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Early and Icy Start to Winter |
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| Icy scene from the south side of Lubbock early Wednesday morning (28 October 2020). | |||
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A strong cold front moved through the South Plains during the day on Sunday (25 October). Much cooler air and low clouds moved in behind the front, with temperatures dropping into the 40s behind the front during the afternoon. The colder air continued to build into the region on breezy northerly winds through Sunday night and into Monday. Temperatures tumbled below the freezing mark across the southern Texas Panhandle late Sunday evening. The freezing line advanced southward through the South and Rolling Plains early Monday morning. |
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| Regional radar animation valid from 7:18 am to 8:28 am on 26 October 2020. | |||
| In addition to the cold, areas of drizzle and freezing drizzle developed late Sunday evening and persisted into Monday morning. The freezing drizzle caused a light glaze of ice to accumulate on exposed surfaces, making bridges and overpasses particularly slick and contributing to numerous wrecks. Scattered freezing rain and sleet showers, accompanied by lightning, also developed early Monday morning in response to a passing upper level disturbance. These showers left swaths of heavier freezing rain and sleet as they affected parts of the central and eastern South Plains, the southeast Texas Panhandle and much of the Rolling Plains. The heavier frozen precipitation made travel even more difficult in spots on Monday as temperatures continued to drop through the day, reaching the upper teens to middle 20s by early Tuesday. This early season cold air set new record lows both Monday and Tuesday in Lubbock, when the mercury dipped to 23 and 22 degrees, respectively. | |||
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| Low temperatures recorded the West Texas Mesonet on Tuesday (27 October 2020). | |||
| The wintry mix diminished and shifted east by Monday afternoon, but light freezing drizzle and areas of light snow continued through the day and into Monday night. In addition to numerous vehicle accidents, the cold and wintry conditions (icing aloft) may have contributed to a plane crash in Lubbock, near 37th Street and Avenue A, late Monday afternoon. One person, the pilot, perished in the crash, but amazingly no one on the ground was injured. | |||
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| Mid-level water vapor loop captured from GOES-16 on Tuesday morning (27 October 2020). The large storm system that brought the rounds of wintry weather to West Texas can be seen spinning over New Mexico, Arizona and northern Mexico. | |||
| Another round of heavier wintry precipitation visited the South Plains region early Tuesday, as a second upper level disturbance raced by. This produced more bursts of thundersleet and freezing rain, accompanied by lightning, as temperatures remained mostly in the 20s. | |||
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| Lubbock radar animation valid from 8:02 am to 10:18 am on Tuesday (27 October 2020). A regional radar animation, valid from 8:38 am to 9:48 am can be VIEWED HERE. | |||
| Ice covered all exposed objects making for a pretty, but often destructive scene. Below are a couple of pictures taken from around the area after Tuesday morning's round of sleet and freezing rain. | |||
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| Ice covered grass near Childress Tuesday (27 October 2020). The picture is courtesy of Kasey Blacksher Smith via Farrah Holcomb. | |||
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| A sleet and ice coverage Jones AT&T Stadium at Texas Tech on Tuesday (27 October 2020). The image is courtesy of Texas Tech Football. | |||
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A lull followed Tuesday afternoon, but it didn't last long as widespread frozen precipitation redeveloped as the primary upper level storm system approached from Far West Texas Tuesday evening. A large swath of thundersleet and freezing rain engulfed West Texas, initially affecting locations on the Caprock Tuesday evening, spreading into the southeast Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains during the late evening and overnight hours. |
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| Regional radar animation valid from 10:08 pm to 11:18 pm on 28 October 2020. Additional radar animation can be viewed at: 5:48 pm to 6:58 pm on the 28th; and 11:38 pm on the 28th to 12:48 am on the 29th. | |||
| Widespread and heavy icing occurred under this precipitation shield, creating hazardous travel and downing many tree limbs and power lines, which led to numerous power outages. The sleet did mix with and change to snow across the western South Plains and southwest Texas Panhandle as colder air aloft moved in late Tuesday evening. | |||
