Year 2005 Weather Review

2005 Weather Year in Review

The National Weather Service in Amarillo has compiled a summary of notable weather records and events for the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles for 2005. Included in this release are all the monthly statistics, records, and weather highlights for 2005.

2005 was an interesting year! Although 2004 was the 9th wettest year on record, 2005 will likely go down as the 15th driest year on record. A rare May snowstorm occurred on May 2nd, which was one of the latest measurable snowfalls on record. The biggest snowstorm occurred in mid March when nearly a foot fell in Amarillo. Widespread severe thunderstorms, 6 tornadoes, and flash flooding struck the area on June 11th, including the Amarillo area. There were a total of 15 tornadoes for the year, which was below the average of 21. The year ended slightly warmer than normal despite the fact that 7 months recorded cooler than normal temperatures. In Amarillo...there was only one day when the temperature met or surpassed 100 degrees and there was only one day when the temperature fell below zero.

JANUARY
High for the month: 72 / 21st
Low for the month: 14 / 15th
Average monthly temperature: 39.7 / 3.9 above normal
Monthly precipitation: 1.43/ 0.80" above normal
Monthly snowfall: 2.3/ 1.7" below normal
Record: Tied warm minimum of 45 on the 10th
An ice storm on the 4th and 5th of the month produced ¼ to ½ of ice across the northern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. A second winter storm on the 30th and 31st dumped 6 to 8 inches of snow across the northern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles.

FEBRUARY
High for the month: 73 / 14th
Low for the month: 23 / 9th
Average monthly temperature: 43.2 / 2.6 above normal
Monthly precipitation: 0.67 / 0.12" above normal
Monthly snowfall: 0.3" / 3.6" below normal
No records were set this month.
Severe weather struck early across the panhandles with isolated severe thunderstorms occurring on two days. The first event on the 19th produced wind gusts in excess of 60 MPH across the northwest Texas Panhandle in Hartley and Moore Counties. The second event occurred across the southern Texas Panhandle producing hail up to 1 inch in Potter and Randall Counties on the 22nd.

MARCH
High for the month: 83 / 12th
Low for the month: 21 / 17th
Average monthly temperature: 45.6 / 2.3 below normal
Monthly precipitation: 1.92 / 0.79 above normal
Monthly snowfall: 13.8
Record: Snowfall of 13.8 exceeded previous record of 1.8 in 2001
Two winter storms produced heavy snow across the panhandles. On the 15th and 16th, a storm system dropped 4 to 13 inches of snow across most of the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle, with the heaviest snow totals of 10 to 13 inches across Potter, Randall, Oldham, and Deaf Smith Counties. The second winter storm hit on the 26th and 27th with up to 8 inches of snow in Cimarron County in the Oklahoma Panhandle and spotty local amounts of 4 to 6 inches of snow across the central Texas Panhandle.

APRIL
High for the month: 83 / 20th
Low for the month: 32 / 12th
Average monthly temperature: 54.9 / 1.3 below normal
Monthly precipitation: 0.60 / 0.73 below normal
Monthly snowfall: None
Tornadoes: 1
Most of the severe weather occurred on the 17th, 18th, and 20th. There were numerous reports of 1 to 2 inch hail with the largest hail of 2.75 inches falling in Roberts County on the 20th. In addition, the season’s first tornado was reported in Donley County near Clarendon on the 18th. The F0 tornado caused minor damage to fences and trees as the tornado remained over rural areas.

MAY
High for the month: 95 / 21st
Low for the month: 32 / 2nd
Average monthly temperature: 64 / 1.2 below normal
Monthly precipitation: 2.65 / 0.15 above normal
Monthly Snowfall: 4.7
Record: High minimum temperature 64 degrees on 11th exceeded 63 degrees in 1962.
4.7 inches of snowfall on May 2 first recorded snowfall on this date.
Tornadoes: 3
May was A relatively quiet month for tornadoes and severe storms. Severe thunderstorms occurred on only 8 days of the month. Ironically, the most interesting event of the month was the snow storm that produced 4 to 5 inches of snow across the western and central Texas Panhandle, mainly in Hartley, Oldham, Carson, and Deaf Smith Counties on the 2nd. The latest measurable snowfall occurred on May 6-7, 1917 when a total of 9.1 inches fell, but only 1.9 inches accumulated on the ground.
Severe Storms – The first severe storms of the month occurred on the 10th with hail up to 1.75 inches across the southeast Texas Panhandle.
More Severe Storms – Storms on the 12th and 13th of the month produced widespread severe weather across the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles with hail reported up to 2.75 inches in Armstrong and Randall Counties, and an F0 Tornado in Hemphill County near Gageby on the 13th.
Even More Severe Storms – The next round of storms occurred in the last week of the month. Storms on the 23rd produced hail up to 1 inch in the northwest Texas Panhandle and wind gusts in excess of 60 mph in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Storms on the 25th produced hail up to 1.75 inches in the Oklahoma and northeast Texas Panhandle. Isolated storms on the 27th and 29th produced hail up to 1 inch in Moore and Cimarron Counties. More widespread activity on the 31st produced hail up to 2 inches and an F0 tornado in rural areas of southeast Amarillo. The heavy rain also resulted in flash flooding across the eastern portions of Amarillo.

