Severe thunderstorms developed over the northwest through central Texas panhandle during the afternoon and evening hours producing large hail and an isolated tornado which stayed over open country and did not cause any damage.
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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.
Severe thunderstorms developed over the northwest through central Texas panhandle during the afternoon and evening hours producing large hail and an isolated tornado which stayed over open country and did not cause any damage.
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 23, 2:21 AM CST, 12 hours 39 minutes earlier.
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 221 AM CST FRI MAR 23 2001 VORT MAX SLOWLY PUSHING EAST THROUGH SOUTHEAST COLORADO AND NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO CAUSING OUR SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS THIS MORNING. RAIN SHOULD PUSH INTO WESTERN OKLAHOMA OR DISSIPATE BY SUNRISE. VORT MAX HANGS AROUND THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE FOR MOST OF THE DAY. THIS COUPLED WITH SURFACE MOISTURE...UPSLOPE AND INSTABILITY LEADS ME TO THINK THAT GOING FORECAST IS RIGHT ON TRACK WITH POPS TODAY. WE WILL INCREASE POPS FOR TONIGHT AS NEXT STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH AND NEXT SHORT WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA IN WEST/NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. WE WILL LOWER SOME TEMPERATURES ON SATURDAY. AGREE WITH LBB THAT VERY LITTLE SUNSHINE WILL EQUAL VERY SMALL TEMPERATURE RISES. REST OF THE FORECAST LOOKS TO BE PRETTY MUCH ON TRACK...BUT WE WILL INTRODUCE SOME POPS FOR MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. IT NOW LOOKS LIKE THE MODELS ARE LATCHING ONTO THE IDEA THAT ANOTHER COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THE PANHANDLES MONDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER SHORT WAVE MOVES TOWARDS THE PANHANDLES TUESDAY AS WESTERN RIDGE IS REPLACED BY A TROUGH. A FEW NUMBERS TO PONDER: DHT 67/a38 43/35 57 464 AMA 70/42 48/36 62 364 BVR 64/41 47/36 58 464 .AMA... .TX...NONE. .OK...NONE. GOEHRING
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-240300- TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 100 PM CST FRI MAR 23 2001 THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT OVER ABOUT THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. THE SLIGHT RISK AREA IS MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM ROMERO TO SOUTH OF CANYON NEAR HAPPY. ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED LATER TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN AND NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO AS WELL AS SOUTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON TODAY. A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IS IN PLACE OVER THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES. IN ADDITION...A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE WILL MOVE EAST OUT OF NEW MEXICO AND INTO WEST TEXAS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE BEST LIFT AND UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS FROM THIS UPPER TROUGH WILL BE JUST SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE SLIGHT RISK AREA OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST SECTION OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL...ALTHOUGH SOME DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THE OVERALL TORNADO THREAT APPEARS MINIMAL AT THIS TIME...AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. OUTSIDE OF THE SEVERE THREAT...THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL OVER THE SOUTHWEST <TEXAS PANHANDLE SHOULD BE ON ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. SCHNEIDER
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-240300- TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 212 PM CST FRI MAR 23 2001 THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT OVER ABOUT THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES. THE SLIGHT RISK AREA IS MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM NORTHWEST OF FORGAN TO HEDLEY. THIS DOES INCLUDE THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF AMARILLO...BORGER...DALHART...CANYON... HEREFORD...DUMAS...CLARENDON...SPEARMAN...GUYMON...STRATFORD...BOISE CITY...CLAUDE...AND PERRYTON. ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE EXTREME EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED LATER TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN AND NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO AS WELL AS SOUTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON TODAY. A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IS IN PLACE OVER THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES. IN ADDITION...A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE WILL MOVE EAST OUT OF NEW MEXICO AND INTO WEST TEXAS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE SLIGHT RISK AREA OVER THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY THREATS WITH THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS. OUTSIDE OF THE SEVERE THREAT...THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL ALL ACROSS THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES SHOULD BE ON ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION LATER TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. SCHNEIDER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Three public reports of a rope...thin tornado with no damage. The tornado remained over open country.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2001Warnings 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: 5236285, 5236284, 5236286, 5236287, 5236288.