Texas, 2001

Dust Storm in Texas, February 24, 2001

February 24, 2001 · NWS OUN · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Dust originating from eastern New Mexico and southwest Texas blew across the area and was accompanied by wind gusts to 50 mph. Visibilities were occasionally reduced to less than 3 miles.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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 OUN wrote it up.

Dust originating from eastern New Mexico and southwest Texas blew across the area and was accompanied by wind gusts to 50 mph. Visibilities were occasionally reduced to less than 3 miles.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 2:10 PM CST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:10 PM CST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
210 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

A FEW SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR UNDER THE TROUGH
AXIS ACROSS NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING AS THE
UPPER LOW LIFTS QUICKLY INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST TONIGHT. WRAP AROUND
BOUNDARY LAYER CLOUDS WILL LIKELY MOVE ACROSS THE NORTH AS WELL
AFTER THE CLEAR SLOT OVER NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON
CLOSES WITH THE ADVANCE OF THE TROUGH AXIS. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL
PERSIST INTO EARLY EVENING OVER NORTH...CENTRAL...AND PART OF
WESTERN OKLAHOMA...SUFFICIENT FOR AN ADVISORY IN MOST OF THIS AREA.

AS THE SURFACE HIGH SETTLES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS SUNDAY
AFTERNOON, NORTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO DECREASE. BUT THE DRY
AIRMASS WILL BE SHORT-LIVED AS ANOTHER PATTERN SHOULD DEVELOP LATE
SUNDAY NIGHT TO SET THE STAGE FOR LIFT ACROSS THE EXPECTED NORTH
TEXAS LOW-LEVEL THERMAL GRADIENT. MONDAY MAY BE A DAY MUCH LIKE
FRIDAY WITH LOW CLOUDS, DRIZZLE, SHOWERS, AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS.
ALTHOUGH THE MONDAY'S SURFACE LAYER AIRMASS WILL NOT BE AS COLD AS
THAT ON FRIDAY, FORECAST FOG WILL NEED CONSIDERATION IN LATER
FORECASTS.

AFTER THE RAINY PATTERN MONDAY, A STRONG FRONT BRINGING COLDER AIR
IS SET TO ENTER NORTHERN OK TUESDAY MORNING. TUESDAY MAY BE A DAY
WITH FALLING TEMPERATURES IN THE NORTH AND VERY WARM CONDITIONS IN
THE SOUTH. WITH A BROAD UPPER TROUGH EXPECTED TO SIT OVER THE
SOUTHWEST U.S. INTO MID-WEEK, SEVERAL EPISODES OF PRECIPITATION ARE
POSSIBLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ALTHOUGH NONE OF THEM LOOK VERY
SIGNIFICANT BEYOND MONDAY, THE DISCOVERY...EVOLUTION...AND TIMING OF THESE
UPPER WAVES ARE HARDLY FORECAST BY ANY MODEL MORE THAN A DAY IN
ADVANCE. ANY PRECIPITATION TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WILL LIKELY
BE SNOW IN THE NORTH AND RAIN IN THE SOUTH.

FCSTID = 9
OKC   34  55  39  58 /   0   0   0  70
HBR   33  59  42  57 /   0   0   0  7<0
SPS   36  62  43  62 /   0   0   0  70
GAG   27  55  36  55 /  10   0   0  70
PNC   32  53  38  56 /  10   0   0  70
DUA   40  58  39  60 /   0   0   0  70

.OUN...
OK...NONE.
TX...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 24, 11:43 AM CST, 5 hours 17 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1143 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

TIME (CST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1057 AM    HWY 70 NEAR LAKE TEXOMA   OK   .88 INCH HAIL
02/24/01   BRYAN                           EM REPORT

1102 AM    DURANT                    OK   60 MPH WIND GUST
02/24/01   BRYAN                           EM REPORT

CW
Special weather statement, Feb 24, 12:30 PM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-241900-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1230 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

THERE IS NO RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THE REMAINDER OF THIS
AFTERNOON OR EVENING ACROSS CENTRAL AND WESTERN OKLAHOMA OR WESTERN
NORTH TEXAS. THE SYSTEM THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SEVERE WEATHER
THIS MORNING HAS MOVED EAST OF THE AREA.

30
Local storm report, Feb 24, 12:37 PM CST, 4 hours 23 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1237 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

TIME (CST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1015 AM    6N CAIRO                  OK   60 MPH WIND GUST
02/24/01   COAL                           RPT BY PUBLIC

CW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Wilbarger

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Wilbarger forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
34.081, -99.241 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Archer

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Archer forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
33.615, -98.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Baylor

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Baylor forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
33.617, -99.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Clay

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
33.786, -98.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Foard

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Foard forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
33.975, -99.778 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Hardeman

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Hardeman forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
34.290, -99.746 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Knox

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
33.606, -99.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Storm, Wichita

When
February 24, 5:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Wichita forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
33.988, -98.704 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Dust Storm
Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2001

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: 5231496, 5231497, 5231498, 5231499, 5231500, 5231501, 5231502, 5231503.