Power Outage in Lubbock, TX

A thunderstorm that moved over central Lubbock County produced widespread damage across the central portion of the city of Lubbock. Multiple power poles were snapped along with downed trees and fences. At the same time, a wind gust to 58 mph was reported by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near New Deal at 1635 CST.

A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Slaton measured severe wind gusts from 1930 CST through 1935 CST. A peak gust of 68 mph was measured at 1933 CST. Additionally, the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport measured a gust to 58 mph at 1931 CST. The emergency manager for the city of Lubbock also reported downed power poles in the 5700 block of third street in Lubbock.

Local broadcast media relayed a picture of a power pole blown over near the intersection of 34th Street and South Loop 289.

A thunderstorm formed to the southwest of Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport and moved east bringing damaging winds gusts to the north part of the city of Lubbock. The winds toppled a brick wall of an old roofless structure, downed power poles, and caused considerable property damage at Joyland Amusement Park. In addition, a few people were injured by falling tree limbs at Joyland.

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed across Lubbock County on an outflow boundary. One of these storms produced a swath of severe winds from 1606 CST beginning at KCBD-TV studios. The swath of severe winds ended at the ASOS at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 1618 CST. The initial wind gust at KCBD-TV was recorded at 62 mph while the ASOS recorded a 61 mph wind gust. Furthermore, the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office reported several power poles down along 98th Street from Indiana Avenue to US Highway 84 south of the initial wind report at KCBD-TV. The contract weather observer at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport reported quarter size hail at the same time of the severe wind gust.

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed across Lubbock County on an outflow boundary. One of these storms produced a swath of severe winds from 1606 CST beginning at KCBD-TV studios. The swath of severe winds ended at the ASOS at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 1618 CST. The initial wind gust at KCBD-TV was recorded at 62 mph while the ASOS recorded a 61 mph wind gust. Furthermore, the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office reported several power poles down along 98th Street from Indiana Avenue to US Highway 84 south of the initial wind report at KCBD-TV. The contract weather observer at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport reported quarter size hail at the same time of the severe wind gust.

Power lines were blown down at 34th Street and Globe Avenue in eastern Lubbock.

Straight line winds caused extensive damage to a localized area near 36th Street and Magnolia Avenue in Lubbock around 1624 CST. The strong winds flipped over a travel trailer at an auto yard and also peeled a roof off of a business. Additionally, a semi-truck trailer was flipped and several trees were snapped. Several power outages were also reported in the area.

A downburst toppled a few power poles, trees and power lines throughout portions of southwest Lubbock.

A severe downburst traveled from near 63rd Street and Elgin Avenue in northwest Lubbock to the Lubbock International Airport. A NWS storm survey team estimated winds of 80 mph in northwest Lubbock where some trees were uprooted and multiple power lines and/or poles were downed. One of the fallen trees caused some damage to a house. At the Lubbock International Airport, a wind gust of 71 mph was measured at 1918 CST which destroyed some windows in an empty hangar and pushed a luggage cart into a King Air 99 aircraft, but the plane was not damaged. Also, a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station northwest of the campus measured a gust to 59 mph at 1915 CST.

A severe downburst traveled from near 63rd Street and Elgin Avenue in northwest Lubbock to the Lubbock International Airport. A NWS storm survey team estimated winds of 80 mph in northwest Lubbock where some trees were uprooted and multiple power lines and/or poles were downed. One of the fallen trees caused some damage to a house. At the Lubbock International Airport, a wind gust of 71 mph was measured at 1918 CST which destroyed some windows in an empty hangar and pushed a luggage cart into a King Air 99 aircraft, but the plane was not damaged. Also, a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station northwest of the campus measured a gust to 59 mph at 1915 CST.

A traveling microburst downed several tree branches of two to three inches in diameter and snapped a power pole near 4th Street and Quaker Avenue.

A traveling microburst downed several tree branches of two to three inches in diameter and snapped a power pole near 4th Street and Quaker Avenue.

A power pole was downed on Quaker Avenue south of 82nd Street.

An official NWS storm damage survey, along with trained spotters, police department officials, the Automated Surface Observing System, and equipment at the NWS, confirmed severe wind gusts ahead of a squall line moving through Lubbock. Gusts up to 72 mph were recorded as the line caused considerable damage and downed numerous trees, snapped almost 100 power poles, blew out several windows, and inflicted substantial damage to roofs, windows, vehicles, and structures. At the Motor Inns of America hotel in north Lubbock, downburst winds completely stripped a large section of the roof from the building forcing residents to evacuate. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported. Those buildings that suffered broken windows or damaged roofs also received various degrees of water damage to walls, carpets, and personal belongings. Nearly 30,000 customers lost power in the city of Lubbock.

An official NWS storm damage survey, along with trained spotters, police department officials, the Automated Surface Observing System, and equipment at the NWS, confirmed severe wind gusts ahead of a squall line moving through Lubbock. Gusts up to 72 mph were recorded as the line caused considerable damage and downed numerous trees, snapped almost 100 power poles, blew out several windows, and inflicted substantial damage to roofs, windows, vehicles, and structures. At the Motor Inns of America hotel in north Lubbock, downburst winds completely stripped a large section of the roof from the building forcing residents to evacuate. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported. Those buildings that suffered broken windows or damaged roofs also received various degrees of water damage to walls, carpets, and personal belongings. Nearly 30,000 customers lost power in the city of Lubbock.

An official NWS storm damage survey confirmed significant wind driven damage from near Buffalo Springs Lake and Ransom Canyon down into Slaton. Several trees and power lines and poles were downed, along with rail cars being piled on top of one another in Slaton. The Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site northeast of Slaton measured an 82 mph gust as the line of storms passed through, while the NWS storm survey estimated wind gusts of near 90 mph associated with some of the damage.

A significant dust storm swept into Lubbock County early this afternoon and did not release its grip until shortly after 1830 CST. Officially, dust storm conditions (visibility at or below 1/2 mile) were observed by the Lubbock Airport weather observers for 5 hours and 38 minutes making this the longest duration dust storm at the airport since December 16, 1977. Westerly winds sustained around 40 mph with gusts at times as high as 66 mph created dangerously low visibility particularly in rural areas. Near-zero visibility along a stretch of Interstate 27 in northern Lubbock County contributed to a 27 car pile-up near New Deal that fatally injured a 63 year old man and injured 17 others, some severely. Due to the hazardous winds, flight-for-life helicopters were grounded. Some of the injured were transported to the Lubbock UMC Hospital via a newly acquired mobile triage unit. An unknown number of less significant vehicle accidents were reported throughout the city of Lubbock and also along Highway 84 near Slaton. At the Lubbock Airport, all air traffic was suspended during the afternoon resulting in additional stress for holiday travelers. Widespread power outages were noted primarily in northern sections of Lubbock and also in Levelland after high winds damaged power lines. The high winds also created sporadic instances of minor property damage. Much of this damage consisted of damaged fences, fallen tree limbs, and damage to outdoor Christmas lights and lawn decorations. These damages along with the total economic impacts will likely push combined losses to $1 million.

A house at 3308 County Road 7540 (about 2.5 miles southwest of Vintage Township) had a small portion of its roof removed by downburst winds. Farther south along Woodrow Road, a few power lines were blown down.

A small bow echo with winds determined to be as high as 75 mph at times caused scattered damage from the western portions of Lubbock northeast to just north of Idalou. At Hays Field (located at Lubbock Christian University), the strongest winds toppled portions of a 15-foot tall center field brick wall. A short while later, approximately 20 vehicles at Texas Tech University lost their side windows from wind-blown gravel and small debris. Also, a nearby bus stop booth had five windows shattered from lofted debris. These winds also downed a light pole on Texas Tech's campus. As this storm continued moving east-northeast, high winds toppled a few vendor tents at the South Plains Fair. Fortunately, prompt warnings allowed attendees to seek appropriate shelter. Several instances of downed trees and power lines also accompanied this storm from the western sections of Lubbock to just north of Idalou where the storm decayed. Additionally, a house located southeast of Lubbock International Airport was struck by lightning; however, the extent of damage, if any, was not reported.

A downburst with winds estimated as high as 70 mph at times traveled northeast from near Frankford Avenue and Spur 327 in southwest Lubbock to the Lubbock International Airport and to just north of Idalou. Peak winds on the periphery of this downburst were officially measured at 63 mph at 2200 CST at a Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet located 3WNW of the University, 59 mph at 2203 CST at the Lubbock ASOS, and 65 mph at 2223 CST at a KAMC weather station in Idalou. The downburst caused moderate damage to a greenhouse located at Lowe's Home Improvement store. At a nearby Home Depot store, the canopy to a greenhouse was partially damaged and several steel fence posts embedded in concrete were bent. At an apartment complex located near 50th Street and Slide Road, the roof of one unit was blown off. Damage to homes was generally light and consisted of some downed fences, broken rain gutters and torn roofing shingles. Many trees lost limbs of various sizes and in a few cases entire trees were toppled. Power outages were confined mostly to small grids in and around the path of the downburst. Total monetary damage from this downburst is estimated around $350,000; much of which was incurred at the home improvement stores.

A downburst with winds estimated as high as 70 mph at times traveled northeast from near Frankford Avenue and Spur 327 in southwest Lubbock to the Lubbock International Airport and to just north of Idalou. Peak winds on the periphery of this downburst were officially measured at 63 mph at 2200 CST at a Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet located 3WNW of the University, 59 mph at 2203 CST at the Lubbock ASOS, and 65 mph at 2223 CST at a KAMC weather station in Idalou. The downburst caused moderate damage to a greenhouse located at Lowe's Home Improvement store. At a nearby Home Depot store, the canopy to a greenhouse was partially damaged and several steel fence posts embedded in concrete were bent. At an apartment complex located near 50th Street and Slide Road, the roof of one unit was blown off. Damage to homes was generally light and consisted of some downed fences, broken rain gutters and torn roofing shingles. Many trees lost limbs of various sizes and in a few cases entire trees were toppled. Power outages were confined mostly to small grids in and around the path of the downburst. Total monetary damage from this downburst is estimated around $350,000; much of which was incurred at the home improvement stores.

Local broadcast and print media reported power lines down within the city of Lubbock.

A relatively long-lived, but weak (EF-1), tornado developed rapidly within a convective complex over northwestern Lubbock County shortly before 20:00 CST and tracked north-northeastward into southwestern Hale County. ||The tornadic circulation was initially embedded within heavy rain, but was well sampled at close range by the Lubbock, Texas (KLBB) WSR-88D radar. The tornado developed just south of U.S. Highway 84 at 19:56 CST. The tornado quickly crossed U.S. Highway 84 five miles northwest of Shallowater, where a National Weather Service damage survey team found tumble weeds suspended within utility wires. The tornado then tracked north-northeastward to the west of Farm to Market Road 179. The tornado downed utility poles, damaged four structures, a livestock trailer, and additionally uprooted a large tree before crossing the Lubbock and Hale County line one mile west of the County Line community. ||Two mobile homes sustained minor damage from the tornado. Skirting was removed from one home, and mud splatters were evident on the structure. A large roof panel was additionally removed from a second mobile home along county roads west of Farm to Market 179. A well-built permanent house sustained minor damage immediately southwest of County Line, near the Lubbock and Hale County line. A carport and outbuilding were destroyed at the residence and minor roof damage occurred from debris loaded wind. In addition, a large metal garage structure on the property was partially collapsed when tornadic winds caused the door to fail. A large boat stored within the structure was subsequently damaged when it was pushed by wind-loaded debris through a portion of the structure's back wall. ||By 20:15 CST drier air began to occlude the tornadic circulation. This allowed visibility around the tornado to improve and a National Weather Service employee began witnessing and photographing the tornado and associated utility power flashes as it approached the Lubbock and Hale County line. The tornado blew down approximately a dozen wooden utility poles along its path as it crossed into Hale County one mile west of the County Line community at 20:16 CST. ||The tornado continued until 20:20 CST in southwestern Hale County, where it resulted in additional damages to farm implements, utility poles, and an oil field shed. Damages to the two mobile homes, a single family residence and metal garage, trees, and to wooden utility poles support an EF-1 rating with estimated wind speeds between 85 and 95 mph. The tornado traveled nearly eight miles between 19:56 CST and 20:20 CST and accounted for $130,000 in damages along its path in Lubbock and Hale Counties. No injuries were reported.

Another tornadic circulation developed within a broken convective complex near the Roosevelt community in eastern Lubbock County during the 21:00 CST hour on the 16th. Again, this event was well sampled at close range by the Lubbock, Texas (KLBB) WSR-88D radar, and was confirmed by Skywarn storm spotters and by the occurrence of property damage.||A weak tornado developed just southwest of the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 40 and 400 between Roosevelt and Acuff at approximately 21:12 CST. The tornadic winds were sufficient to collapse a low-end and dated 20x30 foot barn and to damage the skirting and roofing of a mobile home near that intersection. A small metal awning also was blown off of a business and a fence was blown down as the tornado moved northeastward into open country. Skywarn storm spotters observed the tornado and associated utility power flashes about three and a half miles southeast of Idalou just before it dissipated at 21:20 CST. ||Damage to the barn supports an EF-1 rating, with estimated wind speeds approaching 95 mph. Damages were estimated at $25,000. No injuries were reported.||Nickel size hail was additionally reported in the immediate vicinity of the tornado.

Extremely frequent and vivid cloud-to-ground lightning activity accompanied a severe thunderstorm over the Lubbock vicinity during the late evening of the 19th. The lightning sparked a fire that damaged a home near the intersection of County Road 7610 and south University Avenue around 22:15 CST. By 22:30 CST, a local utility provider reported that approximately 15,000 households across the city were affected by lightning-induced power outages.

Extremely frequent and vivid cloud-to-ground lightning activity accompanied a severe thunderstorm over the Lubbock vicinity during the late evening of the 19th. The lightning sparked a fire that damaged a home near the intersection of County Road 7610 and south University Avenue around 22:15 CST. By 22:30 CST, a local utility provider reported that approximately 15,000 households across the city were affected by lightning-induced power outages.

Lightning sparked a structure fire near downtown Lubbock around 16:30 CST. A local business, located in the 600 block of Broadway Avenue, lost equipment in the fire. No injuries were reported. In addition, more than 350 homes and businesses were temporarily without power due to lightning strikes to local utilities.

The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site near Wolfforth initially measured a 65 mph wind gust at 18:55 CST. Localized severe winds then spread northeastward with their parent virga showers over the city of Lubbock. At 19:20 CST, a 65 mph wind gust was measured at the KCBD-TV studios in south Lubbock. The winds caused minor roof damage, downed tree limbs and utility lines, and caused extensive damage to a local car wash facility. Blinding blowing dust also accompanied the winds. Portions of Avenue A between 45th and 50th Streets were briefly closed due to a downed power line.

