The 2011 Weather Review for the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles

     Panhandle weather is often described as extreme and 2011 certainly fit the bill.  A strong La Nina episode in the central Pacific Ocean significantly influenced the weather pattern across the Panhandles for most of the year.  Due to this, 2011 will be remembered as the driest and one of the hottest years on record.

     Amazingly, only one month in 2011 ended up with above normal precipitation -- December.  Four of the first five months out of the year (January, March, April, and May) combined to experience only 0.25 inches of precipitation!  Well below normal precipitation continued into the middle of August before the weather pattern became more favorable for precipitation.  The final three months of the year combined to produce almost half of the annual precipitation at Amarillo.  For the year, Amarillo only received 7.01 inches of precipitation, easily placing it at as the driest year on record.

     Amarillo typically averages about 18 inches of snow per year, and we measured just over 19 inches of snow, despite the historic drought.  This was mainly due to three storm systems that combined to bring almost 14 inches of snow – one in early February, the second in late October, and the last on Christmas Day. 

     The heat was also another major story, particularly between June and August when numerous daily temperature records were tied and/or broken.  Some notable temperature records that were broken at Amarillo this year include the all-time record high (111° F, set on June 26), the most number of 100-degree days (50 days), the most consecutive days of 90-degree temperatures (50 days), and the hottest average monthly temperature on record (July at 85.2° F).  Only February and December have the distinction as being the only months this year with below normal temperatures.  Overall, 2011 will go down as the 7th warmest year on record at Amarillo.

     2011 will also be remembered as a quiet year for severe weather.  The severe weather season started slowly but did increase slightly in June when all 4 tornadoes that were reported in the Panhandles this year occurred on June 11.  However, since 1950, this was the 6th latest start to a year without a tornado in the Panhandles.  The Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles typically see about 21 tornadoes per year, and this year, all 4 tornadoes that were reported were weak.  Most of the thunderstorms this year were responsible for producing straight line wind damage, including the 120-mph wind gust that occurred with a thunderstorm in Beaver County, OK on August 9.
 

YEAR 2011 SUMMARY FOR AMARILLO

    The year started off on a quiet note with minor seesawing of temperatures, but overall, near normal temperatures prevailed.  With La Nina close to its peak in the central Pacific Ocean, the jet stream stayed well north of the area through most of the month.  As a result, most locations saw very little precipitation.

    The upper-level pattern broke down drastically at the beginning of the month and allowed a powerful arctic cold front to move south through the area.  Record cold temperatures and extremely low wind chills were observed across the Panhandles between February 1 and 3.  In fact, the second lowest wind chill value (-36° F) ever recorded by an Oklahoma Mesonet site occurred on February 1 at Boise City, OK.  A winter storm affected the area several days later on February 8 and 9, dropping several inches of snow across the Panhandles, including 12.0 inches at Canadian, TX.  
    After the snows and cold temperatures, a classic La Nina pattern re-emerged by the middle of the month.  This pattern resulted in warm, windy, and dry conditions for the last half of the month.  As a result, fire weather conditions rapidly deteriorated and led to several wildfires.  The most notable of these occurred on February 27 when a wildfire outbreak burned over 70,000 acres across the Texas Panhandle and consumed several residences in Potter and Randall Counties.

    The La Nina pattern continued to persist into March, resulting in very warm temperatures and very little precipitation.  Several smaller wildfires affected parts of the Panhandles, but the most notable wildfire occurred on March 22 just north of Guymon.  This fire burned over 7,000 acres and destroyed two residences.

April
    Hi: 94° F, 29th
    Low: 32° F, 16th
    Average: 60.1° F (3.9° F above normal)
    Precipitation: 0.05 inches (1.28 inches below normal)
    Snowfall: Trace
    Records: This was the 7th driest April on record.
                   Set the record high temperature of 88° F on the 2nd.
                   Set the record high temperature of 91° F on the 3rd.
                   Set the record high temperature of 90° F on the 9th.
                   Tied the record high temperature of 94° F on the 29th.
   
    The heat and drought began to worsen during April, and wildfires continued to rage on with very little relief from precipitation.  Once again, another wildfire outbreak occurred on April 9 and 10 and burned tens of thousands of acres.  The month was extremely quiet from a severe weather perspective.  However, the first severe storm of the season occurred near Spearman, TX where quarter size hail was reported on April 19.  Other isolated severe storms developed on April 24, 25, and 26 but only produced large hail. 

May
    Hi: 104° F, 29th
    Low: 33° F, 3rd
    Average: 66.7° F (1.5° F above normal)
    Precipitation: 0.08 inches (2.42 inches below normal)
    Snowfall: Trace
    Records: This was the 3rd driest May on record.
                    Set the record high temperature of 100° F on the 28th.
                    Set the record high temperature of 104° F on the 29th.
                    Set the record warm low temperature of 73° F on the 30th.
                    Set the May record high temperature of 104° F on the 29th.
                    Set the May record warm low temperature of 73° F on the 30th.

