National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Hard Freeze Experienced Across the Area (11/16/2005)

Image of low temperatures (°F) from 11/16/2005

Image of the low temperatures (°F) observed across the region on November 16, 2005. The above image was created with data from the Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet and from the NWS COOP network. County names are also displayed.

A cold Canadian airmass that moved in quickly on the heels of a strong cold front allowed for very cold temperatures across the entire region Wednesday morning (November 16, 2005). The combination of clear skies, very dry air, and light winds resulted in nearly ideal radiational cooling conditions. This meant cool morning lows, with most locations falling well below 28 °F for an extended period.

Additionally, the cool morning resulted in the first freeze of the season for those locations that had not already experienced one (generally across the Southern South Plains and portions of the Rolling Plains). The Lubbock International Airport officially fell to the 32 degree mark for the first time this fall at 8:27 pm on Tuesday, November 15. This was well after the average freeze date of October 31.