A severe thunderstorm impacted the Lubbock vicinity with damaging winds and large hail during the late afternoon hours of the 26th. Severe wind gusts that peaked as high as 62 mph were recorded by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site at Reese Center between 16:30 and 16:40 CST. The winds then spread east-northeast over the northwestern half of the city. A peak gust of 63 mph was measured by the Automated Surface Observing System at the Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 16:57 CST.||The winds downed several trees, power lines and poles, and numerous large tree limbs across the northwestern portion of the city. A utility pole fell onto a car on the northern stretch of Loop 289. Windows were additionally blown out of a business on Avenue Q. More than 3,500 homes and businesses were without electrical service for approximately three hours. Despite the damages, no injuries were reported.

A severe thunderstorm impacted the Lubbock vicinity with damaging winds and large hail during the late afternoon hours of the 26th. Severe wind gusts that peaked as high as 62 mph were recorded by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site at Reese Center between 16:30 and 16:40 CST. The winds then spread east-northeast over the northwestern half of the city. A peak gust of 63 mph was measured by the Automated Surface Observing System at the Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 16:57 CST.||The winds downed several trees, power lines and poles, and numerous large tree limbs across the northwestern portion of the city. A utility pole fell onto a car on the northern stretch of Loop 289. Windows were additionally blown out of a business on Avenue Q. More than 3,500 homes and businesses were without electrical service for approximately three hours. Despite the damages, no injuries were reported.

Multiple reports were received of a highly visible tornado that developed just southeast of Lubbock shortly before midday on the 25th. This tornado remained largely over open country on the outskirts of the city for more than ten minutes, but eventually did result in downed power lines and tree limbs near the intersection of 98th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. No injuries were reported.|

Several reports were received from local emergency officials, the media, and the public of thunderstorm wind gusts between 60 and 65 MPH in the immediate Lubbock vicinity. An anemometer recorded a 65 MPH gust at a local television station at 18:02 CST. Reported damage was relatively light and included several downed trees and utility poles. One lightweight tin structure also was damaged. About 200 Lubbock residents lost power as a result of the downed power poles and lines.

A cluster of high based thunderstorms produced a series of microbursts from near Lubbock International Airport to Idalou. At 15:28 CST a 62 MPH gust was recorded by the Lubbock International Airport Automated Surface Observing System as the initial downburst activity began just north of Lubbock. Public and law enforcement officials reported severe winds and thick blowing dust during the next hour as the complex of storms produced continuous microbursts along its eastward path. Shortly before 16:30 CST the Idalou Police Chief reported that a well-developed gustnado formed along the leading edge of a microburst dust foot. The gustnado struck a portion of the city and resulted in minor damage. Power lines and poles, fences, and other light weight objects were blown down. More than 1,500 residents temporarily lost electrical power. A few vehicles also suffered damage from wind-blown debris.

Strong to severe westerly winds and blowing dust again affected the South Plains region of west Texas on the 15th. The winds combined with ongoing drought conditions and a period of record heat to result in an extremely high fire danger and at least two large fires. Winds on the 15th were generally sustained in the 25 to 35 MPH range, but two severe wind gusts up to 60 MPH were measured by the West Texas Mesonet. Damaging winds downed power lines in Hockley County. A Buffalo Springs home and a nearby vehicle were destroyed by a raging wind blown fire when an outdoor cooker was damaged by the winds in Lubbock County. No injuries were reported. Measured severe wind gusts follow:Brownfield (Terry County).....60 MPHSlaton (Lubbock County)........59 MPH

Strong to severe westerly winds brought blowing dust and minor damage to the South Plains region of west Texas. The winds additioanally fanned raging wildfires. Winds over the South Plains region of west Texas gusted as high as 66 MPH. This downed power lines and caused light roof damage. Around 14:00 CST, severe wind gusts caused a tractor-trailer to roll over while traveling along Interstate 27 near Abernathy (Hale County). The driver walked away with no injuries. Numerous homes across the region lost shingles from roofs, particularly in Lubbock. Neither significant structural damage nor injuries were reported. A list of severe wind gusts recorded by the Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet and area observing stations follows:Abernathy (Hale County).........58 MPHAmherst (Lamb County)..........59 MPHChildress (Childress County)...58 MPHDimmitt (Castro County).........62 MPHFloydada (Floyd County).........58 MPHFriona (Parmer County)...........65 MPHGraham (Garza County)..........66 MPHHart (Castro County)...............61MPHMemphis (Hall County)...........60 MPHMuleshoe (Bailey County).......61 MPHOlton (Lamb County)..............60 MPHPaducah (Cottle County)..........58 MPHPlainview (Hale County)..........58 MPHPost (Garza County)................62 MPHTahoka (Lynn County)............58 MPHTulia (Swisher County)...........60 MPHSilverton (Briscoe County)......64 MPHWolfforth (Lubbock County)....59MPH

The Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet recorded a total of seven severe wind gusts across the South Plains region during the daytime hours on the 12th. The high westerly winds, with gusts up to 62 MPH, blew dust and smoke from ongoing wildfires over much of the region. The visibilities were dramatically reduced during much of the afternoon. Minor roof damage to several homes was reported in Lubbock, and a few power lines were additionally blown down by the winds. No injuries were reported.Friona (Parmer County)..........59 MPHTulia (Swisher County)...........60 MPHSilverton (Briscoe County)......59 MPHTahoka (Lynn County)............59 MPHLubbock (Lubbock County).....58 MPHHart (Castro County)..............62 MPHPlains (Yoakum County)........60 MPH

The National Weather Service in Lubbock, TX conducted a damage survey on September 13, 2005 across portions of the City of Lubbock. A media storm chaser measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 56 mph near the Lubbock Christian University at 2:10 PM CST. In the vicinity, near the intersection of 29th Street and Bangor Street was a structure used as a roof covering to prevent water leaks into the residence. The covering was not secured well to the home and acted as a sail when the thunderstorm wind gust impacted the structure. The covering was blown off the roof and was damaged and also resulted in damage to a large tree adjacent to the residence. A few blocks to the east, near the intersection of 34th Street and Quaker Street, the SBC building sustained minor damage to an air conditioning unit. The covering to the unit was blown off the roof and into power lines where it was suspended. Small tree limbs were downed, however both areas had loose structures and/or items nearby that were not impacted.

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines.

Strong thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines just west of Reese Center.

Ten power poles were snapped in the northwest part of town. Roofs of several homes were also damaged.

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down billboards, power lines, and trees. Windows were also blown out of houses. An NWS storm survey suggested wind gusts associated with this damage were in the 70 to 90 mph range.

Strong thunderstorm wind rolled and destroyed a couple mobile homes. A man was trapped and severely injured in one of the mobile homes. Strong wind also blew down trees and power lines.

Strong thunderstorm wind snapped power poles and blew down power lines.

The West Texas Mesonet station at Reese Center recorded 25 minutes of sustained wind speeds from 50 to 60 mph with wind gusts exceeding 60 mph throughout that period. The peak wind gust recorded by the station was 78 mph at 1450CST. Power lines were blown down by the strong wind at Reese Center as well as numerous trees and large tree limbs.

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a power pole, uprooted trees, and damaged the awning of a gas station just outside Loop 289 on 19th Street.

The Lubbock County EOC reported that thunderstorm wind blew down power lines in town.

A powerful late winter cold front plowed through the region from late in the morning on the 16th into the afternoon hours. Strong winds were observed both ahead of the front and in the post frontal airmass. Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet sites near Amherst (Lamb County) measured a wind gust to 58 mph while a site near Morton (Cochran County) measured a wind gust to 60 mph. The Automated Surface Observing System at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County) measured a wind gust of 60 mph.

The second powerful winter storm to affect the region in less than a week brought another round of highly impactful weather to West Texas. The powerful winter storm system accelerated through the Four Corners and emerged across the central and southern High Plains on the afternoon of the 26th. As this occurred, rapidly deepening low pressure, in combination with a dryline and Pacific cold front, increased the wind dramatically across the entire region. Initially gusty southerly winds not only transported moisture northward, but began to loft enough blowing dust to turn the sky an orange/brown color by mid-afternoon. As the Pacific front raced out of eastern New Mexico, the wind and dust levels increased and became dangerous. Widespread severe wind gusts lofted copious amounts of dust, dropping the visibility to and below one quarter mile in most locations on the Caprock through the late afternoon hours. The thick dust made travel difficult to impossible and contributed to several vehicle accidents around the region. Severe winds also brought down numerous utility poles across the South Plains. When the cold front overtook the dryline, widespread showers and thunderstorms filled in over the southeast Texas Panhandle into the Rolling Plains. The storms did provide a little rain in spots as a quick-moving line raced eastward, but they also enhanced the wind and a few locations even experienced hail, as large as golf balls in Memphis (Hall County). Wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were common with the strongest thunderstorm activity, but the West Texas Mesonet site one mile northeast of Memphis (Hall County) recorded an impressive 114 mph gust. Thankfully, this magnitude of wind appeared quite localized, though the town of Memphis did have some damage, both from the wind and wind-driven hail. Several windows were broken, roofs were damaged and carports were destroyed. Behind the dryline, the intense winds and warm and much drier air created a period of critical fire weather. These conditions supported the ignition and spread of several wildfires on the South Plains, including one west of Levelland (Hockley County) and a second in northwest Lamb County.||High wind gust reports from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are listed below:||84 mph at Paducah (Cottle County),|82 mph at Hart (Castro County),|82 mph at White River Lake (Crosby County),|79 mph at Friona (Parmer County),|78 mph at Amherst (Lamb County),|78 mph at Plainview (Hale County),|77 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County),|77 mph at McAdoo (Dickens County),|77 mph at Lubbock 4E (Lubbock County),|77 mph at Anton (Hockley County),|76 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County),|75 mph at Olton (Lamb County),|75 mph at Floydada (Floyd County),|75 mph at Levelland (Hockley County),|75 mph at Graham (Garza County),|75 mph at Plains (Yoakum County),|75 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County),|74 mph at Aiken (Hale County),|74 mph at Lesley (Hall County),|73 mph at Tulia (Swisher County),|73 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County),|73 mph at Ralls (Crosby County),|73 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County),|73 mph at Earth (Lamb County),|72 mph at Northfield (Motley County),|72 mph at Vigo Park (Swisher County),|72 mph at Wolfforth (Lubbock County),|72 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County),|72 mph at Abernathy (Hale County),|72 mph at Morton (Cochran County),|71 mph at Hackberry (Cottle County),|71 mph at Lubbock Texas Tech University (Lubbock County),|71 mph at Sundown (Cochran County),|71 mph at South Plains (Floyd County),|70 mph at Childress (Childress County),|70 mph at Lubbock 6SSW (Lubbock County),|70 mph at New Deal (Lubbock County),|69 mph at Happy (Swisher County),|69 mph at Post (Garza County),|69 mph at Caprock Canyons State Park (Briscoe County),|69 mph at Spur (Dickens County),|69 mph at Guthrie (King County),|68 mph at O'Donnell (Lynn County),|68 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County),|67 mph at Turkey (Hall County),|67 mph at Brownfield (Terry County),|64 mph at Tahoka (Lynn County),|64 mph at Lubbock 4SE (Lubbock County),|62 mph at Estelline (Hall County),|60 mph at New Home (Lynn County), and|58 mph at White River Lake (Garza County).||Maximum wind gusts from area ASOS and AWOS stations are listed below:||78 mph at Childress Municipal Airport (Childress County),|77 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County),|75 mph at Levelland Municipal Airport (Hockley County), and|63 mph at Hale County Airport (Hale County).

A strong storm rapidly ejected into the central High Plains early on the 14th. This caused dry and intense sinking westerly flow around the south side of the system to sweep across the southern High Plains during the morning. Winds quickly increased in the morning, peaking between mid-morning and midday before gradually decreasing through the afternoon hours. Nearly all of West Texas was inflicted by wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Peak wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph were common across the southern Texas Panhandle and adjacent northern and central South and Rolling Plains. The intense winds did cause areas of property damage, including rolling multiple semi-tractor trailers off Interstate-27 south of Tulia (Swisher County), where the cross-wind was maximized. In Lubbock County, several power poles were blown over. The wind also lofted copious amounts of dust, which further contributed to travel difficulties.||Maximum wind gusts from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are listed below:||72 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County),|72 mph at Turkey (Hall County),|72 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County),|71 mph at Caprock Canyons State Park (Briscoe County),|71 mph at Amherst (Lamb County),|69 mph at Hart (Castro County),|68 mph at Tulia (Swisher County),|68 mph at Floydada (Floyd County),|68 mph at Northfield (Motley County),|67 mph at Aiken (Hale County),|67 mph at Abernathy (Hale County),|66 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County),|66 mph at Olton (Lamb County),|65 mph at New Deal (Lubbock County),|65 mph at Graham (Garza County),|64 mph at Plainview (Hale County),|64 mph at Post (Garza County),|64 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County),|64 mph at Anton (Hockley County),|63 mph at Friona (Parmer County),|63 mph at Earth (Lamb County),|63 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County),|63 mph at Vigo Park (Swisher County),|63 mph at McAdoo (Dickens County),|63 mph at Childress (Childress County),|62 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County),|61 mph at Ralls (Crosby County),|60 mph at White River Lake (Crosby County),|60 mph at Aspermont (Stonewall County),|60 mph at Happy (Swisher County),|60 mph at Paducah (Cottle County),|59 mph at Memphis (Hall County),|59 mph at Morton (Cochran County),|59 mph at South Plains (Floyd County),|59 mph at Levelland (Hockley County),|59 mph at Texas Tech University (Lubbock County),|59 mph at Guthrie (King County),|59 mph at Plains (Yoakum County),|58 mph at Lesley (Hall County),|58 mph at Hackberry (Cottle County),|58 mph at Smyer (Hockley County), and|58 mph at Wolfforth (Lubbock County).||Maximum sustained winds from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are listed below:||47 mph at New Home (Lynn County),|46 mph at Tahoka (Lynn County),|44 mph at O'Donnell (Lynn County), and|44 mph at Brownfield (Terry County).||Maximum wind gusts from area ASOS and AWOS stations are listed below:||69 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County),|64 mph at Childress Municipal Airport (Childress County),|62 mph at Hale County Airport (Hale County), and|62 mph at Levelland Municipal Airport (Hockley County).

On the afternoon of the 28th, scattered thunderstorms developed over the central and southwestern South Plains within a low level convergence zone from a surface pressure trough. Hot temperatures and well above average moisture levels fueled the development of convection as it slowly moved to the east. These slow moving storms brought severe wind gusts and widespread flooding to parts of Lubbock and Lynn Counties. These severe winds caused damage within the cities of Lubbock (Lubbock County) and Tahoka (Lynn County), primarily snapping power poles and downing trees and fences. The slow moving nature of the storms combined with the abundant moisture in the atmosphere allowed for extremely heavy rainfall over Lynn County. Several underpasses were flooded along US Highway 87 along with reports of water over the roadway between Tahoka and the Lubbock/Lynn County line.

