Texas, 1997

Heavy Snow in Texas, December 23 to 24, 1997

December 23 to 24, 1997 · NWS AMA · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The strong upper level storm system moved out of the Texas Panhandlle and produced from six to ten inches of snow across the northeast Texas Panhandle.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.

The strong upper level storm system moved out of the Texas Panhandlle and produced from six to ten inches of snow across the northeast Texas Panhandle.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Hemphill

When
December 23, 6:00 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Hemphill forecast zone
Coordinates
35.838, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hutchinson

When
December 23, 6:00 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Hutchinson forecast zone
Coordinates
35.840, -101.355 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Gray

When
December 23, 6:00 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Gray forecast zone
Coordinates
35.401, -100.813 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lipscomb

When
December 23, 6:00 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lipscomb forecast zone
Coordinates
36.278, -100.273 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Roberts

When
December 23, 6:00 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Roberts forecast zone
Coordinates
35.839, -100.813 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ochiltree

When
December 23, 6:00 PM CST to December 24, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Ochiltree forecast zone
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
36.278, -100.816 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The weight of the heavy snow caused a metal awning to collapse at a car dealership in Perryton, Texas damaging fourteen cars.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5623702, 5623703, 5623704, 5623734, 5623735, 5623736.