Powerful winter storm brings widespread snow to West Texas |
|||
Snow covering Texas Tech on Sunday (10 January 2021). The picture is courtesy of Brad Tollerfson. | |||
The first winter storm of 2021 affected the South Plains region during the weekend of January 9th and 10th. The system brought widespread snowfall to the South Plains, Rolling Plains and southern Texas Panhandle. The storm system responsible for the widespread wintry precipitation dropped southeastward through the Intermountain west before turning more eastward as it emerged over New Mexico late on Saturday, the 9th. |
|||
Mid-level water vapor loop captured from GOES-16 on Saturday evening (9 January 2021) shows a large storm system approaching through New Mexico. The animation is valid from 6:46 pm to 7:31 pm CST. | |||
Well in advance of the upper level storm system, chilly, cloudy, drizzle and damp conditions prevailed over the South Plains on Saturday. Areas of freezing fog and freezing drizzle occurred through Saturday evening, creating spotty slick spots. Then, as lift from the system overspread the region, a heavier wintry mix quickly changed over to snow late Saturday evening/night. | |||
Lubbock radar animation valid from 1:00 am to 8:28 am on Sunday (10 January 2021). | |||
Steady snow, heavy at times, affected most of the South Plains from late Saturday night into Sunday morning, with light snow lingering over much of the region through Sunday afternoon before diminishing. Many people woke up to a wintry scene Sunday morning. Along with the persistent light snow, temperatures were stuck in the 20s and 30s on Sunday, though thankfully winds were on the light side. | |||
Heavy snow blanketing Brownfield Sunday morning (10 January 2021). The picture is courtesy of David Drummond. | |||
The heavy wet snow created beautiful scenes, though the snow-covered roadways did make for hazardous travel. The sticky snow was also great for making snow balls and snowman, though it was not as fun to shovel due to its weight. | |||
|
|||
Infrared satellite loop captured from GOES-16 on Sunday (10 January 2021). The animation is valid from 7:41 am to 8:26 am CST. | |||
Even as the center of the storm system shifted to the east, plenty of lower to mid-level moisture did get wrapped westward into West Texas through Sunday afternoon. This kept clouds and periods of light snow in place. | |||
|
|||
A blanket of snow near Estelline, TX, on Sunday (10 January 2021). The picture is courtesy of Farrah Holcomb. | |||
The following day, Monday (11 January), skies became mostly clear. This allowed us to see the extent of the snow cover from satellite (below). A large swath of snow can be seen from the southeast Colorado plains into eastern New Mexico and much of the South Plains and northern Permian Basin, then eastward into the central part of Texas. Although clouds obscured the view of the ground (and snow) further south and east, Austin and College Station into East Texas and northern Louisiana and northern and central Mississippi also recorded significant snowfall. |
|||
"True color" satellite loop captured from GOES-16 on Monday (11 January 2021). The animation is valid from 11:16 am to 12:01 pm CST. | |||
The big snowfall winner was Denver City where they measured 11 inches. Many other locations from the central and southern South Plains into the northern Permian Basin measured between 6 and 8 inches. Officially, the Lubbock Airport record 7.6 inches of snow on the 10th, breaking the previous daily snowfall record of 4.5 inches (set in 1936). | |||
Heavy snow in Denver City (left) and near Littlefield (right) on Sunday (10 January 2021). The pictures are courtesy of our COOP observers Clinton Bowman and Vadarae Gohlke. | |||
Further north, across the southern Texas Panhandle, northern South Plains and northern and central Rolling Plains, snow totals were lighter, generally in the 1 to 3-inch range. | |||
Graphic displaying the approximate snowfall that fell on Sunday (10 January 2021). Actual snow reports collected by the National Weather Service can be SEEN HERE. A plot of statewide snowfall for this event can be ACCESSED HERE. | |||
The heavy wet snow did bring much-need beneficial moisture to the region. Officially, Lubbock recorded 0.68 inches of liquid (melted snow) from this event, the most since late October of 2020. Liquid equivalent totals generally ranged from around a 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch across the southern Texas Panhandle to 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch over the southern South and Rolling Plains. A plot of the melted snow totals from the West Texas Mesonet can be VIEWED HERE. The preliminary snow reports collected during this event can be found below. |