Returning Gulf of Mexico moisture into the South Plains of West Texas fueled widespread severe thunderstorm development across the region on the afternoon and evening of the 23rd. Moderate to strong instability developed across the western South Plains and eastern New Mexico Monday afternoon and evening as the improving low-level moisture and temperatures warming into the 80s developed beneath an approaching upper level storm system. Relatively strong wind shear caused several of the thunderstorms to rotate as they moved into the western South Plains and western Texas Panhandle. A cluster of thunderstorms moving northeast out of southeastern New Mexico interacted with an outflow boundary moving northwest out of the Permian Basin. This caused a storm on the southern flank of the cluster to begin to rotate and become supercellular and take a more easterly, then southeasterly track. As the storm intensified, it became cyclic in behavior and its forward speed varied from about 5 mph to 20 mph. An NWS storm survey revealed that this supercell produced nine separate tornadoes over an approximately two hour period. The tornadoes occurred over rural areas which limited the overall impacts. Spotty damage did occur including two oil pumpjacks that were toppled by the intense tornadic winds. This damage, along with snapped power poles and flipped center pivots earned a peak damage rating of EF-2. The thunderstorms eventually evolved into a larger complex that brought widespread rain to most of the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and southern Texas Panhandle. The heaviest rain was associated with the slow-moving tornadic storm and was concentrated over Bailey County, where three to as much as seven inches of rain fell.

A powerful storm system ejecting from northern Rockies into the northern High Plains brought impactful weather to the area on the 12th. The northern track and strong westerly flow on the south side of the system meant that West Texas received another healthy dose of wind. Wind gusts from 50 to 60 mph were common across much of the South Plains into the Texas Panhandle. Copious amounts of dust were lifted and carried across the region during the afternoon and evening hours, as it evident in the above satellite imagery. Lubbock, Childress and Plainview airports reported visibilities of three miles or less for an extended period of time as the large dust plume engulfed the region. Warm and dry winds also supported several small wildfires locally.||High wind reports from Texas Tech University West Texas mesonets are listed below along with the Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport:||61 mph at Anton (Hockley County),|60 mph at Lubbock ASOS (Lubbock County), and|58 mph at Morton (Cochran County).

A powerful storm system emerging from the four corners over the southern High Plains provided strong winds and widespread blowing dust on the 17th. Gusty and dusty westerly winds developed in the morning across the southern South Plains, ahead of a cold front. Even stronger northwesterly winds followed the cold front, which swept across the South Plains during the afternoon hours. Wind gusts peaked in the 45 to 55 mph range at most spots Thursday afternoon and evening. The robust and persistent wind lofted copious amounts of dust, dropping the visibility below three miles at many locations for a couple of hours. The visibility at Lubbock officially dropped as low as 2.5 miles as the wind gusted to 57 mph.||High winds reports listed below are from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet:||60 mph at Paducah (Cottle County), 58 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County), and 58 mph at Lubbock Preston-Smith International Airport ASOS (Lubbock County).

For a few days in mid-February, the South Plains saw some of the coldest air it had observed in a decade. The polar vortex was displaced by a strong ridge of high pressure at the north pole. This allowed the polar vortex to dip down into south-central Canada. Cold air initially began to creep into the region from the northeast beginning the previous week on the ninth. The coldest air came on Valentine's Day into the 15th resulting in very cold wind chills across the entire region. Along with the cold air, a bout of heavy snow began early in the morning of the 14th lasting until early on the 15th. Temperatures rose enough and winds became light enough during the day on the 15th to keep wind chills above -15F. The intense and long-duration cold resulted in significant impacts locally. In addition to keeping roads hazardous, cold weather caused numerous pipes to freeze and burst causing significant property damage. The power grids were also stretched beyond their limit, but blackouts were relatively short-lived and localized around Lubbock. Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport officially dropped below 32F on the evening of the 11th and didn't warm back up above freezing until the 19th resulting in 186 consecutive hours below freezing. Numerous daily record minimum temperatures and record minimum highs were set during this period. The coldest temperature recorded in Lubbock was 0F, which was the lowest temperature recorded in Lubbock since December 1989.||Reported snowfall accumulations from NWS cooperative weather observers follow:||6.5 inches at Friona (Parmer County), 5.8 inches at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 5.0 inches at Happy (Swisher County), 5.0 inches at Guthrie (King County), 5.0 inches at Slaton (Lubbock County), 4.5 inches at Paducah 15S (Cottle County), 4.3 inches at Estelline (Hall County), 4.0 inches at Turkey (Hall County), Paducah 10S (Cottle County), Aspermont (Stonewall County), Jayton (Kent County), Tahoka (Lynn County), Levelland (Hockley County), Dickens (Dickens County), and Roaring Springs (Motley County), 3.8 inches at Floydada 9SE (Floyd County), 3.5 inches at Morton (Cochran County), Plains (Yoakum County), and Hart (Castro County), 3.0 inches at Lake Alan Henry (Garza County), Silverton (Briscoe County), and 2.5 inches at Littlefield (Lamb County).||A list of sub-zero temperatures (F) recorded by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet and National Weather Service cooperative observers during the arctic outbreak follows:||-16 at Friona (Parmer County), -12 at Tulia, Vigo Park, and Happy (Swisher County), -11 at Hart (Castro County), -8 at Silverton (Briscoe County) and Hackberry (Cottle County), -7 at Lake Alan Henry (Garza County), New Home (Lynn County) and Childress (Childress County), -6 at Earth (Lamb County), South Plains (Floyd County), Northfield (Motley County), Roaring Springs (Motley County), Paducah (Cottle County), Jayton (Kent County), Aspermont (Stonewall County), and Olton (Lamb County), -5 at Plainview (Hale County), and Memphis (Hall County), -4 at Abernathy (Hale County), White River Lake (Crosby County), Spur (Dickens County), and Floydada (Floyd County), -3 at Muleshoe (Bailey County), and Post (Garza County), -2 at Amherst (Lamb County), Slaton (Lubbock County), and Tahoka (Lynn County), -1 at Wolfforth (Lubbock County), and Plains (Yoakum County).||A list of observed wind chill values below the -15 degrees (F) local warning criteria per the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet follows:||-30 at Friona (Parmer County), -28 at Tulia (Swisher County), -26 at Silverton (Briscoe County), -24 at Hart (Castro County), Aiken and Plainview (Hale County), and South Plains (Floyd County), -23 at Turkey and Memphis (Hall County), and Paducah (Cottle County), -22 at Olton (Lamb County), -21 at Childress (Childress County), and McAdoo (Dickens County), -20 at Roaring Springs (Motley County), and Ralls (Crosby County), -19 at Levelland (Hockley County), -18 at Lubbock (Lubbock County), Tahoka (Lynn County), Post (Garza County), and Aspermont (Stonewall County), -17 at Guthrie (King County), -16 at Muleshoe (Bailey County), Sundown (Cochran County), Denver City (Yoakum County), Brownfield (Terry County), and Jayton (Kent County).

A powerful upper level storm system which brought several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California also brought widespread high winds to the South Plains and extreme southern Texas Panhandle. This system quickly accelerated as it moved across the Intermountain West emerging onto the High Plains early in the morning of the 30th. Strong winds aloft, already in place over the region early in the morning, quickly mixed down to the surface after sunrise. Most of the South Plains and extreme southern Texas Panhandle saw wind gusts in excess of 58 mph or sustained winds exceeding 40 mph during the morning to early afternoon hours. As the upper level storm system pulled away from the region during the afternoon, winds diminished through the afternoon hours. The strong winds also brought widespread blowing dust which reduced visibilities to under one mile at times. In Hockley and Lubbock Counties, visibility was reduced to near zero in some locations.||High wind gusts per county are from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet:||68 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County), 64 mph at Ralls (Crosby County), 64 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County), 62 mph at McAdoo (Dickens County), 61 mph at Littlefield (Lamb County), 61 mph at Levelland (Hockley County), 61 mph at Graham (Garza County), 60 mph at Turkey (Hall County), 60 mph at Abernathy (Hale County), 60 mph at Floydada (Floyd County), 59 mph at Brownfield (Terry County), 58 mph at Morton (Cochran County), 58 mph at Caprock Canyons State Park (Briscoe County), and 58 mph at Hackberry (Cottle County).||Sustained high wind reports per county from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are below:||45 mph at Vigo Park (Swisher County), 42 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County), and 42 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County).

A significant ice storm affected most of the Rolling Plains along with significant accumulations of ice and snow on the South Plains over a four-day period from the 25th through the 28th. Unseasonably warm temperatures preceded this event. Temperatures rapidly dropped on the 25th behind a strong cold front and continued to steadily drop through the evening and overnight hours. Temperatures fell below the freezing mark across the southern Texas Panhandle on the evening of the 25th. The freezing line advanced southward through the South Plains and Rolling Plains through early Monday morning. As this occurred, an upper level low was moving southward into southwestern United States advecting warm and moist air above the shallow cold air. ||Three rounds of wintry precipitation occurred over the four-day period. The first round of precipitation began behind the initial cold surge from late on the 25th through the morning of the 26th due to a passing upper level disturbance overhead. Areas of drizzle and freezing drizzle caused a light glaze to accumulate on exposed surfaces, making bridges and overpasses slick, contributing to numerous vehicle wrecks. Scattered freezing rain and sleet showers accompanied by lightning also developed early on the 26th mostly affecting the eastern South Plains and all of the Rolling Plains. The wintry mix diminished and moved east by the afternoon of the 26th. In addition to the wintry precipitation, record low temperatures were set across the region. On the afternoon of the 26th, a fatal aircraft crash occurred near 37th Street and Ave A in the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County) due to severe aircraft icing. Also on the 26th, a fatal car wreck occurred in Swisher County about seven miles northwest of Kress along Farm to Market Road 928. A male from Plainview was killed in the car wreck while a Tulia male was injured.||The next round of wintry precipitation occurred early in the morning of the 27th. This activity produced more bursts of thundersleet and freezing rain with more widespread lightning, as surface temperatures remained in the 20s. Accumulating ice became more widespread with this activity. A lull in the wintry precipitation occurred during the afternoon of the 27th but did not last long with the main upper level storm system affecting the region beginning during the evening. Widespread precipitation activity then spread to areas off the caprock by early in the morning of the 28th. Widespread and heavy icing developed under this precipitation shield creating hazardous travel and downing many tree limbs and power lines. Sleet did begin to change to snow across the western South Plains and southwestern Texas Panhandle as colder air aloft moved overhead. A final band of snowfall developed underneath the wrap-around portion of the upper level low. This brought an additional one to two inches of snowfall in the southwestern Texas Panhandle. ||Generally between 0.25 and 0.50 inches of ice accumulated in areas off the caprock. These counties include Childress, Cottle, Motley, King, Dickens, Stonewall, and Kent. The highest snowfall totals were reported in Muleshoe (Bailey County) with 5.0 inches and at Friona (Parmer County) with 4.6 inches. All other areas received total ice, sleet, and snow accumulations between 0.5 inches and 4.0 inches. Additionally, the ice storm caused widespread damage to the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet sites.

Scattered thunderstorms developed across the South Plains ahead of a cold frontal boundary in the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. A very deeply mixed atmosphere allowed for a dry sub cloud layer. This resulted in a couple of severe wind gusts and thunderstorm wind damage. The first round of thunderstorms occurred late in the afternoon with a severe wind gust reported near Graham and a power pole blown over within the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County). An additional round of thunderstorms occurred during the early morning hours of the 31st as a short wave moved overhead. These thunderstorms mostly affected the southwestern South Plains and a severe wind gust was measured at a Texas Tech University mesonet site near Denver City (Yoakum County).

Intense heat fueled severe thunderstorms on the afternoon and evening of the ninth. Afternoon temperatures peaked between 105 and 110 degrees which combined with enough moisture to create isolated thunderstorms late in the afternoon. Two storms in particular both produced wind damage as they tracked to the south. ||The first storm was in the southeastern Texas Panhandle which produced a series of microbursts in Hall County. An initial severe wind gust was observed near Memphis by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet at 1730 CST. Approximately ten minutes later, a homestead was heavily damaged about seven miles south-southwest of Memphis. At 1810 CST, a metal building, several more homesteads, and trees were damaged along Texas State Highway 86 west of Estelline. Microburst winds were estimated between 80 and 100 mph based on the damage indicators gathered during a NWS storm survey.||A second severe storm formed south-southwest of Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport around 1930 CST. This storm then tracked to the east-southeast developing severe wind gusts within the city of Lubbock. The winds toppled a brick wall of an old roofless structure, downed power poles, and caused considerable property damage at Joyland Amusement Park. In addition, a few people were injured by falling tree limbs at Joyland.||Additionally, the intense heat required a helicopter rescue of an individual from Caprock Canyons State Park in Briscoe County. The Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet at Caprock Canyons State Park measured temperatures at high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, thunderstorms developed on the higher terrain of northeastern New Mexico within northwesterly flow aloft. This activity moved to the southeast into richer low level moisture and thus more unstable air in West Texas. As the thunderstorms approached West Texas, an MCS formed producing widespread severe winds. However, the only wind damage reported was from downed power lines in Littlefield (Lamb County).

Hot temperatures, a dryline, and a weak upper level disturbance were sufficient to initiate a broken line of thunderstorms across the western South Plains on the afternoon of the 17th. The storms accelerated eastward producing brief heavy rain and strong to severe wind gusts as they moved across the Caprock through the late afternoon and evening. The most significant storm affected the southern portion of the town of Brownfield (Terry County). Reported damage was significant enough to warrant an NWS storm survey the next day. This storm survey revealed a wet microburst with estimated winds of 100 to 105 mph affecting Brownfield. Numerous power poles and mobile homes were damaged, and one mobile home was destroyed. Two center pivots were also destroyed and numerous car windows were broken at the Rudd Correctional Facility.