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| Downed tree near 31st Street and University in Lubbock on 28 October 2020. The picture is courtesy of Matt Ernst. | |||
| Following another lull early Wednesday, scattered snow shower spread across the Caprock during the afternoon with very little impact. However, temperatures warming to near and above the freezing mark did cause its own hazards, as ice began melting and falling from trees, towers, buildings and whatever else it was stuck to. | |||
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| Lubbock radar animation valid from 6:53 pm to 9:34 pm on 29 October 2020. A regional radar animation valid from 5:28 pm to 6:38 pm on 28 October 2020 can be VIEWED HERE. | |||
| The storm system wasn't finished with West Texas just yet, as a final band of snow developed on its north and west side and wrapped southward over the region while it was pulling away from the area Wednesday evening (28 Oct). Several inches of snow fell in the central Texas Panhandle, with an additional 1 to 2 inches falling around Friona and Dimmitt. It was just warm enough that the snow mixed with and changed to rain as it reached the central South Plains. Even as the final precipitation from the event diminish late Wednesday night, the system brought one last treat, a round of strong northerly winds through early Thursday morning. Winds gusted as high as 45 to 55+ mph over the central South Plains during the overnight, knocking down damaged branches from the preceding ice storm. | |||
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| Total ice, snow and sleet accumulations from three days of winter weather (25-28 October 2020). | |||
| Over the course of the three-day winter storm, impressive amounts of sleet and ice fell, while accumulating snow was generally confined to the southwest Texas Panhandle and northwestern South Plains. Although all of the icing did cause a lot of damage and cause cattle losses, it also brought welcome moisture to a drought-stricken region. | |||
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| Radar-estimated and bias-corrected 5-day liquid equivalent ending at 7 am on 29 October 2020. The totals melted precipitation, as measured by the West Texas Mesonet, can be FOUND HERE. | |||
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Officially, the Lubbock Airport recorded 0.77 inches of liquid and 0.6 inches of sleet and snow during this late October winter storm. This was the most moisture recorded from one storm in Lubbock since the beginning of September. |
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| "RGB-True Color" satellite image taken by GOES-16 at 11:01 am on 29 October 2020. | |||
| Although temperatures rose above the freezing mark late Wednesday and remained above freezing into Thursday morning, some lingering sleet and snow could still be seen from satellite after skies cleared Thursday morning. The heaviest snow followed the Canadian River Valley into the mountains of New Mexico. | |||
| The preliminary storm reports for this first winter storm of 2020-2021 season can be viewed below. | |||
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX
215 PM CDT THU OCT 29 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1110 AM FREEZING RAIN WOLFFORTH 33.51N 102.01W
10/27/2020 M0.50 INCH LUBBOCK TX SOCIAL MEDIA
1109 PM ICE STORM TAHOKA 33.16N 101.79W
10/27/2020 LYNN TX CO-OP OBSERVER
NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES, PRIMARILY FROM CROSS ARMS
BREAKING ON POWER POLES.
1133 PM ICE STORM 15 E SILVERTON 34.47N 101.04W
10/27/2020 BRISCOE TX TX DOT
ICE DOWNED POWER LINES ALONG HIGHWAY 256 IN BRISCOE
COUNTY. LOCATION IS ESTIMATED.
1140 PM ICE STORM LUBBOCK 33.58N 101.88W
10/27/2020 LUBBOCK TX EMERGENCY MNGR
ICING HAS DOWNED NUMEROUS POWER LINES IN AND AROUND
LUBBOCK
1148 PM ICE STORM TELL 34.38N 100.39W
10/27/2020 CHILDRESS TX TRAINED SPOTTER
ICE HAS DOWNED POWER LINES AND ELECTRICITY IS OUT IN
TELL AND CEEVEE.
1227 AM ICE STORM CHILDRESS 34.42N 100.25W
10/28/2020 CHILDRESS TX UTILITY COMPANY
ICE LOADING HAS RESULTED IN NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES IN
CHILDRESS.
0600 AM SNOW ABERNATHY 33.83N 101.84W
10/28/2020 M2.0 INCH HALE TX PUBLIC
2" OF SNOW/SLEET MIX REPORTED AT THE POST OFFICE.
0800 AM ICE STORM SPUR 33.48N 100.85W
10/28/2020 DICKENS TX PUBLIC
POST OFFICE EMPLOYEE REPORTED A TOTAL OF 1" OF
ICE/SLEET FOR THE EVENT.
0835 AM SNOW FARWELL 34.39N 103.04W
10/28/2020 M4.0 INCH PARMER TX PUBLIC
POST OFFICE REPORTED 3-4".
0836 AM ICE STORM HAPPY 34.74N 101.86W
10/28/2020 SWISHER TX PUBLIC
POST OFFICE REPORTED 1/4" OF ICE AND POWER OUT AROUND
TOWN.
0836 AM ICE STORM GUTHRIE 33.63N 100.32W
10/28/2020 KING TX CO-OP OBSERVER
0.5" OF ICE MEASURES
0840 AM ICE STORM ASPERMONT 33.14N 100.22W
10/28/2020 STONEWALL TX PUBLIC
1/4" OF ICE MEASURED WITH A THIN LAYER OF SNOW AND
SLEET.
0900 AM ICE STORM KRESS 34.37N 101.75W
10/28/2020 SWISHER TX PUBLIC
2" OF ICE/SLEET MIX
0900 AM ICE STORM 3 N QUITAQUE 34.41N 101.05W
10/28/2020 BRISCOE TX TX PARK SVC
0.5" OF ICE MEASURED. POWER OUT AROUND THE AREA.