JUNE
High for the month: 97 / 29th and 30th
Low for the month: 50 / 4th and 5th
Average monthly temperature: 74.8 / 0.4 above normal
Monthly precipitation: 1.87 / 1.41 below normal
Tornadoes: 10
The first half of June was very active for severe weather.
Texas Panhandle– Severe storms occurred in the Texas Panhandle on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, and 16th. The 9th was a very active day with multiple reports of hail sizes of up to 2.75 inches in Armstrong and Hutchinson Counties, wind gusts over 65 mph in Wheeler and Hutchinson Counties, and two F0 tornadoes reported in Carson and Donley Counties. The 11th was the most active day with hail up to 4.5 inches in Armstrong County, wind gusts over 60 mph in Potter, Armstrong, and Deaf Smith Counties, and six F0 tornados. Two of the tornadoes occurred in Deaf Smith County and the other 4 in Armstrong County. In addition, significant urban flooding occurred in western sections of Amarillo along with minor flooding in rural areas. There was an estimated 1.1 million dollars in damage as a result of all the severe storms in June.
Oklahoma Panhandle - Severe storms occurred on the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and 16th, with hail of up to 2.75 inches on the 10th in Cimarron County, and wind gusts of over 70 mph in Texas County on the 6th. An F0 tornado was reported in Beaver County near Forgan on the 9th, but remained over open country.

July
High for the month: 102 / 3rd
Low for the month: 53 / 28th and 29th
Average monthly temperature:
Monthly precipitation: 1.15
Records: Absolute minimum temperature 57 degrees tied on 27th(1994)
Absolute minimum temperature lowered to 53 degrees on 28th(55/1994) and 29th(57/1900).
Tornadoes: 1
July started off fairly active, but no severe weather was reported after the 12th of the month. Severe weather was reported on the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 11th, and 12th. The most active day was the 6th when 2.50 inch hail fell and 70 MPH winds occurred in Oldham County. Also, a brief F0 tornado in occurred Hartley County near Channing, but the tornado remained over open country.

AUGUST
High for the month: 95
Low for the month: 58
Average monthly temperature: 75.7
Monthly precipitation: 3.93
A few severe thunderstorms occurred mainly during the latter half of the month. The only severe weather in the Oklahoma Panhandle occurred on the 19th in Beaver County. The storm produced 1 inch hail and wind gusts up to 70 MPH. August 26th was the most active day of the month for severe weather in the Texas Panhandle. Hail was reported to be up to 1.75 inches in Carson County, and a wind gust of nearly 80 MPH occurred in Gray County which overturned several tractor trailer trucks.

SEPTEMBER
High for the month: 96
Low for the month: 45
Average monthly temperature: 72.6
Monthly precipitation: 0.14
Severe weather occurred on the 13th, 15th, 17th, and 30th of the month in the Texas Panhandle with the strongest storm on the 17th. This storm produced hail up to 4.50 inches in Donley County near Hedley. The only severe storm in the Oklahoma Panhandle occurred on the 30th where penny size hail was observed. The limited precipitation qualified this month as the third driest September on record.

OCTOBER
High for the month: 89
Low for the month: 26
Average monthly temperature: 57.6
Monthly precipitation: 0.42
Records: Tied for a daily record low of 33° on the 11th. Tied daily record low of 26° on the 23rd.
Severe weather was sparse in October with storms producing strong wind gusts. A severe storm in the Oklahoma Panhandle on the 30th produced wind gusts near 70 MPH and later produced a wind gust near 60 MPH in Ochiltree and Lipscomb Counties on the 31st.

DECEMBER
High for the month: 75
Low for the month: -3
Average monthly temperature: 36.5
Monthly precipitation: 0.03
Monthly Snowfall: T
There were two winter storms in December. The first occurred on the 7th and 8th producing one to two inches of snow across the Oklahoma Panhandle. The second storm occurred from the 17th through the 19th and produced light freezing rain and freezing fog. Many areas across the panhandles were coated with a thin layer of ice creating very hazardous driving and walking conditions. Record cold temperatures were observed from the 6th through the 8th. The temperature fell to -3 degrees on the 8th, which was the coldest temperature in Amarillo since Feb. 4, 1996 when the temperature also fell to -3 degrees. Fire weather was also a concern through the end of December. Warm temperatures, dry conditions, and wind created hazardous conditions for grass fires.