Very hot temperatures combined with a weak upper level disturbance, abundant moisture, and instability led to the development of thunderstorms on the afternoon of the fourth. These thunderstorms produced widespread wind damage and large hail. The hot and well mixed lower atmosphere and high-based nature of the thunderstorms provided ideal conditions for the generation of strong and severe wind gusts. Scattered thunderstorms initially developed in the Texas Panhandle along a surface trough and tracked to the south and southeast through the evening. ||The first reports of severe weather were from Briscoe County with wind gusts up to 72 mph near Silverton. These initial thunderstorms then accelerated to the south forming a strong cold pool out ahead of the storms. Storms repeatedly formed along outflow boundaries in the central South Plains and quickly raced southward. One of these storms produced large hail up to two inches in diameter in Floyd County. This particular storm went on to produce wind damage in Ralls (Crosby County) and finally in Post (Garza County). In far southwestern Garza County, this storm produced a wind gust to 94 mph near Graham. High precipitable water values contributed to flooding in Garza County along Texas State Highway 207 north of Post. Reports on social media showed the road had been damaged and impassable due to flooding.||Additional thunderstorms developed across the central South Plains and rushed southward from Hale into Lubbock and Lynn Counties. A large swath of severe winds initially affected a portion of Lubbock County and the city of Lubbock. The first severe wind gust was reported by the Automated Surface Observing System at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 2020 CST. The Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet recorded additional severe wind gusts at Reese Center, Texas Tech University, and Slaton. These severe winds mostly affected the eastern portion of the city of Lubbock. In total, 50 power poles were downed along with a tree that fell onto and damaged a residence.||Thunderstorm outflow winds well ahead of the thunderstorms produced a severe wind gust to 58 mph at Amherst (Lamb County) at 1925 CST measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet.

Severe thunderstorms erupted for a second straight day across the South Plains. A weak short wave moved out of central New Mexico into West Texas during the afternoon hours which aided in convective development along a dryline. Two general areas of convection matured into severe thunderstorms: one in the south central South Plains and another across the southeastern Texas Panhandle. Multi-cellular thunderstorms developed in Hockley County but quickly moved eastward into Lubbock and Lynn Counties. These storms produced mostly one inch sized hail, but hail as big as an inch and a half was reported by a weather spotter in the southern part of the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County). As the storms matured they began to form a line and produced more inch size hail in the central Rolling Plains as well as severe wind gusts near Guthrie (King County). A few reports of damage were reported including downed power poles in Briscoe County and a demolished office trailer in Hockley County. No injuries were reported.||Late that same day after storms has moved through the Southern Texas Panhandle, severe non-thunderstorm winds were recorded near the city of Lesley (Hall County). Severe non-thunderstorm severe wind gusts are listed below from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet:||65 mph at Lesley (Hall County) and 64 mph at Turkey (Hall County).

A persistent upper level trough over the western United States allowed for another day of convective development across the South Plains of West Texas. Although strong large scale lift was not anticipated on the afternoon of the 24th, widespread severe thunderstorms developed under a very moist and unstable atmosphere. A quasi-stationary warm front began to move northward during the morning hours with a dryline mixing into the South Plains from the west. Very high surface dew points in the warm sector allowed mixed layer instabilities to climb to values greater than 3000 J/kg. Thunderstorms easily blossomed under these conditions and produced widespread hail up to the size of golf balls, in particular, across Lubbock County. The presence of the quasi-stationary front and dryline allowed thunderstorms to train over many areas. The most devastating flooding was observed in Crosby County where numerous roads became flooded and impassable. Flooding was also extreme in Lubbock County where many vehicles became stranded in flood waters on the south side of the city of Lubbock. Late in the evening, a home of a NWS cooperative weather observer became partially inundated by flood waters due to training of thunderstorms. One thunderstorm took on supercell characteristics while moving across Motley County. Although no tornadoes were observed, several severe wind gusts were reported by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet and a NSSL mobile mesonet. These winds also caused numerous power poles and trees to be downed in Roaring Springs.

The afternoon of the 20th was the beginning of an extended period of several weeks of severe weather for the South Plains and Rolling Plains of West Texas. A high risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center in the morning for the afternoon of the 20th. Southwest flow aloft with an embedded mid level jet streak contributed to an ample amount of lift across the region. Numerous thunderstorms developed east of the dryline which was located west of the Interstate 27/US Highway 87 corridor. Very strong instability developed out ahead of the dryline in the warm sector along with favorable shear for supercell and tornado development. Although no long track tornadoes were observed, there were several weak tornadoes that developed. The most destructive storm of the afternoon was a supercell that moved through parts of the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County). A widespread swath of wind gusts in excess of 60 mph and extensive wind damage was seen from southern Lubbock County up through the south side of Lubbock and into Idalou. Due to the fast moving nature of the thunderstorms, this damage occurred over a period of only nine minutes from 1504 through 1513 CST. Most damage reports consisted of downed trees and power lines.

On the heels of overnight showers and thunderstorms across the western South Plains and southwest Panhandle with even a narrow band of light snow falling later in northern Bailey County, a strong Pacific front plowed east before daybreak. A few high wind gusts accompanied this frontal passage, but the widespread high wind event moved into high gear around 9 AM with many locations registering sustained winds of 40 mph or more, with frequent gusts of 50 to 60 mph. Fortunately, the parent upper low moved out of the Panhandle by midday and prevented what could have been an all-day wind and much worse dust event. Still, the three to four hours of high winds dealt a number of impacts to the region including sporadic power outages, minor structural damage, some downed tree limbs, and widespread blowing dust that reduced visibility in most areas to 3 to 5 miles for about two hours. Some locales saw dust storm conditions (visibility below 1/4 mile with strong winds) just before the noon hour, but this was not widespread enough to meet dust storm warning criteria. At one point, all westbound lanes of the South Loop in Lubbock at Quaker Avenue were closed due to a fallen power line on the road. Despite the high winds and dry vegetation, wildfire potential was curbed by relatively cool and moist conditions.

An upper level short wave trough emerged from the southern Rockies on the 11th. This allowed strong mid and upper level winds to spread across the region during the daytime hours. High winds did not develop until the mid-afternoon hours because abundant high level cloud cover prevented significant boundary layer mixing during the morning. Damages included: a power pole was blown over near the intersection of Interstate 27 and US Highway 84 in the city of Lubbock. Several Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet stations met or exceeded sustained winds of 40 mph. High wind reports are listed below.||44 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County), 43 mph at Amherst (Lamb County), 42 mph at Morton (Cochran County), 42 mph at Plains (Yoakum County), 42 mph at Anton (Hockley County), 42 mph at New Home (Lynn County), 41 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County), and 40 mph at Tahoka (Lynn County).

On the heels of an upper low that brought some light snow early this morning to areas such as Denver City (Yoakum County) and Brownfield (Terry County), north winds of 40 to 50 with frequent gusts over 60 mph gripped much of the region for up to ten hours in some locales. Several dozen reports of downed trees, fallen power poles and minor structural damage were received, particularly in the Lubbock area. These cold north winds also generated widespread blowing dust to a few miles visibility, mainly from the southern Panhandle into the northern South Plains which was coincident with a lack of snowfall and wet soil from the prior week's significant snowstorm.||The following are the maximum high wind gusts (58+ mph) per county as measured by Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonets (WTM) and ASOS stations.||Bailey: 58 mph at Muleshoe WTM|Briscoe: 66 mph at Caprock Canyon WTM|Castro: 59 mph at Friona WTM|Childress: 61 mph at Childress ASOS|Cochran: 62 mph at Morton WTM|Cottle: 60 mph at Hackberry WTM|Crosby: 65 mph at Crosbyton WTM|Garza: 59 mph at Graham WTM|Hale: 61 mph at Aiken and Abernathy WTM|Hockley: 60 mph at Levelland WTM|King: 59 mph at Guthrie WTM|Lamb: 62 mph at Olton WTM|Lubbock: 60 mph at Wolfforth WTM, 58 mph at Lubbock ASOS|Motley: 62 mph at Roaring Springs WTM|Parmer: 58 mph at Dimmitt WTM|Swisher: 64 mph at Tulia WTM|Yoakum: 62 mph at Plains WTM.

A line of severe thunderstorms developed from the Texas Panhandle through the central South Plains as a strong cold front interacted with an unseasonably moist and unstable airmass. Several severe wind gusts were reported across the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. Meanwhile, highly localized thunderstorm winds blew down a power pole along 82nd street near Alcove Avenue in Lubbock (Lubbock County). This caused a brief widespread power outage for the cities of Lubbock and Wolfforth.

Numerous slow-moving thunderstorms erupted this afternoon in the southern Texas Panhandle along a weak cold front, before spreading south through the South Plains and Rolling Plains throughout the evening. Some of these storms redeveloped over the same areas, most notably in central Swisher County where Tulia and the nearby Middle Tule Creek experienced flash flooding from over four inches of rain in less than one hour. In Hockley County, a favorable merger of outflow boundaries supported a rotating thunderstorm that produced a swath of damaging winds and flash flooding. In addition to damaging several power poles and a Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet, this storm produced incredible rainfall rates measured as great as 0.69 inches in 5 minutes, or 8.28 inches per hour.

In advance of a Canadian cold front, a dome of exceptionally hot and dry air overspread much of the Texas South Plains. High temperatures in many locations of 110 to 112 degrees were the hottest recorded since the infamous summer heatwave of 2011. At Lubbock, a new daily record high of 112 degrees was set which fell just two degrees shy of tying the all-time hottest temperature set on 27 June 1994. Amazingly, no heat-related illnesses were reported that required medical attention. This was fortunate particularly in areas of west and northwest Lubbock where old power grids blacked out at times during the afternoon. Also fortunate was the fact this was a dry heat as maximum heat indices were held to around 100 degrees. All event entries recorded highs of at least 110 degrees, with maximums of 112 set at both Lubbock International Airport and near Lake Alan Henry (Garza County).

Following a mild Christmas, a strong cold front arrived early on the morning of the 26th ahead of temperatures falling to freezing territory throughout the course of the afternoon all in advance of a slow-moving upper low in the Desert Southwest and far north-central Mexico. Northerly winds increased in intensity during the day and by early evening were frequently gusting between 50 and 60 mph over the entire South Plains. These winds created several power outages, minor roof damage, downed tree limbs, and even toppled some trees completely. By mid-evening on the 26th, exceptionally rich moisture from the Gulf of Mexico deepened over the shallow dome of cold air and resulted in large areas of freezing rain and sleet punctuated by thunderstorms. This wintry mix quickly changed over to all snow by late evening over the western South Plains as an elevated layer of warm air was eroded. With winds still frequently gusting to 60 mph, instant whiteout conditions were reported from Morton south to Seminole from heavy snow and blowing snow.||The blizzard expanded slowly east through the night to the edge of the Caprock until mid-level dry slotting arrived on the morning of the 27th which produced a distinct lull in snow and sleet. Even without falling snow, winds were still gusting from 50 to 60 mph which created ground blizzard conditions even in the city of Lubbock where a mere 2.7 inches of sleet and snow was measured through 6 A.M. NWS forecasters were keen to alert residents that a second and more potent round of snow was to arrive later in the day once the upper low lifted northeast across central Texas. Although this second round was initially complicated by sleet at times thanks to a redeveloping warm nose, by late afternoon on the 27th the warm nose disappeared for good as several bands of heavy snow enveloped the South Plains before shifting into the Rolling Plains and the southeast Texas Panhandle overnight and slowly dissipating. Until that point, areas off the Caprock contended with as much as three inches of sleet and up to 1/2 inch of freezing rain. Several snowbursts with rates measured as high as 2.7 inches at the NWS Lubbock office produced whiteout conditions and compounded already treacherous travel conditions. The snow and strong winds quickly tapered off in coverage and intensity from southwest-to-northeast late on the 27th through the pre-dawn hours of the 28th.||Unfortunately, there were two fatalities from this blizzard. A homeless man in Lubbock succumbed to hypothermia late in the night on the 27th. He was found wearing only a light jacket, jeans and a thin blanket. No information was known on the second fatality.||Despite full sun and high temperatures reaching the middle 30s on the 28th, thousands of South Plains residents found themselves marooned by tall snow drifts that blocked roads and driveways. In Lubbock alone, the city Police Dispatch estimated that about 1400 motorists became stuck in snow drifts. In many areas of the southwest South Plains, rescue operations were conducted for up to 32 consecutive hours to free stranded motorists. Fortunately, there were very few vehicle accidents as most people became stuck in snow instead of sliding into obstacles or other vehicles. A large percentage of area residents heeded warnings and avoided travel altogether for several days. The alarming lack of snow removal resources, particularly in the city of Lubbock which only owned two snow plows at the time, was heavily criticized by taxpayers and some city council members as a total of 98 emergency vehicles became immobilized in snow and were unable to respond to Lubbock residents in a timely manner. Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson declared a state of disaster for Lubbock during the height of the blizzard which opened the door to additional state aid and resources, however he later stated the city diverted a disaster and could not have prepared any more than it did. Regional commerce was ground to a halt for two days following the blizzard as many roads were simply too dangerous for travel even for high clearance 4x4 trucks and SUVs. All flights into and out of Lubbock International Airport were cancelled from the evening of the 26th through the morning of the 28th which left thousands of post-Christmas travelers stranded. Even USPS Offices region wide were forced to suspend all services on the 28th and 29th due to streets and roads being blocked with snow, although many rural areas did not see normal mail service resume until the following weekend.||Combined economic losses from businesses being closed for up to four days and regional commerce impacts due to impassable roads may approach $200 million. Direct losses from the storm were most significant to area ranchers and dairy farmers who suffered combined losses of at least $20 million. The USDA estimated 15,000 head of dairy cattle alone died from snow suffocation in the western South Plains and far southwest Panhandle with similar numbers for non-dairy cattle. This region accounts for 40 percent of Texas' milk supply. Regional commercial power utilities were also dealt a severe blow from the prolonged high winds that downed hundreds of miles of power lines and toppled some power poles outright. Scores of rural residents were left without commercial power for up to two days. Damage estimates for each county listed below also take into account sporadic damage to roofing and shingles, utility sheds, pole barns, gas station overhangs, and countless garage ports. Some businesses and residential buildings reported sections of roofs failing from heavy snow. At Texas Tech University, the inflatable roof to the iconic Athletic Training Center (also known as The Bubble) collapsed in the days following the storm from strain caused by 12+ inches of snow on the roof. The roof was deemed a total loss valued around $8 million, but ironically was scheduled for demolition in Spring of 2016.||Historically, this blizzard was the worst to ever strike Lubbock given the magnitude and duration of strong winds combined with record snow totals for both the 27th and the entire month of December. Officially at Lubbock Airport, this storm ranked third for the greatest snow ever with 11.2 inches. From a forecast perspective, the historic potential of this blizzard was explicitly cited three days ahead of time by forecasters at the NWS Lubbock office. Also, NWS Lubbock decision support members provided local and regional disaster planning officials with six days of advance notice that a significant winter storm stood a high probability of impacting much of the region by Christmas weekend - a feat that would have been impossible decades earlier due to lower quality weather models.||Select storm total snow measurements:|Friona...20.0 inches with 10-foot drifts / |Wolfforth 5S...14.0 inches with 7-foot drifts / |Plains...12.0 inches with 7-foot drifts /|Lubbock Airport...11.2 inches with 6-foot drifts / |Denver City...11.0 inches with 6-foot drifts / |Plainview...10.0 inches / |Hart...9.0 inches / |Shallowater, Levelland, Muleshoe, and Tahoka...8.0 inches /|Post...7.0 inches on top of 2 inches of sleet / |Brownfield, Littlefield, Matador, and Morton...6.0 inches / |Abernathy, Lake Alan Henry and Paducah...5.0 inches / |Childress, Crosbyton, and Tulia...4.0 inches /|Floydada...3.0 inches / |Dickens...2.0 inches snow / 0.50 inches of freezing rain.|Aspermont...1.0 inch snow / 3 inches of sleet.||Notable wind gusts (mph) and times as measured by the West Texas Mesonet (except where noted):|Anton and Olton...67 at 905 PM on the 26th / |Sundown...65 at 815 PM on the 26th / |Morton...65 at 805 PM on the 26th / |Muleshoe...65 at 520 AM on the 27th / |Amherst...65 at at 220 AM on the 27th / |Reese Center...64 at 930 PM on the 26th / |Levelland...64 at 925 PM on the 26th / |Tulia...64 at 605 AM on the 27th / |Hart...64 at 455 AM on the 27th / |Memphis...63 at 955 PM on the 26th / |Dimmitt...63 at 510 AM on the 27th / |Turkey...62 at 445 AM on the 27th / |Lubbock Int'l Airport ASOS: 61 at 655 AM on the 27th / |Friona...61 at 715 PM on the 26th / |Wolfforth...61 at 540 AM on the 27th / |Denver City...61 at 625 AM on the 27th / |Roaring Springs...60 at 1020 PM on the 26th / |White River Lake...60 at 530 AM on the 27th / |Brownfield...60 at 800 AM on the 27th / |Plains...60 at 445 AM on the 27th / |Abernathy...60 at 755 PM on the 26th / |Spur...59 at 1145 PM on the 26th / |NWS Lubbock Office...52 mph at 817 AM on the 27th.