0904 AM ICE STORM SILVERTON 34.47N 101.30W
10/28/2020 BRISCOE TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
1.5" OF ICE/SLEET MIX... POWER IS OUT AROUND THE AREA.
0920 AM ICE STORM MEMPHIS 34.73N 100.54W
10/28/2020 HALL TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
4" OF ICE/SLEET MIX... SEVERAL POWERLINES ARE DOWN
ACROSS THE AREA.
0920 AM SNOW MULESHOE 34.23N 102.73W
10/28/2020 E1.0 INCH BAILEY TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
0930 AM ICE STORM 9 SE FLOYDADA 33.89N 101.23W
10/28/2020 FLOYD TX CO-OP OBSERVER
ICE ACCRUAL ONE INCH ON LINES, STRUCTURES. POWER POLES
AND WIRES DOWN IN VICINITY.
0930 AM ICE STORM CHILDRESS 34.42N 100.25W
10/28/2020 CHILDRESS TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
DPS REPORTS 2-3" OF ICE/SLEET MIX WITH NO POWER IN THE
AREA.
0936 AM ICE STORM FARWELL 34.39N 103.04W
10/28/2020 PARMER TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
HIGHWAYS 60, 70, & 84 ARE ICE PACKED AND SLICK.
0940 AM ICE STORM 13 NW CHILDRESS 34.56N 100.41W
10/28/2020 CHILDRESS TX CO-OP OBSERVER
TREE LIMBS DOWN UNDER HEAVY ICING. CALVES PERISHED.
0941 AM SNOW 1 SSE DIMMITT 34.53N 102.31W
10/28/2020 M2.5 INCH CASTRO TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
2.5" OF SNOW/SLEET MIXED.
1018 AM SNOW AMHERST 34.01N 102.41W
10/28/2020 M1.0 INCH LAMB TX PUBLIC
MIX OF SNOW/SLEET AT POST OFFICE
1022 AM SNOW LITTLEFIELD 33.92N 102.33W
10/28/2020 E2.0 INCH LAMB TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
SHERIFF OFFICE REPORTED 1-2" OF SNOW/SLEET.
1030 AM SNOW OLTON 34.18N 102.14W
10/28/2020 M2.0 INCH LAMB TX PUBLIC
2" OF SNOW/SLEET MIX REPORTED AT THE POST OFFICE
1053 AM SNOW EDMONSON 34.28N 101.89W
10/28/2020 M2.0 INCH HALE TX PUBLIC
AT EDMONSON POST OFFICE
1121 AM ICE STORM FLOYDADA 33.98N 101.34W
10/28/2020 FLOYD TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
0.5" OF ICE MEASURED AND POWER IS OUT IN MUCH OF THE
AREA.
0130 PM SNOW BROWNFIELD 33.18N 102.27W
10/28/2020 M3.0 INCH TERRY TX LAW ENFORCEMENT
0800 AM SNOW 4 SSW LUBBOCK 33.53N 101.88W
10/29/2020 M1.0 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS OFFICE
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET TOTAL.
0800 AM SNOW VIGO PARK 34.65N 101.50W
10/29/2020 E1.7 INCH SWISHER TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW TURKEY 34.39N 100.90W
10/29/2020 E1.7 INCH HALL TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW TULIA 34.54N 101.77W
10/29/2020 E1.7 INCH SWISHER TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW SHALLOWATER 33.69N 101.99W
10/29/2020 E1.4 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW PLAINVIEW 34.19N 101.72W
10/29/2020 E1.7 INCH HALE TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW 10 S PADUCAH 33.87N 100.30W
10/29/2020 E1.6 INCH COTTLE TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW NORTHFIELD 34.29N 100.60W
10/29/2020 E3.4 INCH MOTLEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW MULESHOE 34.23N 102.73W
10/29/2020 E5.0 INCH BAILEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW MORTON 33.72N 102.76W
10/29/2020 E1.2 INCH COCHRAN TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW LEVELLAND 33.58N 102.36W
10/29/2020 E1.3 INCH HOCKLEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW LAKE ALAN HENRY 33.06N 101.05W
10/29/2020 E1.5 INCH GARZA TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW HART 34.39N 102.11W
10/29/2020 E1.0 INCH CASTRO TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW GUTHRIE 33.63N 100.32W
10/29/2020 E1.2 INCH KING TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW FRIONA 34.64N 102.72W
10/29/2020 E4.6 INCH PARMER TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW DIMMITT 34.55N 102.32W
10/29/2020 E2.6 INCH CASTRO TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW CHILDRESS 34.42N 100.25W
10/29/2020 E1.6 INCH CHILDRESS TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL.
0800 AM SNOW BROWNFIELD 33.18N 102.27W
10/29/2020 E1.9 INCH TERRY TX CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SNOW/SLEET FALL
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