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1240 PM CST MON JAN 11 2021 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0800 AM SNOW 2 NE WEST END PLACE 33.60N 101.93W 01/10/2021 E2.8 INCH LUBBOCK TX SOCIAL MEDIA AVERAGED SNOWFALL WITH A RANGE FROM 1.5"-3.7" NEAR NORTH SLIDE AND AUBURN. 0830 AM HEAVY SNOW 3 WNW WOODROW 33.46N 101.89W 01/10/2021 M6.1 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE 0830 AM HEAVY SNOW 3 ENE WOLFFORTH 33.52N 101.97W 01/10/2021 M4.5 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE 0830 AM HEAVY SNOW WOODROW 33.45N 101.84W 01/10/2021 M4.0 INCH LUBBOCK TX SOCIAL MEDIA 0830 AM SNOW MATADOR 34.02N 100.82W 01/10/2021 M3.0 INCH MOTLEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER 0835 AM HEAVY SNOW 1 S LEVELLAND 33.57N 102.36W 01/10/2021 E5.8 INCH HOCKLEY TX PUBLIC GRASSY SURFACES HAD 5.5"-6". 0850 AM HEAVY SNOW SLATON 33.44N 101.64W 01/10/2021 M5.5 INCH LUBBOCK TX SOCIAL MEDIA 0857 AM SNOW SHALLOWATER 33.69N 101.99W 01/10/2021 M3.1 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE 0920 AM HEAVY SNOW 4 ESE LUBBOCK SOUTH PLA 33.51N 101.86W 01/10/2021 E4.8 INCH LUBBOCK TX BROADCAST MEDIA NEAR 93RD AND AVE V. 0925 AM SNOW ANTON 33.81N 102.16W 01/10/2021 M3.2 INCH HOCKLEY TX PUBLIC 0945 AM HEAVY SNOW 1 SE DENVER CITY 32.96N 102.82W 01/10/2021 E9.0 INCH YOAKUM TX CO-OP OBSERVER 0945 AM HEAVY SNOW CROSBYTON 33.64N 101.24W 01/10/2021 M6.0 INCH CROSBY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STILL SNOWING. 0953 AM SNOW VIGO PARK 34.65N 101.50W 01/10/2021 E3.0 INCH SWISHER TX CO-OP OBSERVER 1010 AM SNOW SMYER 33.59N 102.16W 01/10/2021 M4.4 INCH HOCKLEY TX SOCIAL MEDIA 1114 AM SNOW 3 S ESTELLINE 34.50N 100.44W 01/10/2021 E2.0 INCH HALL TX EMERGENCY MNGR LIGHT SNOW STILL FALLING. 1130 AM HEAVY SNOW JAYTON 33.25N 100.57W 01/10/2021 M5.0 INCH KENT TX CO-OP OBSERVER 1200 PM HEAVY SNOW 4 SSW LUBBOCK 33.53N 101.88W 01/10/2021 M5.8 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS OFFICE LIGHT SNOW STILL FALLING. 1220 PM HEAVY SNOW 1 NE DOUD 33.56N 101.92W 01/10/2021 M5.8 INCH LUBBOCK TX SOCIAL MEDIA NEAR 34TH AND SLIDE. 1230 PM SNOW SHALLOWATER 33.69N 101.99W 01/10/2021 M3.9 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE STORM TOTAL SNOW 1234 PM HEAVY SNOW LEVELLAND 33.58N 102.37W 01/10/2021 M5.3 INCH HOCKLEY TX SOCIAL MEDIA STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL NEAR SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE. 0117 PM HEAVY SNOW 7 SSW LUBBOCK 33.49N 101.87W 01/10/2021 M6.3 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE STORM TOTAL SNOW. 0350 PM SNOW FLOYDADA 33.98N 101.34W 01/10/2021 M5.0 INCH FLOYD TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW ASPERMONT 33.14N 100.22W 01/10/2021 M5.0 INCH STONEWALL TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW BROWNFIELD 33.18N 102.27W 01/10/2021 M7.0 INCH TERRY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW DENVER CITY 32.97N 102.83W 01/10/2021 M11.0 INCH YOAKUM TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW CROSBYTON 33.64N 101.24W 01/10/2021 M7.0 INCH CROSBY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW MULESHOE 34.23N 102.73W 01/10/2021 M2.5 INCH BAILEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW PLAINS 33.19N 102.83W 01/10/2021 M7.0 INCH YOAKUM TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW SILVERTON 34.47N 101.30W 01/10/2021 M4.0 INCH BRISCOE TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW TURKEY 34.39N 100.90W 01/10/2021 M5.0 INCH HALL TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW WHITE RIVER LAKE 33.48N 101.10W 01/10/2021 M7.0 INCH CROSBY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW ROPESVILLE 33.41N 102.15W 01/10/2021 M6.0 INCH HOCKLEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0400 PM SNOW 3 W WOODROW 33.45N 101.90W 01/10/2021 M7.0 INCH LUBBOCK TX NWS EMPLOYEE STORM TOTAL SNOW 0410 PM SNOW MATADOR 34.02N 100.82W 01/10/2021 M5.0 INCH MOTLEY TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0430 PM SNOW 6 NNE LUBBOCK 33.67N 101.82W 01/10/2021 M7.6 INCH LUBBOCK TX WX OBSERVER FAA STORM TOTAL SNOW 0430 PM SNOW TAHOKA 33.16N 101.79W 01/10/2021 M8.0 INCH LYNN TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW 0500 PM SNOW TELL 34.38N 100.39W 01/10/2021 M1.5 INCH CHILDRESS TX CO-OP OBSERVER STORM TOTAL SNOW