Following a sharp cold front which ignited a few strong thunderstorms during the late afternoon hours on Thanksgiving Day, brisk northerly winds and freezing temperatures overspread the region and remained in place for nearly 48 hours. Atop this shallow layer of cold air, anomalously moist air from the Gulf of Mexico combined with a strong subtropical upper jet to produce periodic rounds of mostly freezing rain from Thanksgiving night through the morning hours on the 28th. A few periods of sleet and even very light snow accompanied this multi-day storm; however, all significant impacts were the direct result of icing from freezing rain. As the brunt of the freezing rain fell on the 27th, many dubbed this as the Black Friday ice storm. With the exception of the western South Plains and parts of the southern Rolling Plains, most locations received ice amounts of around 0.25. A pronounced swath of 0.50 to nearly 1 fell from just east of Crosbyton, northeast to Matador, Paducah, and Childress. The core of this heavy icing was the result of elevated thunderstorms during the evening on the 27th that trained across the northern Rolling Plains for nearly two hours. Thousands of people in Motley, Dickens, Cottle, and Childress Counties were without power for up to three days as power lines suffered extensive damage spanning long distances. Additionally, vehicle accidents peaked by Friday night as road temperatures finally cooled to the freezing point. In Lubbock, some overpasses were closed periodically through the night due to recurring accidents. From about 1920 CST until 2300 CST, Lubbock DPS was unable to keep pace with the rate of vehicle accidents, some of which involved minor injuries. Fortunately, Lubbock International Airport reported very few delays and no cancellations that were directly attributable to the storm. This multi-day storm dealt a heavy economic blow to the city of Lubbock in the form of lost business revenue (estimated as high as $5M) as thousands of holiday shoppers wisely chose to stay home on Friday and Saturday instead of travel in such hazardous weather conditions. Dozens of weekend school athletic games and functions were either rescheduled or cancelled. Regional utility providers reported a combined loss of just over 90 utility poles with around 100 miles worth of damaged power lines - much of which occurred in Motley, Cottle, Childress, and Dickens Counties. Combined with property damage from fallen limbs and trees (many that still had leaves) and scores of vehicle accidents, total damages throughout the region could approach several million USD.

A slow-moving upper low in Arizona helped spread unseasonably rich moisture and strong upper diffluence over all of eastern New Mexico and West Texas from the 21st through the 22nd. Multiple rounds of scattered showers and storms spread north during the day on the 21st before strong lift arrived from New Mexico late in the evening in the form of a squall line. This large complex of storms crawled slowly east over the South Plains and Rolling Plains during the overnight hours accompanied by heavy rainfall rates at times; however, the majority of the heavy rain amounts of 1.5 to three inches and subsequent minor flooding were attributed more to the long duration of the precipitation event which limited the severity of flooding. Only one road closure due to flooding was logged by TXDOT. Isolated severe wind gusts accompanied the squall line over the South Plains, but one severe thunderstorm well ahead of this line of storms impacted far northeast Childress County where several power poles were felled. By far, the greatest impact of this event was dealt to regional cotton farmers who would suffer a moderate financial toll due to deteriorated cotton quality. This rainfall did alleviate short term drought conditions region wide, particularly in the Rolling Plains where D2 (severe) and D3 (extreme) drought levels were abated by two to four inches of rain.

Following occasional light snow and freezing drizzle on New Year's Day (only trace accumulations), a potent storm system approached the region on January 2nd from southern New Mexico before exiting the Rolling Plains on January 3rd. Ahead of this storm, an influx of moisture and lift bolstered wintry precipitation throughout the region on the 2nd. This precipitation fell mainly in the form of freezing rain in the Rolling Plains, snow in the far western South Plains and southwest Texas Panhandle, with a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow in between. As the storm system passed overhead on the night of the 2nd, snow became the dominant precipitation type before ending by the morning of the 3rd. The greatest swath of snow between four and nine inches deep fell across the far southwest Texas Panhandle. Locations in the far southeast Texas Panhandle, including Childress (Childress County), were spared the impacts of this winter storm as precipitation there was simply too light and brief in duration.||The worst impacts by far were dealt to portions of the southeast South Plains into the Rolling Plains where freezing rain produced ice between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. In addition to downing some trees and limbs, the ice damaged about 100 miles in total of power lines and caused numerous power outages. The heaviest swath of ice fell in an area from Tahoka (Lynn County) east to Post (Garza County) and Clairemont (Kent County) where Highway 380 was closed for about eight hours until utility crews could fully remove all downed power lines. At the height of the storm, Lyntegar Electric COOP reported 10,117 customers without power across the far southern South Plains. Fortunately, most roads in the Rolling Plains remained wet due to ground temperatures hovering just above freezing, but colder temperatures farther west and northwest created such hazardous conditions that regional travel became nearly impossible at times; especially on US Highway 84 from near Progress (Bailey County) to Farwell (Parmer County) where several inches of wet snow accumulated. This stretch of roadway remained hard-packed in snow and ice until the afternoon of the 5th when temperatures finally warmed above freezing. Hundreds of mostly minor vehicle accidents occurred as some holiday travelers dared the elements, but fortunately no serious injuries or fatalities were reported. There is no monetary estimate at this time of the combined economic, property and utility losses suffered by this storm.||Below is a list of locations that observed winter weather warning criteria accumulations of snow or ice:||Rhea (Parmer County) - 9 inches of snow|Friona and Farwell (Parmer County) - 6 inches of snow|10 SW Dimmitt (Castro County) - 5 inches of snow|Progress (Bailey County) - 4 inches of snow|Lubbock Airport (Lubbock County) - 0.26 inches of freezing rain|Paducah (Cottle County) - 0.25 inches of freezing rain|Post (Garza County) - 0.50 inches of freezing rain|10W Clairemont (Kent County) - 0.50 inches of freezing rain.

An unusual southwest-moving upper disturbance triggered numerous thunderstorms across the South Plains this afternoon and evening. These storms began by mid morning in the Oklahoma Panhandle and at times were severe with very large hail and damaging winds as they moved south-southwest through the Texas Panhandle. Once these storms reached the South Plains, they lost much of their vigor as they consolidated into a large line that only produced two known instances of severe weather. However, this line became more efficient at producing torrential rainfall rates and flooding throughout the South Plains with some locations recording one inch of rain in 15 minutes or less. Parts of Lubbock experienced significant flooding that left at least two dozen cars stranded in high waters. Frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and power outages added to the drama as up to 8,000 Lubbock residents were without power during the height of the storm.

Following widespread high winds the previous day, strong west-northwest winds developed over much of the South Plains on the afternoon of the 28th. Fortunately, the coverage of sustained winds of 40 mph or greater, with some gusts measured as high as 66 mph, was concentrated in a swath across portions of Lamb, Hockley, Lubbock, and Lynn Counties. Minor property and utility pole damage was noted in and around Lubbock, including a partially collapsed barn roof. In northern Lynn County, a man was injured after his tractor trailer was blown over in strong crosswinds. Widespread blowing dust was again commonplace, but similar to the 27th much of the region saw visibilities at or above one mile.||As early as 1100 CST, very strong westerly winds began producing sporadic damage throughout Lubbock. This damage included a downed utility pole near North University and Clovis Highway, a failed power line one mile northeast of the NWS office, a partially collapsed roof of a barn near the Lubbock Airport, and several broken tree limbs along with some property fence damage in and around the city of Lubbock. The Lubbock ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph at 1644 CST and a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet at Reese Center measured sustained winds of 40 mph or greater from 1545 CST until 1900 CST. A semi-trailer was blown over while traveling on Highway 87 at Farm-to-Market Road 211. The driver was transported to Lynn County Hospital with minor injuries.||High wind gusts from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet and Automated Surface Observation System are listed below:||66 mph at Amherst (Lamb County) and 58 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County).||Sustained high winds from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are listed below:||42 mph at Anton (Hockley County) and 41 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County).

An area of thunderstorms developed as a result of upslope flow across the higher terrain of New Mexico during the mid to late afternoon hours, before morphing into a well-organized mesoscale convective complex into the late afternoon and evening. This complex raced southeast into the far southwest Texas panhandle and much of the South Plains, producing wind gusts near 90 mph and hail up to the size of baseballs. Several dozen reports of damage were received, including downed trees and power lines as well as broken windshields and damage to structures. By far, the most significant and widespread property damage was focused in northern Lubbock where some buildings lost roofs and thousands of windows were cracked or shattered. An electrical utility company stated that the number and severity of power outages in Lubbock alone had not been this extensive since the city was struck by the 1970 F5 tornado. In the wake of these destructive storms, high winds with frequent gusts of 50 to 70 mph were noted over much of the South Plains for up to an hour in duration. Total damages from this storm could exceed $500 million.

During the pre-dawn hours, a slowly-decaying mesoscale convective system (MCS) moved eastward out of the western South Plains and far southwest Texas Panhandle. A lone severe storm developed within this MCS over western Yoakum County and produced a severe wind gust; however, the strongest winds actually developed along the back edge of this MCS in response to a strong wake low structure. This process resulted in several hours of sustained winds ranging between 35 and 50 mph, with multiple severe wind gusts including two peak gusts of 69 mph as measured at both Silverton and near Kress. Nearly five hours after the first severe wind gust, portions of the city of Lubbock experienced high winds and isolated wind damage from decaying showers. Much of this damage consisted of broken tree branches and limbs, however a NWS employee observed one 20-foot tree uprooted near Elgin Ave. Lubbock Power and Light reported multiple minor power outages concentrated in central Lubbock.

Late this afternoon, isolated very high-based showers and thunderstorms developed over the southern and central South Plains. One of these storms intensified across southwest Lubbock County and western Lynn County before collapsing a short while later near downtown Lubbock. A second storm developed across western Floyd County. A series of microbursts produced winds estimated as high as 65 mph at times. These winds inflicted sporadic damage to trees, windows, power poles, and caused a few incidents of minor structural damage mainly in central and eastern sections of Lubbock as well as western portions of Lynn County and central Floyd County. Scattered power outages were common. In the wake of this storm, lightning triggered a grass fire near the KCBD-TV news station prompting an evacuation of the building during a live newscast. The fire was estimated to be five acres and caused no known damage or injuries. Additionally, a landspout tornado formed along one of the outflow boundaries in Lubbock County. This EF-0 landspout remained in an open field and caused no damage.

Late this afternoon, a compact upper low exited northern New Mexico and tracked over the northern Texas Panhandle. South of this low, an already tight pressure gradient intensified even further ahead of an unseasonably strong Polar cold front. The result was a widespread high wind event and dust storm that at times produced zero visbility in some rural areas on the Caprock. In Muleshoe, high winds measured up to 77 mph caused scattered property damage. These intense winds damaged some roofs, fences, lofted small stones that shattered several vehicle windows, and reportedly blew a motorcycle into the side of a building causing damage to both items. Elsewhere on the South Plains, sporadic damage such as downed trees, damaged fences, minor roof damage, and brief power outages were reported. Farther east, areas off the Caprock escaped high winds thanks to a layer of stable air that prevented high winds aloft from mixing to the surface.||Combined with very low relative humidity values of two to five percent and dry fuels, the high winds rekindled a burn pile about four miles east of Smyer that was improperly extinguished the day prior. Fire Departments from Smyer, Shallowater and Wolfforth responded to the blaze early in the evening along Highway 114. The fire spread rapidly southeastward consuming roughly 100 acres and destroying three structures; one of which was inhabited. Fortunately, the owner was able to evacuate the mobile home safely. Smoke from this wildfire became so dense that Highway 114 was closed for at least 90 minutes.||High wind reports from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet and Automated Surface Observation System are as follows:||Muleshoe (Bailey County)...77 mph, Dimmitt (Castro County)...69 mph, Floydada (Floyd County)...65 mph, Friona (Parmer County)...65 mph, Graham (Garza County)...64 mph, Ralls (Crosby County)...64 mph, Plains (Yoakum County)...61 mph, Denver City (Yoakum County)...60 mph, Lubbock ASOS (Lubbock County)...60 mph, Levelland (Hockley County)...60 mph, Morton (Cochran County)...59 mph, Abernathy (Hale County)...59 mph, Amherst (Lamb County)...59 mph, Post (Garza County)...60 mph, Reese Center (Lubbock County)...59 mph, and Sundown (Hockley County)...58 mph.

Despite minimal low-level moisture and instability, strong lift accompanying a short wave trough helped generate a line of showers and thunderstorms along a surface trough late this St. Patrick's Day afternoon. Very high-based thunderstorms developed rapidly shortly before 1500 CST in far eastern New Mexico before increasing in coverage as they entered the western Texas Panhandle and northwest South Plains. Virga and strong downdrafts were so prevalent with these storms that a large haboob quickly developed and overspread much of the South Plains. Some area residents photographed very tall gustnadoes along the leading edge of this haboob; however, none of these were tornadic and did not create any known damage. North of a line from Levelland to Floydada, deeper instability and lift resulted in several severe thunderstorm wind gusts. Near South Plains, these severe winds downed a few power lines along Highway 207. Additional virga showers around sunset in Hockley and Lubbock Counties created a second round of strong convective winds that caused sporadic instances of minor property damage primarily in the southwest sections of Lubbock.