    With the La Nina pattern continuing, May was the third straight month with less than 0.10 inches of precipitation measured at Amarillo.  May typically marks the time of the year when fire weather conditions begin improving as the jet stream begins lifting north, favoring weaker winds.  However, the pattern continued to remain favorable for wildfires, with May 29 being particularly notable.  In fact, on May 29, a wildfire developed on the northwest side of Amarillo and destroyed seven homes before being contained.
    Although May is climatologically the most active month for severe weather in the Panhandles, there was very little in the way of severe weather.  Early morning storms on May 11 produced wind damage in Amarillo and Borger.  Severe storms also developed on May 31 and produced several reports of large hail across the southwestern and central Texas Panhandle, including hen egg size (2.00 inches) hail near Bootleg, TX.

    Due to the ongoing and intensifying drought, the big story was the heat when several record high temperatures were set during June.  In fact, Amarillo actually broke its all-time record high two days apart, first on June 24 and then on June 26.  June also ended up being the most active month for severe weather in the Panhandles in 2011.  The only four tornadoes that were reported in the Panhandles this year occurred on June 11 and mainly affected the eastern half of the Oklahoma Panhandle and the northeastern Texas Panhandle.  Three EF-0 tornadoes occurred near Follett and Darrouzett, TX and Boyd, OK.  An EF-1 tornado occurred near Tyron, OK.  In addition to the tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds were also reported.  Another severe weather event occurred on June 28 and resulted in several reports of wind damage across Beaver County.  In addition to the severe weather, wildfires also continued to be a problem.

    The drought began to reach its peak by late July and early August.  Due to the dry soils, temperatures were above normal every day of the month across the area, and in many instances, new record temperatures continued to be set.  The most impressive statistic is that July ended up being the warmest of any month ever on record (since 1892) at Amarillo!  The good news is that the winds finally began to subside, which allowed the threat for wildfires to diminish greatly.  Hit and miss showers and thunderstorms provided some relief from the heat, but almost all areas still saw well below normal precipitation.  Any thunderstorms that formed were often accompanied by very strong wind gusts.  On July 22, a collapsing thunderstorm produced an 81-mph wind gust at Amarillo. 

    Between June 21 and August 10 (50 consecutive days), the high temperature at Amarillo each day was 90 degrees or higher, which broke the previous record of the most consecutive 90-degree days.  The record 50th and final 100-degree temperature of the year at Amarillo occurred on August 31 when the high hit 103° F.  A cold front finally moved through the area on August 11, bringing a brief break from the heat and allowing most locations to remain below 90° F.  Largely due to a tap of monsoonal moisture across New Mexico, prospects for showers and thunderstorms increased across the area.  On August 9, severe thunderstorms impacted much of the central Texas Panhandle and the eastern Oklahoma Panhandle.  120-mph straight line winds caused damage to hog farms near Beaver, OK while 90-mph winds caused damage near Pampa, TX.

    The oppressive heat relented some in September as a series of cold fronts moved through the area about every week.  However, consistent opportunities for precipitation were still few and far between.

    Very warm temperatures continued through the first part of the month, including the last 90° F temperature at Amarillo on October 2.  Occasional cold fronts brought opportunities for precipitation, especially near the end of the month.  Enough cold air was present along with an abundance of moisture to produce snowfall across much of the southern Texas Panhandle on October 27 with 3.1 inches of snow measured at Amarillo.  Severe thunderstorms developed on October 11 across the eastern portions of the Panhandles and produced large hail up to the size of baseballs Lefors, TX.

    November was marked by frequent temperature swings, but overall, the month remained more mild than normal.  Some areas were fortunate to see beneficial rainfall, but these areas were hit or miss.  Severe storms are extremely rare in November, but a late season severe weather event occurred on November 7 and produced the largest known hailstone (2.00 inches) in November in the Panhandles near Claude, TX.

    The big story of December was relief from the drought and above normal temperatures the region had been experiencing since the spring.  December was actually the wettest month that the area has seen all year.  Furthermore, it was the first month since November 2010 that Amarillo received above normal precipitation for a month.  December was one of the few months in 2011 that actually featured below normal temperatures.  The biggest thing that helped alleviate the drought conditions was several snow storms that hit the area during December.   On December 4, a strong cold front moved through the region which resulted in snow falling during the early morning through the early afternoon hours of December 5.  Snowfall accumulations ranged from 4.5 inches in the western Panhandles to a trace in the east central Texas Panhandles.  The biggest snow storm came December 19 and 20 as a strong low pressure system approached the region and produced very heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions across the western Oklahoma Panhandle and northwestern Texas Panhandle.  Kenton, Oklahoma received 15 inches of snow while areas south of I-40 received hardly any snow.
    Less than a week later, many southern Panhandle residents awoke to snow on Christmas Day.  A low pressure system just south of the area helped develop snow bands that started moving into the area early on Christmas morning.  This snow lasted through much of the day and provided Amarillo with its 11th White Christmas since 1892.  Amarillo officially recorded 4.2 inches of snow for the day making it the second snowiest Christmas on record.  Other areas around the south central Texas Panhandle received anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow.