67° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average42° / 19° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow29.6 in · wettest months: May and June
Snow a year11.6 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record111°F · August 20, 2023
Coldest on record−24°F · December 23, 1989
Wettest day on record5.93 in · July 22, 2025
Snowiest day on record15.0 in · February 8, 1980
90° days a year57 · about 9 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°125 · and 24 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 24, to the last in spring, about April 18 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and up · June 25 to Aug. 18; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 12 to March 20; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 13.0 of the year’s 29.6 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Little River normally reaches 56° and falls to 32°. The record high is 83°, in 1999; the record low 4°, in 1986. The most rain on this date, 0.21 in, fell in 1993.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1941 at Kanopolis Lake, 15 miles north-northeast, 130 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,420 mito the Gulf of AmericaLittle Arkansas → Arkansas → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Little River reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Little Arkansas, the Arkansas and the Mississippi: about 1,420 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Murray Lake and Ozark Lake.

600 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.