A powerful upper level storm system brought a wide variety of hazardous weather conditions to the South Plains and Rolling Plains of Wext Texas from the evening of the 24th through the daytime on the 25th. This storm system moved out of Colorado into New Mexico then east across the Texas panhandle on the 24th. As the system moved across New Mexico it was able to tap into rich moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, on the evening of the 24th, severe thunderstorms developed across the southern Rolling Plains. A strong cold front quickly moved through the region late in the evening on the 24th which brought noticeably cooler temperatures and high winds.||Rain showers quickly changed over to sleet then snow by late in the evening of the 24th. High winds caused blizzard conditions to almost the entire South Plains, Rolling Plains, and extreme southern Texas panhandle for much of the morning into the afternoon of the 25th. Snowfall was heaviest in the south-central Texas panhandle where over one foot of snowfall was observed. Snow finally tapered off from west to east from the late afternoon through the early evening of the 25th. Areas across the southern South Plains and southern Rolling Plains received little to no snow but still recorded high winds.||Because of the blizzard conditions, travel became treacherous across the region. Numerous roads were closed including Interstate 27 between Lubbock and Amarillo. Several vehicle accidents were reported throughout the day on the 25th. Additionally, slick roads on the evening of the 25th lead to a serious vehicle accident where an ambulance flipped over and the paramedics were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport was closed for all outbound and inbound flights on the 25th. Damage estimates from traffic accidents were unavailable.||Snow amounts below are from NWS cooperative weather observer reports:||Tulia (Swisher County)...15.0 inches, Silverton (Briscoe County)...13.0 inches, Happy (Swisher County)...12.0 inches, Dimmitt (Castro County)...10.0 inches, Hart (Castro County)...9.0 inches, Shallowater (Lubbock County)...8.6 inches, Muleshoe (Bailey County)...8.0 inches, Plainview (Hale County)...8.0 inches, Vigo Park (Swisher County)...8.0 inches, Olton (Lamb County)...7.5 inches, Abernathy (Hale County)...7.0 inches, Matador (Motley County)...7.0 inches, Littlefield (Lamb County)...7.0 inches, Turkey (Hall County)...7.0 inches, Friona (Parmer County)...7.0 inches, Northfield (Motley County)...6.0 inches, Bovina (Parmer County)...6.0 inches, Roaring Springs (Motley County)...6.0 inches, Memphis (Hall County)...6.0 inches, Paducah (Cottle County)...5.0 inches, WFO Lubbock (Lubbock County)...4.5 inches, Childress (Childress County)...4.5 inches, Ralls (Crosby County)...4.5 inches, Levelland (Hockley County)...4.5 inches, Afton (Dickens County)...4.0 inches, Morton (Cochran County)...4.0 inches, Floydada (Floyd County)...3.5 inches, Plains (Yoakum County)...3.0 inches, Jayton (Kent County)...1.0 inch, Brownfield (Terry County)...1.0 inch, and Denver City (Yoakum County)...1.0 inch.||Sustained maximum high wind reports below are from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet and Automated Surface Observation System:||O'Donnell (Lynn County)...50 mph, Graham (Garza County)...50 mph, Amherst (Lamb County)...47 mph, Hart (Castro County)...46 mph, Tulia (Swisher County)...45 mph, Dimmitt (Castro County)...44 mph, Anton (Hockley County)...44 mph, Plains (Yoakum County)...44 mph, Abernathy (Hale County)...43 mph, Childress ASOS (Childress County)...43 mph, Brownfield (Terry County)...43 mph, Friona (Parmer County)...42 mph, White River Lake (Crosby County)...42 mph, Memphis (Hall County)...41 mph, Muleshoe (Bailey County)...40 mph, and Paducah (Cottle County)...40 mph.||Maximum high wind gust reports below are from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet and Automated Surface Observation System:||O'Donnell (Lynn County)...67 mph, Graham (Garza County)...65 mph, Olton (Lamb County)...59 mph, Levelland (Hockley County)...59 mph, Reese Center (Lubbock County)...58 mph, Wolfforth (Lubbock County)...58 mph, and Lubbock ASOS (Lubbock County)...58 mph.

After the South Plains saw its first snow of the season earlier this week, a powerful and fast-moving line of thunderstorms plowed across the South Plains this afternoon ahead of a vigorous upper storm system. The day began with abundant low clouds and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico on stiff southerly winds. These clouds parted by late morning followed by even stronger southerly winds with frequent gusts over 40 mph, areas of blowing dust, and abundant sunshine that would further destabilize the atmosphere. As a negatively-tilted upper trough and Pacific cold front began exiting eastern New Mexico shortly after 1300 CST, showers expanded in coverage near the state line and rapidly intensified into thunderstorms as they encountered an increasingly moist and unstable airmass. These storms solidified into a narrow, but intense squall line that raced eastward at highway speeds for the next four hours accompanied by several severe wind gusts measured between 58 and 77 mph. Scattered wind damage was reported throughout the South Plains and in some instances commercial power was disrupted. Well behind the thunderstorms, very strong winds developed a few thousand feet above the ground. Near Friona, these winds briefly mixed to the surface behind the cold front and produced a severe, non-convective wind gust.

Rare for late summer, a tightly-wound upper low tracked east this day from the Four Corners into western Kansas. Dry westerly winds from New Mexico created a dryline that moved into the western South Plains. Combined with an axis of upper lift extending south of the upper low, isolated strong storms quickly developed in a moderately unstable environment late this afternoon. By early evening, a storm with a mesoanticylcone developed near Brownfield and tracked northeast (left of the mean storm motion) before collapsing in rural southwest Lubbock County. Although NWS radar indicated the likelihood of severe hail and damaging winds, no ground truth was available throughout the life of this storm. By late evening, lingering outflow boundaries collided in southwest Lubbock County and gave rise to intense multicell storms; one of which produced a destructive downburst that traveled from just northwest of the Lubbock South Plains Mall northeast to the Lubbock Airport and into rural northeast Lubbock County. A swath of straight-line winds estimated as high as 70 mph at times caused light to moderate structural damage at two large home improvement stores and removed the roof from an apartment building. Isolated power outages resulted from downed trees, tree limbs and frequent cloud-to-ground lightning. Tragically, one man died after lightning struck a house and ignited a corrugated stainless steel natural gas line in the roof. The destructive storm later decayed in northeast Lubbock County before reintensifying southeast of Floydada where downburst winds downed several power poles late in the night.

Moderate instability behind a warm front and cool northwest flow aloft yielded multiple strong and severe thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening. The first storm was a small supercell that moved slowly south across far northwest Castro County toward Easter; however, the only severe weather with this storm was observed farther north in Deaf Smith County (NWS Amarillo's County Warning Area). By early evening, a storm farther west collapsed over Friona accompanied by destructive downburst winds that damaged many trees, fences and caused minor damage to some buildings. A mesonet station northeast of Friona measured a wind gust of 88 mph. A third storm then erupted southwest of Dimmitt and moved very little over the course of 45 minutes resulting in torrential rains possibly in excess of four inches. These rains turned area fields into lakes and caused flooding of low-lying sections of FM 1055 near Flagg. This storm also produced intense downburst winds in Flagg that severely damaged a large grain bin, toppled two power poles and damaged area trees. Wind-driven hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter also caused significant crop damage in the Flagg area. Frequent lightning from separate storms farther south near Pep caused at least three wildfires; one of which grew to at least 100 acres in size and forced the evacuation of three homes. Fortunately, no one was injured and no homes were damaged. Storms then grew into a large complex which moved east-southeast across the South Plains and into the Rolling Plains. Although a few marginally severe wind gusts accompanied this complex, the storms brought much-needed soaking rains to the region with additional showers continuing through the night.

During the morning and afternoon of the 22nd, very strong winds and blowing dust covered much of the region as a powerful upper level storm system raced across the central High Plains. Winds initially increased early in the morning behind a Pacific type cold front. Wind speeds quickly increased behind this front and lifted considerable amounts of dust into the atmosphere. The blowing dust reduced visibilities to less than one half mile at many locations. Strong winds and low visibilities caused a tractor trailer to blow over on Interstate 27 north of Abernathy. A secondary surge of strong winds entered the southeastern Texas panhandle by the middle of the afternoon. This secondary surge was generated by showers in the eastern Texas panhandle. These intense winds caused much damage across the South Plains, Rolling Plains and extreme southern Texas Panhandle. Damage reports mostly included downed utility poles and broken tree limbs. Some of the most extensive damage occurred in Floyd County where over 2500 acres of winter wheat were sand blasted. Additionally, a large tree was uprooted in Lubbock and fell on a vehicle, motorcycle and roof of a home. Winds quickly diminished during the late afternoon as the storm system moved east of the region.||A list of severe wind gusts measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet and Automated Surface Observing Systems follows:||70 mph at Tulia (Swisher County)...68 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County)...67 mph at Turkey (Hall County)...67 mph at Childress (Childress County)...65 mph at Amherst (Lamb County)...64 mph at Paducah (Cottle County)...62 mph at Quitaque (Briscoe County)...61 mph at Hart (Castro County)...61 mph at Olton (Lamb County)...60 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County)...60 mph at Floydada (Floyd County)...60 mph at Friona (Parmer County)...60 mph at Lubbock (Lubbock County)...60 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County)...60 mph at Northfield (Motley County)...60 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County)...59 mph at Abernathy (Hale County)...58 mph at Anton (Hockley County)...58 mph at Morton (Cochran County)...58 mph at Ralls (Crosby County)...58 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County).||A list of maximum sustained severe winds measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet follows:||43 mph at Brownfield (Terry County)...43 mph at Plains (Yoakum County)...41 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County)...41 mph at O'Donnell (Lynn County)...41 mph at Graham (Garza County)...40 mph at Guthrie (King County).

A storm system moving out of the Rockies sent a powerful cold front through the southern Texas panhandle, South Plains, and Rolling Plains during the early evening hours of the 17th. The cold front surged at 55 mph as it moved across the South Plains. Extreme pressure rises behind this front on the South Plains created a widespread high wind event along with a haboob. Visible satellite images estimated the width of the haboob to be around 250 miles extending from eastern New Mexico through the South Plains. Visibilities were reduced across much of the South Plains below one quarter mile and zero at some locations.||Widespread damage was also observed with the most extensive damage in the Lubbock area. Additionally, one wildfire was intensified by the severe winds in Garza county. Smoke from this wildfire caused the the closure of US Highway 84 between County Road 220 and Highway 380.||A list of severe wind gusts measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet, KVII-TV Schoolnet, and Automated Surface Observing Systems follows: 71 mph at Friona (Parmer County), 77 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County), 66 mph at Hart (Castro County), 61 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 68 mph at Amherst (Lamb County), 66 mph at Olton (Lamb County), 59 mph at Plainview (Hale County), 58 mph at Abernathy (Hale County), 60 mph at Morton (Cochran County), 69 mph at Anton (Hockley County), 74 mph at Lubbock (Lubbock County), 71 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County), 60 mph at Wolfforth (Lubbock County), 65 mph at Plains (Yoakum County), 60 mph at Brownfield (Terry County), and 75 mph at Post (Garza County).||Damage reports are as follows:||Parmer County saw some trees and tree limbs down in the city of Friona. Power lines, trees, and a barn roof were blown down in Castro County. An irrigation pivot was overturned in Lamb County. Power outages were reported across Bailey County. Power lines were blown down in Hale County. In Hockley County, trees and power lines were blown down as well as a roof blown off of a gas station. Power lines were blown down in Yoakum County. Trees and power lines were blown down in Terry County in the city of Brownfield. In the city of Post in Garza County, street signs, fences and trees were blown down as well as shed and patio roofs blown off. Numerous power outages were reported around the city of Lubbock. Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport also sustained heavy damages. There was damage to the air traffic control tower as well as the airport fire station. Numerous small aircraft were also damaged. Total economic damages were estimated at $25 million.

The passage of an intense upper air storm system over the Southern Plains of the U.S. on the 27th caused high winds, blowing dust, and an outbreak of destructive grassland wildfires that affected portions of three states.||Locally on the South Plains of west Texas, intense southwest to westerly winds intensified rapidly in the hours around midday. These winds resulted in widespread blowing dust across region. Visibility at Lubbock's Preston Smith International Airport dropped to less than one-quarter mile in the dust storm. Similar dust storm conditions undoubtedly occurred at many South Plains locales, but went unreported. Damage brought on by the winds and resultant wildland fires were of much greater concern.||Shortly after 12:00 CST, winds caused power lines to arc in the 5600 block of 45th Street in Lubbock (Lubbock County). An urban-wildland fire quickly sparked and ran through yards and severely damaged six residences. Three homes, two sheds, two boats, and a vehicle were destroyed. A dog was killed, but no human casualties were reported. Lubbock fire fighters additionally fought a fire near the 400 block of East 50th Street around 15:00 CST. That fire, also started by wind-blown power lines, severely damaged 23 vehicles in an automotive repair lot. ||Winds downed three power poles and lines into native grasslands southwest of Levelland (Hockley County) around 13:45 CST. The resultant wildfire charred 5,000 acres and destroyed two homes and damaged a third. Four vehicles and a fire engine were lost in the blaze. ||Between 14:15 CST and 15:15 CST, at least two fires ignited in southern and western Motley County. The Matador Complex fires grew to consume more than 41,000 acres. U.S. Highway 62/70 was closed as the west-Matador fire, which started at a road-side park twelve miles west of Matador, rapidly spread eastward toward the town. An army of first responders invaded Matador to evacuate its residents toward a defensible area at the Motley County High School gymnasium. One fire fighter was treated for minor burns. At least two homes were severely damaged or destroyed on the southern extent of the city, and many outbuildings were burned. The community of Roaring Springs was additionally threatened without incident.||Around 15:45 CST, a wind-driven fire ignited at an airport just east of Post (Garza County). The fire quickly developed into a massive wildland fire that consumed 9,500 acres before it was contained around 23:00 CST. The fire destroyed a 20 foot by 30 foot telecommunications building which was valued at approximately $2 million. A fire engine was partially burned.||Wind-driven wildfires also ignited near Spur and Afton (Dickens County) and near Aspermont (Stonewall County). These fires collectively accounted for between 5,000 acres and 10,000 acres burned and took a number of outbuildings. Additional and less significant fire starts were observed on the north rim of Tule Canyon near Lake MacKenzie in Briscoe County, in Bailey County, Childress County, and Hale County. In all, at least 11 wind-driven grassland wildfires impacted the extreme Southern Panhandle and the South Plains.||The high winds experienced in the Lubbock (Lubbock County) area during the afternoon hours caused extensive roof damage to an apartment complex near 1930 Baylor Street. One person was injured when a 30 foot by 30 foot section of the roof was blown off of the structure. Debris, which had previously covered three apartment units, struck several cars when it landed in an adjacent parking lot. A vehicle was additionally struck by airborne roofing material that peeled off of another Lubbock business elsewhere in the city.||A list of severe wind gusts measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet, KVII-TV Schoolnet, and Automated Surface Observing Systems follows: |68 mph at Amherst (Lamb County), 65 mph at Lazbuddie (Parmer County), 63 mph at Hart (Castro County), 63 mph at Tulia (Swisher County), 61 mph at MacKenzie Reservoir (Briscoe County), 60 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County), 59 mph at Friona (Parmer County), 59 mph at Lubbock's Preston Smith International Airport (Lubbock County), 59 mph at Morton (Cochran County), 59 mph at Plainview (Hale County), 59 mph at Turkey (Hall County), 58 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County), and 58 mph at Graham (Garza County). ||The winds and wildfires that impacted the South Plains region of west Texas on the 27th clearly had a significant public impact. Although two persons were injured, no fatalities were reported. Total economic losses were estimated near $3.5 million.

