A developing upper low pressure system tracked from Utah across southern New Mexico and then northeast across the southern Texas panhandle. a cold front ushered in much colder Canadian air and a moist upslope flow combined with the upper low to produce heavy snowfall over the northwestern Texas panhandle.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.
A developing upper low pressure system tracked from Utah across southern New Mexico and then northeast across the southern Texas panhandle. At the surface...a cold front ushered in much colder Canadian air and a moist upslope flow combined with the upper low to produce heavy snowfall over the northwestern Texas panhandle.
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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 4:31 AM CST, 7 hours 29 minutes earlier.
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
431 AM CST SAT MAR 17 2001
VIGOROUS UPPER LOW OVER FAR FAR NW NM THIS MORNING FCST TO ROTATE
SLOWLY SE THEN E THIS EVE INTO TX PNHDL. LTG STRIKE OVER FAR ERN
AZ PAST HOUR OWING TO STRENGTH OF SYSTEM WITH WORD FM ABQ OF QUICK
3-5 INCHES OF SN W OF TOWN ALREADY THIS MORNING. WITH THESE FACTORS
AND UNCERTAINTIES YET OF EXACT TRACK/WEAKENING PROCESS WILL BE
HESITANT TO UNDERPLAY IT/S IMPACT ON FA. MAIN CONCERN FIRST PERIOD
WILL BE POTENTIAL FOR ACCUMULATING SN AND PRECIP TYPE OVER
CNTRL/ERN ZNS. EXPECT ONSET OF PRECIP IN WRN ZNS TOWARD 18Z WITH
BULK OF PRECIP THIS AFTN IN W AND CNTRL AND OVERNIGHT IN CENTRAL AND
E. STILL DRY AIR TO BE OVERCOME SO EVAPORATIVE COOLING SHOULD OFFSET
ANY SOLAR INSOLATION BEFORE PRECIP BEGINS TO ALLOW FOR MAINLY SN W
AND CENTRAL ZNS. DEEP UPWARD FORCING EXPECTED TO MOVE E INTO PLAINS
TDAY AS WELL HELPING COOL COLUMN FURTHER. WHILE OUT E...THE DELAY IN
PRECIP AND WEAK WAA SHOULD RESULT IN MOSTLY LIQUID PRECIP OFF
CAPROCK. WILL UPGRADE W AND CNTRL ZNS TO WINTER STORM WARNING FOR
AFTN INTO TONIGHT AND KEEP WINTER STORM WATCH FOR TONIGHT IN E.
ACTUAL ACCUMULATIONS COULD BE SLOW INITIALLY DUE TO RELATIVELY WARM
GROUND SO WILL PLACE HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS IN OVERNIGHT PERIOD FOR
TOTALS RANGING FM 3 TO 8 INCHES IN WARNING AREA BY 12Z SUN.
EXPECT PRECIP TO LINGER INTO AT LEAST EARLY SUN AS UPSLOPE IS SLOW
TO RELAX AND SYSTEM SLOWLY PULLS INTO NW TX DURING THE DAY. PRECIP
TYPE STILL NOT ALL THAT CERTAIN OFF CAPROCK BUT AGAIN WITH LOW WET
BULB TEMPS FCST WILL EXPECT MOSTLY SN ON SUN. AVN CONTINUES BRINGING
ADDITIONAL SHRTWV ENERGY INTO BASE OF DEVELOPING TROUGH SO WILL NOT
WORD PRECIP AS EARLY. EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND WET/WHITE GROUND
WILL HOLD TEMPS DOWN WELL BELOW GUIDANCE VALUES. EXPECT CIGS TO LIFT
AND SCT SUN NIGHT WITH SOME LINGERING MID/HIGH CLOUDS.
IN EXTENDED...
TEMPS WILL WARM SLOWLY ON MON THEN GET A NICE BOOST TUE AS LEE
TROUGH DEVELOPS AND THCKNS RISE. WITH NW FLOW ALOFT AND RETURN SRLY
FLOW STILL NOT SURE A DRY FCST IS THE WAY TO GO THROUGH MID WEEK.
NEXT FNT STILL ON TRACK TO MV S ACROSS AREA ON WED PROVIDING A COOL
DOWN WITH COLDER TEMPS EXPECTED BY END OF WEEK.
COORD WITH LBB...DDC...ABQ.
.AMA...
.TX...WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTN AND TONIGHT
TXZ001>003-006>008-011>013-016>018.
WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT TXZ004>005-009>010-014>015-019>020.
.OK...WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTN AND TONIGHT OKZ001>002.
WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT OKZ003.
COBBThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Four to five inches of snow fell in and around Dalhart.Five inches of snow fell in and around Stratford.
Five inches of snow fell in and around Stratford.
Four to five inches of snow fell in and around Dalhart.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2001
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: 5236279, 5236280, 5236281.