Heavy Snow in Texas, November 7, 2000

A strong cold front moved through much of West Texas on the 6th. An area of high pressure settled across the area behind the cold front on the 7th as an upper level disturbance moved into the southern Rocky Mountains. Ahead of this disturbance, warm and moist air was lifted over the shallow cold air mass that was already in place, resulting in widespread cloudiness and precipitation. The precipitation quickly changed to snow early in the morning on the 7th over the South Plains and the extreme southern Panhandle. Moderate to heavy snow continued through the day and eventually developed into the Low Rolling Plains during the afternoon and evening hours. Widespread snowfall accumulations of four to six inches were reported across the extreme southern Panhandle and the South Plains. As much as eight inches of snow fell across portions of Swisher and Lamb Counties. Heavy snow also fell in a few locations east of the Caprock with four to five inches of snow reported in portions of Stonewall, Kent, and Cottle Counties. A prolonged period of warm weather prior to this event helped minimize the problems that are typically associated with such heavy snowfall as much of it melted on the warm road surfaces and thus caused few travel problems.