In the wake of a passing storm system that contributed to the severe weather and tornado outbreak on the 22nd, a tight pressure gradient over the South Plains of west Texas resulted in widespread sustained westerly winds between 25 mph and 35 mph during the afternoon hours of the 23rd. By midday, isolated virga showers developed and locally enhanced wind gusts. A few severe wind gusts were observed by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet and the KVII-TV Schoolnet near the virga showers throughout the afternoon. A 55-year old cottonwood tree was blown down onto a house in Matador. The roof of the house sustained minimal damage and the occupant of the home was uninjured. A nearby Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site recorded a peak gust of 55 mph. Winds additionally blew tree limbs down into power lines in Plainview (Hale County), and resulted in a power outage that affected 650 households for nearly two hours.||A list of measured severe wind gusts follows: 60 mph at Plains (Yoakum County), 60 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County), 59 mph at Childress (Childress County), 58 mph at Abernathy (Hale County), 58 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County), and 58 mph at Turkey (Hall County).

A deadly winter storm produced widespread snow and ice accumulations and resulted in significant damage across the west Texas South Plains during the daytime hours of the 28th. ||Wintry precipitation began to overspread the region in the hours after sunrise. Although heavy snowfall (including thunder-snow) was common over the western South Plains and the extreme southwestern Panhandle, the precipitation began to fall as freezing rain over much of the central South Plains, the extreme southeastern Panhandle, and the northern Rolling Plains. A layer of ice, that in some cases became topped by accumulating snow, downed trees and utilities. This led to widespread damages from fallen trees and power lines. More than 200 power poles were snapped by the weight of ice and snow in Floyd County, and another 40 poles were downed in Hale County. A downed power pole and line in Olton (Lamb County) fell onto four parked vehicles in the high school parking lot, and the live utility wire caused a fire that destroyed one of the cars. Approximately 20,000 South Plains homes and businesses were without power at the height of the storm, and at least two homes were heavily damaged in Lubbock (Lubbock County) by falling trees.||Authorities reported 175 weather-related auto accidents in Lubbock County. Multiple accidents were additionally reported in Childress, Hale, Hall, Hockley, Motley, and Terry Counties. One Hale County motorist was injured. ||In rural Bailey County, an elderly woman slipped on the ice and broke her hip. Injured from the fall and unable to summon help, the woman died of exposure before being found. ||The entire city of Childress (Childress County) was rendered without power and communications for an extended period of time. Ice-related damage was widespread there, and included the collapse of a radio tower. In addition, power outages at nearby Greenbelt Lake (Donley County) caused pumps to fail and resulted in an outage of drinking water for the Childress area.||Total economic damages from the storm were estimated at nearly $4 million.||A list of reported snow accumulations follows: 9 inches in Rhea (Parmer County), 8 inches in Olton (Lamb County), 6 inches in Happy (Swisher County), 6 inches in Hart (Castro County), 6 inches in Muleshoe (Bailey County), 6 inches in Sudan (Lamb County), 5 inches in Denver City (Yoakum County), 5 inches in Friona (Parmer County), 4 inches in Dimmitt (Castro County), 4 inches in Littlefield (Lamb County), 4 inches in Shallowater (Lubbock County), 4 inches in Tulia (Swisher County), 4 inches in Wolfforth (Lubbock County), 3 inches in Abernathy (Hale County), 3 inches in Lubbock (Lubbock County), 3 inches in Morton (Cochran County), 3 inches in Plainview (Hale County), 3 inches in Silverton (Briscoe County), 2 inches in Brownfield (Terry County), 2 inches in Turkey (Hall County), 1 inch in Crosbyton (Crosby County), 1 inch in Floydada (Floyd County), 1 inch in Plains (Cochran County), and 1 inch in Vigo Park (Swisher County).||A list of reported ice accumulations follows: 1 inch in Childress (Childress County), 1 inch in Dimmitt (Castro County), 1 inch in Memphis (Hall County), 0.75 inch in Paducah (Cottle County), 0.50 inch in Brownfield, 0.50 inch in Floydada (Floyd County), 0.50 inch in Happy (Swisher County), 0.50 inch in Tahoka (Lynn County), 0.25 inch in Levelland (Hockely County), 0.25 inch in Lubbock (Lubbock County), 0.25 inch in Matador (Motley County), 0.25 inch in Muleshoe (Bailey County), and 0.25 inch in Plainview (Hale County).

A major winter storm brought blizzard conditions and widespread significant snow accumulations to the South Plains region of west Texas on Christmas Eve. The remnant snow pack resulted in a subsequent and rare White Christmas for much of west Texas.||Widespread light rain developed over much of west Texas on the 23rd. By late afternoon, the rain intermittently changed to or mixed with snow over portions of the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle. The full transition toward snow, however, occurred rapidly over the entire region late in the evening and heavy snow then fell over a large part of west Texas during the overnight hours and persisted into the afternoon of the 24th. ||As the parent upper air storm system ejected eastward along the Interstate 20 corridor (just south of the South Plains region) during the morning hours of the 24th, severe gradient winds with gusts between 60 and 70 mph began to accompany the snowfall over the extreme southeastern Panhandle and the northeastern South Plains. More widespread gusts around 50 mph were observed elsewhere across the South Plains. The winds and snow combined to result in white-out conditions, snow drifts as high as eight feet, and dangerous travel on area roadways. ||Numerous road closures and automobile accidents were reported across the region. A man died near Dimmitt (Castro County) when his pickup truck became stalled in a large snow drift. The vehicle subsequently ran over him during efforts to free the truck from the drift. At least five persons were injured in accidents on Lubbock (Lubbock County) city streets, and another motorist was reportedly injured in a multi-vehicle accident along U.S. Highway 84 near Post (Garza County). A nine vehicle pile-up was reported on U.S. Highway 380 east of Tahoka (Lynn County). Local officials in Childress County additionally reported more than 50 accidents along U.S. Highway 287 in blizzard white-out conditions. A number of stalled vehicles also were reported in Castro, Cottle, Hockley, and Parmer Counties. Total damages were estimated to approach $1 million.||Localized reports of power outages were received, but no prolonged or widespread blackouts were experienced. ||Reported snow accumulations follow: 9 inches at Post (Garza County), 8 inches at Amherst (Lamb County), 7 inches at Littlefield (Lamb County), 7 inches at Shallowater (Lubbock County), 6 inches at Kress (Swisher County), 6 inches at Smyer (Hockley County), 5 inches at Cedar Hill (Floyd County), 5 inches at Flomot (Floyd County), 5 inches at Lake Alan Henry (Garza County), 5 inches at Levelland (Hockley County), 5 inches at Lorenzo (Crosby County), 5 inches at Lubbock (Lubbock County), 5 inches at Memphis (Hall County), 5 inches at Plainview (Hale County), 5 inches at Slaton (Lubbock County), 5 inches at Sudan (Lamb County), 5 inches at Tahoka (Lynn County), 5 inches at Whiteface (Cochran County), 4 inches at Abernathy (Hale County), 4 inches at Brownfield (Terry County), 4 inches at Crosbyton (Crosby County), 4 inches at Dimmitt (Castro County), 4 inches at Estelline (Childress County), 4 inches at Flomot (Motley County), 4 inches at Floydada (Floyd County), 4 inches at Guthrie (King County), 4 inches at Hale Center (Hale County), 4 inches at Hart (Castro County), 4 inches at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 4 inches at Paducah (Cottle County), 4 inches at Petersburg (Hale County), 4 inches at Plains (Yoakum County), 4 inches at Quitaque (Briscoe County), 4 inches at Ropesville (Hockley County), 4 inches at Southland (Garza County), 3 inches at Friona (Parmer County), 3 inches at Spur (Dickens County), 3 inches at Jayton (Kent County), 2 inches at Childress (Childress County).||Severe wind gusts measured by the Texas Tech Univeristy West Texas Mesonet and the KVII-TV Schoolnet included: ||68 mph at Memphis (Hall County), 64 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County), 59 mph at Paducah (Cottle County), 59 mph at Turkey (Hall County), 58 mph at Childress (Childress County).

A very dynamic storm system resulted in a variety of weather hazards and significant public impacts on the west Texas South Plains during the late hours of the 7th and through the daytime hours of the 8th. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal described the day's weather as a plague, saying the only thing missing Tuesday (December 8th) was locusts.||Fog and drizzle became widespread during the evening of the 7th as warm air advected northward over the South Plains atop a shallow cold layer near the ground. By the late evening hours, freezing drizzle had begun to deposite a light ice glaze on many objects, including area roadways. By the morning of the 8th, travel conditions were hazardous across much of the region. More than 100 automobile accidents were reported in the city of Lubbock, with at least another 25 accidents reported on rural roadways. At least 22 persons were treated for minor injuries. Fortunately, no children were injured when a vehicle slid through the intersection of 42nd Streed and Avenue L and collided with a school bus. Hockley County officials additionally reported two weather-related accidents that resulted in injuries. The icy conditions also resulted in the closure of Interstate 27 for a short time, and school sessions were delayed or cancelled in Floyd, Lynn, Crosby, Hockley, Garza, Lamb, Hale, and Terry Counties and at Texas Tech University.||The main lift associated with the upper level storm system approached around midday. This resulted in a narrow band of convective showers that produced sleet over the central parts of the South Plains, including the city of Lubbock, and accumulations were observed.||By early afternoon, strong subsident air overspread west Texas as the parent upper air storm system translated east of the area, and the onset of intense westerly winds occurred. Tight pressure gradients resulted in wind gusts in excess of 70 mph over portions of the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle, with gusts over 60 mph common elsewhere on the South Plains. These winds caused widespread damage to utilities and trees across the region. In fact, more than 5,000 area residents were without power during the course of the afternoon. A utility pole reportedly fell onto a car in Muleshoe (Bailey County), and a tree fell and damaged a home in Littlefield (Lamb County). In Yoakum County alone, more than 40 power poles were downed by the winds. An apartment complex was heavily damaged in Levelland (Hockley County) when a large portion of the roof was blown off, and a second apartment complex sustained heavy wind damage in northwest Lubbock (Lubbock County). Elsewhere, structural damage was limited to light weight structures. A greenhouse was destroyed in Friona (Parmer County) and a travel trailer was overturned near Denver City (Yoakum County). The winds additionally resulted in blowing dust which significantly limited visibilities.||More than a dozen grass fires started across portions of Hale, Hockley, and Yoakum counties as power lines were damaged by the high winds, but due to relatively moist vegetative fuels, none of the fires grew to significant or damaging levels. ||Total economic damages associated with the South Plains storm system of the 7th and 8th were estimated near $2 million.||A list of severe wind gusts measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet and the KVII-TV Schoolnet follows:||73 mph at Friona (Parmer County), 71 mph at Hart (Castro County), 69 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County), 66 mph at Anton (Hockley County), 65 mph at Northfield (Motley County), 63 mph at Olton (Lamb County), 63 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County), 63 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County), 60 mph at Memphis (Hall County), 60 mph at Tulia (Swisher County), 59 mph at Sundown (Cochran County), 58 mph at Brownfield (Terry County), 58 mph at Floydada (Floyd County), and 58 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County).

A severe weather outbreak occurred over west Texas during the afternoon and evening hours of the 16th and resulted in significant public impacts. Despite the occurrence of thirteen tornadoes across the South Plains region, most of the damage resulted from destructive hail and heavy rainfall. ||Thunderstorms first developed over the northern South Plains around 13:00 CST. These early afternoon storms initiated as supercells, but transitioned into a small-scale convective complex that produced extensive amounts of large hail and heavy rainfall. As the storms trained over the Interstate 27 corridor in Swisher County, a significant hail accumulation and flood event resulted in some 50 vehicles becoming stalled and a prolonged closure of the highway through the overnight hours.||Additional storms developed during the mid to late afternoon hours over the central South Plains. Two supercell thunderstorms impacted Lubbock County. One of these storms produced a destructive hail swath through the city of Lubbock damaging some 3,000 homes and more than 1,100 vehicles totaling an estimated $40 million in damages. Meanwhile a second supercell storm over eastern Lubbock County produced a family of weak tornadoes along U.S. Highway 82 east of Idalou. ||Other supercell storms impacted portions of Garza and Kent Counties during the late afternoon and early evening hours. These storms additionally produced damaging hail and brief tornadoes.||By late evening, storm modes transitioned toward broken convective complexes and multicell structures. An unstable low-level environment, however, continued to be characterized by an increasingly enhanced veering of the wind fields. Thus, despite a transition toward less discrete storm cells, the threat for tornadoes remained. Multiple small scale low-level circulations developed within the evolving convective complexes, and these circulations proved to be tornadic. An EF-1 tornado damaged five structures and downed power poles as it tracked nearly eight miles across northwestern Lubbock County and southwestern Hale County around 20:00 CST. Two additional EF-1 tornadoes impacted the Abernathy (Hale County) and Roosevelt (Lubbock County) areas through the 21:00 CST hour. Meanwhile, similar tornadic circulations developed within other storm complexes over portions of Dickens, Kent, and King Counties. Multiple reports of tornadoes were received from rural areas around the Spur, Girard, and Guthrie vicinities but no damages resulted.||In all, an estimated $41.3 million in damages and three injuries resulted from severe weather across the South Plains region of west Texas on the 16th.

