A deepening low pressure system over the central Plains states resulted in a tight pressure gradient across the Texas panhandle during the late morning into the afternoon hours. S.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 deepening low pressure system over the central Plains states resulted in a tight pressure gradient across the Texas panhandle during the late morning into the afternoon hours. Thirty-nine mile an hour sustained winds at Dumas contributed to a fatality two miles south of Dumas on U.S. Highway 287 when a tractor-trailer rolled over and burst into flames.
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 Jan 1, 4:08 AM CST, 6 hours 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
408 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006
ADDED FIRE DANGER CONCERN ON TUESDAY (SECOND PARAGRAPH)
.DISCUSSION...
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE THE NEW YEAR WILL START OFF WITH FIRE
WEATHER CONCERNS AS AN INTENSE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE MOVING ACROSS
THE SOUTH PLAINS. STRONG WINDS...DRY FUELS...AND LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES WILL WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE AN EXTREMELY HIGH FIRE
DANGER. UPGRADED THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH TO A RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE
PANHANDLE REGION. THOUGH THE CRITERIA IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE MET UNTIL
THE AFTERNOON HOURS...COMMON SENSE LEADS US TO INCLUDE THE MORNING
HOURS SINCE THE STRONG WIND AND DRY FUEL COMBINATION WILL STILL BE A
VIABLE THREAT. OF COURSE...EXISTING WIND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN FOR THE
ENTIRE FORECAST AREA TODAY.
WINDS WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT ONCE THE SURFACE LOW SLIDES EAST AND THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT WEAKENS. THE NEXT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS STILL ON
TRACK TO PUSH THROUGH THE AREA ON TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT. ONCE
AGAIN...DRY LOW LEVELS WILL PRECLUDE ANY PRECIPITATION FROM
OCCURRING. WARMER SOUNDINGS ON TUESDAY RAISE TEMPERATURES TO NEAR
RECORD UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DOWNSLOPING WINDS. ALSO...BREEZY WINDS
ON TUESDAY WILL INCREASE THE FIRE DANGER AGAIN GIVEN THE PREVAILING
DRY CONDITIONS.
NORTHWEST FLOW EMERGES WEDNESDAY THEN LASTS THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. DRY
PATTERN SHOULD PERSIST WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WHILE MODIFIED
PACIFIC AIR REPLACES ITSELF WITH FRONTAL PASSAGES ON THURSDAY...
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AMARILLO TX 68 32 64 36 / 0 0 0 0
BEAVER OK 66 26 60 32 / 0 0 0 0
BOISE CITY OK 64 27 63 32 / 0 0 0 0
BORGER TX 70 37 64 39 / 0 0 0 0
BOYS RANCH TX 70 28 65 35 / 0 0 0 0
CANYON TX 69 29 66 35 / 0 0 0 0
CLARENDON TX 72 35 66 37 / 0 0 0 0
DALHART TX 65 25 62 32 / 0 0 0 0
GUYMON OK 66 30 64 32 / 0 0 0 0
HEREFORD TX 67 30 65 36 / 0 0 0 0
LIPSCOMB TX 71 29 62 33 / 0 0 0 0
PAMPA TX 70 37 63 39 / 0 0 0 0
SHAMROCK TX 74 35 65 35 / 0 0 0 0
WELLINGTON TX 77 37 68 35 / 0 0 0 0
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
BEAVER...CIMARRON...AND TEXAS.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
BEAVER...CIMARRON...AND TEXAS.
TX...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
ARMSTRONG...CARSON...COLLINGSWORTH...DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...
DONLEY...GRAY...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HEMPHILL...
HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...OCHILTREE...OLDHAM...
POTTER...RANDALL...ROBERTS...SHERMAN...AND WHEELER.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
ARMSTRONG...CARSON...COLLINGSWORTH...DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...
DONLEY...GRAY...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HEMPHILL...
HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...OCHILTREE...OLDHAM...
POTTER...RANDALL...ROBERTS...SHERMAN...AND WHEELER.
&&
09/08TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 600 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-021200- ARMSTRONG-BEAVER-CARSON-CIMARRON-COLLINGSWORTH-DALLAM-DEAF SMITH- DONLEY-GRAY-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-HEMPHILL-HUTCHINSON-LIPSCOMB-MOORE- OCHILTREE-OLDHAM-POTTER-RANDALL-ROBERTS-SHERMAN-TEXAS-WHEELER- 600 AM CST SUN JAN 1 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE... A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY ACROSS ALL OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES UNTIL 6 PM. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS...LOW AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...AND DRY GRASSES WILL ALL COMBINE AND CREATE AN EXTREME FIRE DANGER TODAY. A WIND ADVISORY IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES UNTIL 6 PM. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TODAY. STRONG WESTERLY AND NORTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND REDUCED VISIBLITIES MAY ACCOMPANY THE STRONG WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... A HIGH FIRE POTENTIAL IS ALSO POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY AS WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO THE PANHANDLES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. DRILLETTE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Moore | 2006-01-01 | 42 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2006
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: 5486450.