NWS Lubbock Local Weather Events

More Rain for West Texas

Map of rainfall that fell between the 10th and 16th of October 2008. Click on the image for a larger view.

Map of rainfall (inches) that fell between the 10th and 16th of October 2008. A majority of the rain fell between the 11th and 15th. Click on the image for a larger view.

For the fourth straight month West Texas received substantial rainfall during the middle of the month. The mid-October rainfall came in a couple of waves. The first rounds of rain fell across mainly the western portions of the area, and was enhanced by tropical moisture streaming up from Pacific Hurricane Norbert and an approaching storm system from the northwest. The remains of Norbert eventually passed by late on Sunday, the 12th of October.

After a brief respite, a cold front pushed through from the north on Monday (13 Oct) with little fanfare. However, by Monday night and Tuesday warmer air attempted to push northward and was lifted over the cooler air at ground level. This led to many areas of moderate to occasionally heavy rain. Finally, by Wednesday (15 Oct), things started to dry out as the abundant moisture lingering over the area began to decrease and shift eastward as the upper level storm system pulled away.

Still, the storm left anywhere from over one to nearly three and a half inches in its wake, with many locations recording in excess of two inches. Specifically, the above map shows that three general areas saw near or above three inches over the entire event: the southwest Texas Panhandle into the northwest South Plains, much of Garza and Crosby Counties, and from northern King County northward into Childress County.

To read about other rain events across West Texas these past few months choose from the below list:

September Record Rain

Mid-August Rain

Mid-July Rain