A very dynamic upper air storm system dug southward over the plains of eastern New Mexico and then ejected eastward over the South Plains of west Texas during the late hours of the 1st and early morning hours of the 2nd. This system produced a variety of weather hazards over the South Plains, with widespread high winds being the primary impact.||Severe gusts up to 67 mph were measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet at many locations across the South Plains, both in advance of a strong cold frontal passage and in the post frontal air. These winds caused minor structural damage to a building in O'Donnell (Lynn County). A tree was blown onto a house in Plainview (Hale County) and caused minor damage to the structure's roof. A 100 foot radio communications tower was destroyed by the winds in Paducah (Cottle County) during the mid-morning hours. The tower fell onto and damaged three vehicles in a parking lot, and also downed utility lines. An estimated 250 homes and businesses lost power as a result of the damages, but no injuries were reported. In addition, the winds downed utility lines at an oil well facility in western Cochran County. The downed lines sparked a wind-driven wildfire which consumed between 300 and 500 acres before it was extinguished during the afternoon hours of the 2nd. The fire remained over open country and no damages were reported.||As the upper air storm system passed over the South Plains during the pre-dawn hours of the 2nd, a band of mixed wintry precipitation developed from the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle eastward over the northeastern South Plains. A mixture of sleet and snow resulted in a localized band of light accumulations, including a measured one inch accumulation at Floydada (Floyd County). ||Total damages across the region were estimated at $135,000.||A list of measured severe wind gusts follows: 67 mph at Plains (Yoakum County), 64 mph at Memphis (Hall County) and White River Lake (Crosby County), 63 mph at Graham (Garza County), 62 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County), 61 mph at Plainview (Hale County) and west of Sundown (Cochran County), 60 mph at Lubbock (Lubbock County), 59 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County), and 58 mph at Morton (Cochran County).

A powerful winter storm brought a combination of high winds and winter weather, including accumulating snowfall, to the west Texas South Plains region during the evening hours of the 2nd and into the 3rd. ||Post frontal northerly winds gusted as high as 62 mph and were sustained at speeds up to 47 mph during the evening hours of the 2nd and the early morning hours of the 3rd over the northwestern half of the South Plains per measurements from the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet. These winds destroyed a metal storage shed when it was blown through a fence in Muleshoe (Bailey County) and snapped a power pole in Childress (Childress County). Observed severe wind gusts follow:||62 mph at White River Lake (Crosby County), 59 mph at Hart (Castro County), 58 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 58 mph at Olton (Lamb County), and 58 mph at Plains (Yoakum County).||In addition, snow began to fall over much of the South Plains shortly before midnight on the 2nd. With high winds continuing into the morning hours of the 3rd, periods of blowing snow significantly reduced visibilities to near blizzard conditions. This contributed to at least two dozen automobile accidents across the region. Injuries were reported as a result of accidents in Castro and Hockley Counties. ||Reported snowfall accumulations of at least 1 inch follow: 3 inches at Dimmitt (Castro County), 3 inches at Friona (Parmer County), 3 inches at Morton (Cochran County), 2 inches at Denver City (Yoakum County), 1 inch at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 1 inch at Olton (Lamb County), 1 inch at Brownfield (Terry County).||Combined estimated damages totalled nearly $235,000.

A complex of strong thunderstorms rolled across the South Plains region of west Texas during the overnight hours of the 7th and early morning hours of the 8th. One storm within the complex became severe, and produced large hail over Childress. |With a powerful upper level storm system still located over the desert southwest, additional convective complexes moved eastward out of New Mexico during the daytime hours on the 8th. By the time rainfall ended over the South Plains, some areas had received in excess of three and a half inches of rain. |Reports of gradually rising waters that inundated roadways were common. A few motorists disabled their vehicles by driving into standing water, especially in construction zones, underpasses and in otherwise flood prone city streets. No injuries were reported.

A powerful storm system impacted the Southern Plains on the 24th. This system resulted in widespread severe winds and dust storm conditions. The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet recorded peak gusts up to 70 mph. Damage was reported over a large portion of the central South Plains and the Rolling Plains, with many roofs and light weight metal structures damaged, windows broken, and utility poles/lines downed.|The winds also contributed to an intense dust storm. Many local newspapers reported that the dust storm was one of the worst events in recent history. Multiple vehicle pile-ups damaged at least 30 vehicles in Garza, Lynn, and Lubbock Counties. One motorist was injured in a weather related accident along U.S. Highway 84 in Garza County, where visibility was reportedly limited to a few feet.|Snow flurries actually mixed with the dust before the winds subsided during the mid afternoon hours.||A list of observed severe wind gusts are as follows: 70 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County), 69 mph at Crosby (Crosby County), 68 mph at Graham (Garza County), 67 mph at Guthrie (King County), 66 mph at Abernathy (Hale County), 65 mph at Amherst (Lamb County), 65 mph at Anton (Hockley County), 65 mph at Paducah (Cottle County), 65 mph at Ralls (Crosby County), 65 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County), 65 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County), 64 mph at Brownfield (Terry County), 64 mph at Floydada (Floyd County), 64 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County), 64 mph at Odonnell (Lynn County), 64 mph at Turkey (Hall County), 64 mph at Wolfforth (Lubbock County), 63 mph at Childress (Childress County), 63 mph at Plains (Yoakum County), 63 mph at Tahoka (Lynn County), 62 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County), 62 mph at Olton (Lamb County), 62 mph at Spur (Dickens County), 62 mph at Texas Tech University (Lubbock County), 62 mph at Tulia (Swisher County), 61 mph at Aspermont (Stonewall County), 61 mph at Jayton (Kent County), 61 mph at Lake Alan Henry (Garza County), 61 mph at Morton (Cochran County), 61 mph at Plainview (Hale County), 61 mph at Post (Garza County), 60 mph at Levelland (Hockley County), 60 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County), 59 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County), 59 mph at Sundown (Cochran County), and 58 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County).

For the second weekend in a row, another major winter storm impacted the South Plains region of west Texas. This storm brought snow accumulations that totaled a foot in portions of the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle. Heavy snowfalls were common over the northwestern half of the region, while lighter snow accumulations combined with a coating of ice over the southeastern South Plains and the Rolling Plains.|Local officials across the region reported at least eighty-five vehicluar accidents across the region, including a ten car pile-up on Loop 289 in Lubbock. No serious injuries were reported. Approximately 400 residences were estimated to have lost power during an electrical outage caused by ice accumulations from the storm south of Lubbock. Total damages were estimated at $250,000. ||A list of reported storm total snow accumulations are as follows: 12 inches at Bovina (Parmer County), 12 inches at Summerfield (Castro County), 11 inches at Friona (Parmer County), 9 inches at Happy (Swisher County), 8 inches at Dimmitt (Castro County), 8 inches at Olton (Lamb County), 8 inches at Springlake (Lamb County), 8 inches at Tulia (Swisher County), 8 inches at Vigo Park (Swisher County), 7 inches at Kress (Swisher County), 6 inches at Levelland (Hockley County), 6 inches at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 6 inches at Plainview (Hale County), 6 inches at Quitaque (Briscoe County), 5 inches at Anton (Hockley County), 5 inches at Lake MacKenzie (Briscoe County), 5 inches at Lakeview (Hall County), 5 inches at Littlefield (Lamb County), 5 inches at Memphis (Hall County), 5 inches at Silverton (Briscoe County), 4 inches at Abernathy (Lubbock County), 4 inches at Childress (Childress County), 4 inches at Lubbock (Lubbock County), 4 inches at Matador (Motley County), 4 inches at Morton (Cochran County), 3 inches at Floydada (Floyd County), 3 inches at Paducah (Cottle County), 2 inches at Brownfield (Terry County), 2 inches at Plains (Yoakum County), 2 inches at Turkey (Hall County), 1 inch at Dickens (Dickens County), 1 inch at Dumont (King County), 1 inch at Post (Garza County), 1 inch at Ralls (Crosby County), and 1 inch at Tahoka (Lynn County).||Additional reports of ice accumulations included: 1 inch at Post (Garza County) and 1/4 inch at Jayton (Kent County).

A bitterly cold arctic air mass moved into the South Plains region of west Texas during the daytime hours on the 12th. A potent upper level system moving down from the Rockies provided the lift needed for a prolonged period of wintry precipitation which began during the evening hours of the 12th and persisted through much of the 14th. Because of the shallow nature of the arctic air mass, precipitation in the form of freezing rain and freezing drizzle was the dominant precipitation type. This led to several locations across the South Plains region receiving between one quarter and one inch of ice accumulations. |Approximately 245 auto-accidents were attributed to the ice build-up. Lubbock authorities reported 185 wrecks on city streets alone. Two persons were killed on the icy highways, and at least nine others suffered serious injuries in weather related traffic accidents. More than forty people sought treatment at Lubbock hospitals for fall-related injuries attributed to the storm. |Power outages became widespread in many rural areas during the afternoon and evening hours of the 14th when wind speeds increased in the wake of the departing storm system, and ice coated utility lines broke. Although the total number of residences without power was not known, one utility company reported that seventy-five percent of its customers were affected over a twelve county area. Total damages across the region approached $750,000.|In addition, more than 200 churches across the region canceled Sunday services on the 14th, and many flights were canceled at Lubbock's Preston Smith International Airport.||A list of reported ice accumulations are as follows: 1/8 inch at Dickens (Dickens County), 1/8 inch at Matador (Motley County), 1/4 inch at Lorenzo (Crosby County), 1/2 inch at Muleshoe (Bailey County), 1/2 inch at Morton (Cochran County), 1/4 inch at Guthrie (King County), 1/4 inch at Paducah (Cottle County), 1/4 inch at Ropesville (Hockley County), 1/2 inch at Levelland (Hockley County), 1/4 inch at Silverton (Briscoe County), 1/4 inch at Lubbock (Lubbock County), 1/2 inch at Farwell (Parmer County), 1/4 inch at Dimmitt (Castro County), 1/4 inch at Tulia (Swisher County), 1/2 inch at Littlefield (Lamb County), 1/2 inch at Plains (Yoakum County), 1/4 inch at Brownfield (Terry County), 1/2 inch at Tahoka (Lynn County), 1/2 inch at Memphis (Hall County), 1/2 inch at Childress (Childress County), 1/2 inch at Crosbyton (Crosby County), 1.0 inch at Earth (Lamb County), and 1.0 inch at Hale Center (Hale County).

A potent storm system propagated over the Southern Plains of the United States during the afternoon and evening of the 14th. Tightening surface pressure gradients over west Texas resulted in a prolonged period of strong westerly winds, with sustained speeds over 30 mph and frequent gusts near 50 mph. These winds began during the mid afternoon hours of the 14th and persisted through much of the 15th.|A period of severe wind gusts occurred during the late evening hours over the central and southern South Plains as a middle atmospheric wind maximum and associated virga showers moved over the area. Local media and emergency officials reported numerous downed trees and power lines. Gusts as high as 67 mph were recorded by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet near Slaton around 20:35 CST. Although most of the reported damage occurred between Lubbock and Slaton, where the strongest wind gusts were observed, at least one tree caused damage when it was blown onto a carport in Plainview (Hale County). Surface observations in the Plainview vicinity, incuding the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet and an Automated Weather Observing System, measured peak gusts up to 50 mph.|A second area of severe winds occurred over the extreme southeastern Texas Panhandle and the Northern Rolling Plains of west Texas during the very early morning hours of the 15th. These winds were associated with the passage of a strong cold front. Wind gusts over Briscoe, Cottle, and Hall Counties were measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet to be as high as 60 mph. No damage was reported.

Strong winds with frequent gusts near 50 mph impacted the west Texas South Plains region during the afternoon hours of the 26th as a strong storm system moved over the Southern Plains. Although local surface observations from the Lubbock Automated Surface Observation System and the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet only recorded peak gusts of 50 mph, these gusts were strong enough to down a single high-line wire at the 900 block of East 50th Street in Lubbock shortly before 17:00 CST. The live wire sparked a wind-driven fire that burned a local business. Power also was disrupted in the neighborhood, and was not restored until 21:00 CST. No injuries were reported.

June 22 Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary: A large complex of severe thunderstorms erupted over the central South Plains of west Texas during the afternoon and evening hours of the 22nd. The storms produced severe winds that damaged structures and downed power lines. The most significant damage occurred in northeastern Lubbock County, where thunderstorm winds caused damage to the Children's Home of Lubbock. The facility was damaged for the second time in less than twenty-four hours by severe winds. Fortunately, administrators at the facility took pro-active measures upon hearing severe weather warnings, and moved all of the resident children and staff into storm shelters. No injuries were reported. Electrical outages also were widespread across the central South Plains, with reports of downed utility lines and poles common.Outflow from the convective complex generated a haboob that caused high-end weather impacts over the southwestern half of the South Plains. Blowing dust reduced visibilities to near zero across a widespread area covering four counties, and contributed to at least twelve auto-accidents along a portion of U.S. Highway 62/82 between Lubbock and Brownfield. One motorist was killed, and fifteen others were injured. The haboob also was responsible for massive agricultural losses, as wind-driven dust "burned" young cotton crops. Total event damages were estimated to exceed $2.2 million.

May 21 Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary...Another round of high based thunderstorm activity produced damaging downburst winds over the west Texas South Plains region during the early evening hours of the 21st. Wind gusts as high as 67 MPH were recorded by the Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet. Damage reports included downed power poles and tree damage. One tin outbuilding was additionally damaged in southeast Lubbock.

April 15 High Wind and Wildfire Event Summary: Another potent spring-time storm system moved over the Southern Plains of the U.S. on the 15th and resulted in strong to occasionally severe westerly winds over much of the region. The winds followed several consecutive days of record high temperatures. This combined with ongoing drought conditions to create an extremely critical fire weather situation over a large part of the Southern High Plains. A large wildfire was ignited by downed power lines in Hockley County. The fire destroyed one residence and injured three people. Two of the injured were fire fighters engaged in battling the blaze. The winds were indirectly responsible for another fire that destroyed a residence in Lubbock County where a large outdoor cooker was blown over. Damage estimates for the event total $250,000.

On Tuesday, November 2, 2004, a powerful upper level storm system passed through West Texas. As a result, the season's first measurable snowfall occurred across West Texas mainly along and west of the Caprock. Locally heavy snow fell over the southwest portions of the Panhandle and northwest South Plains with 8 to 12 inches of snow reported across Parmer, Castro, and Lamb Counties including the cities of Friona, Dimmitt, and Littlefield. Lubbock generally received from 3 to 5 inches of snow. The heavy wet snow caused roadways to became snow packed and icy in many locations. Additionally, the heavy wet snow accumulating on trees (many which still had their leaves) resulted in many branches down. Some of the downed branches fell on power lines causing power outages.For Lubbock, the earliest measurable snowfall was in October 1976, when four inches of snow fell on the 28th. This is the first measurable snow that Lubbock has had in November, since November 7th 2000 when 4 inches was recorded.