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A deepening upper-level low pressue system began to dig southward over Arizona on the morning of Wednesday, January 21st. Ahead of this system, moist air was lifted over a cold front that stretched across the southern High Plains. On Wednesday morning, enhanced lift ahead of the upper-level low generated a band of precipitation from northeastern New Mexico into the Oklahoma and northern Texas Panhandles. As precipitation continued to fall, temperatures dropped to near freezing, and much of the rain changed to snow. Locations including Clayton, NM; Boise City, OK; Dalhart, TX; and Dumas, TX received 5 to 10 inches of snow from this round of snowfall. Showers continued through the day across the Panhandles, with the transition to snow occurring nearly everywhere by Wednesday evening. A particularly heavy band of snowfall developed along the Interstate 40 corridor late Wednesday night and produced anywhere from 7 to 13 inches between the New Mexico and Oklahoma state lines. During the period of heaviest snowfall, snow rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour were reported. The 11.0 inches measured before midnight on the 21st in Amarillo set a daily snowfall record, and came in at number 11 on the list of all-time snowiest calendar days for the city. The NWS office in Amarillo measured an offical 12.0 inches by the end of the snowfall Thursday morning. Though heavy snow limited travel and closed many businesses and schools across the Panhandles, the rain and very wet snow were viewed as a blessing in a region plagued by ongoing drought concerns.
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| January 21-22, 2015 snowfall totals from the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. |
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