A very tight pressure gradient ahead of an approaching cold front resulted in strong west to southwest winds across the southwest Texas Panhandle during the early afternoon hours. No damage or injuries were reported.
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 very tight pressure gradient ahead of an approaching cold front resulted in strong west to southwest winds across the southwest Texas Panhandle during the early afternoon hours. No damage or injuries were reported.
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 Dec 14, 11:17 AM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 1117 AM CST SUN DEC 14 2008 .AVIATION... FOR THE 18Z TAFS...COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO SWEEP THROUGH THE REGION. THE FRONT IS ALREADY THROUGH KGUY...KDHT...AND KBGD. BY 18Z...EXPECT THE FRONT TO ALSO BE THROUGH KAMA. BASED ON UPSTREAM OBS...EXPECT WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 40 KTS...WILL THEREFORE ISSUE AN AWW SHORTLY. MVFR CEILINGS WILL NOT BE FAR BEHIND...AND EXPECT THE MVFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH MOST OF THE TAF PERIOD...THOUGH COULD BEGIN TO SEE IMPROVEMENT AFTER 15Z TOMORROW. SFJ && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 527 AM CST SUN DEC 14 2008/ AVIATION... THE COLD FRONT HAS SLOWED DOWN BY ONE OR TWO KNOTS FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST WHICH WILL LEAD TO A SLIGHTLY LATER FRONTAL PASSAGE AT THE TAF SITES. NOW HAVE THE FRONT MOVING THROUGH KGUY AT 13Z...KDHT AT 1430Z AND KAMA AT 17Z. STILL APPEARS MVFR CIGS WILL FOLLOW THE FRONT ALONG WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT SNOW A FEW HOURS AFTER THE FRONT. HOWEVER...HAVE BECOME LESS CONFIDENT ON SNOW BASED ON RECENT SURFACE OB AND SATELLITE TRENDS. THUS...HAVE TAKEN SNOW OUT OF KAMA...BUT LEFT MENTION IN KDHT AND KGUY. AM STILL CONCERNED OVER FREEZING DRIZZLE THIS AFTERNOON...SO WILL UPDATE TAFS IF DRIZZLE BECOME APPARENT. ALSO...WIND GUSTS BEHIND THE FRONT RECENTLY ARE HOVERING AROUND 35 TO 38 KNOTS. SO NO AVIATION WEATHER ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED AT THE MOMENT...BUT WILL STILL MONITOR WIND SPEEDS FOR POSSIBLE ISSUANCE. JJB PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 350 AM CST SUN DEC 14 2008/ DISCUSSION... ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS ON ITS WAY. THE FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH GUYMON BY 6 TO 630 AM AND THROUGH AMARILLO BY 10 AM AND THROUGH THE FAR SOUTHEAST TEXAS PANHANDLE BY NOON. HAVE MODIFIED HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY TO GO WITH AN EARLY MORNING HIGH WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THIS ARCTIC AIR MASS IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE WITH TEMPERATURES EARLY THIS MORNING IN THE TEENS AND SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE ZERO JUST 150 TO 200 MILES BEHIND THE FRONT. STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION ALONG WITH THE PRESENCE OF A BARRIER JET ARE HELPING TO KEEP THE WINDS UP. RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE WINDS WILL STAY BELOW WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA BEHIND THE FRONT. HOWEVER...IF THE WIND STAYS UP TONIGHT...WE MAY NEED TO CONSIDER A WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR SOME OF OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES. SOME LIGHT SNOW AND LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THE FRONT MOVES TO THE SOUTH OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AS THE COLD AIR SQUEEZES OUT WHAT MOISTURE IS LEFT. WILL STILL BANK ON THE COLD AIR STAYING IN PLACE THROUGH MUCH OF THIS WEEK WITH ANOTHER REINFORCING SHOT BY LATE IN THE WEEK. MODELS STILL WANT TO MOVE THE COLD AIR BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE CWA DURING THE WEEK AND THEREFORE...THEY GIVE US SOME BALMY TEMPERATURES...ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF OUR AREA. THIS DEFINITELY BEARS WATCHING...BUT GIVEN WHAT WE ARE SEEING UPSTREAM WITH THIS COLD AIR MASS...WE THINK IT WILL BE TOUGH TO DISLODGE THIS AIR MASS. A SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING A COUPLE OF MID AND UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGHS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. HAVE GENERALLY COVERED THE FORECAST WITH 20 PERCENT CHANCES OF LIGHT SNOW...WITH SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE THROWN IN MONDAY NIGHT AS SOME STRONG WAA TRIES TO SET UP OVER THE COLD DOME. AVIATION... THE COLD FRONT IS FASTER THAN EXPECTED AND IS A FEW HOURS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.THE COLD FRONT IS MOVING AT NEARLY 30 KTS AND THERE SEEMS TO BE LITTLE REASON TO EXPECT IT TO SLOW DOWN THROUGH THE REST OF THIS MORNING. SO...HAVE ADJUSTED THE FRONT TO REACH KGUY AT 12Z...KDHT AT 13Z...AND KAMA AT 16Z. IN ADDITION...SURFACE OBS ALONG AND JUST BEHIND THE FRONT INDICATE GUSTY WINDS NEAR 40 KNOTS SO WILL CONSIDER AN AVIATION WEATHER WARNING FOR THE AMARILLO AREA IF THE CURRENT TREND CONTINUES. FURTHER...THE SKIES ARE FILLING IN WITH MVFR CIGS BEHIND THE FRONT WITH SOME FORM OF PRECIP OCCURRING A FEW HOURS BEHIND THE FRONT. THUS...BROUGHT OVC020 INTO THE TAFS WITH THE FRONT AND INDICATED LIGHT SNOW 3 OR 4 HOURS AFTER THE FRONT. THE SNOW COULD EASILY CHANGEOVER TO LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE TODAY AS WELL...SO WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE TAFS AS SITUATION BECOME MORE CLEAR. FIRE WEATHER... WINDS WILL BE STRONG BEHIND THE ARCTIC COLD FRONT...BUT THE RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL RECOVER QUICKLY AS THE TEMPERATURES DROP THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. LIGHTER WINDS IN AN ARCTIC AIR MASS WILL KEEP THE FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS AT A MINIMUM THROUGH THE REST OF THIS FORECAST. && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 16/05
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 600 AM CST SUN DEC 14 2008 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-141900- 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 DEC 14 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE PANHANDLES THIS MORNING. BEHIND THE FRONT...LIGHT SNOW OR FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE POSSIBLE. ANY SNOW OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN LIGHT AT THIS TIME. IN ADDITION...STRONG WINDS BOTH AHEAD OF AND BEHIND THE FRONT WILL REQUIRE BOATERS TO EXERCISE CAUTION ON AREA LAKES TODAY ESPECIALLY WHILE THE WIND SHIFT TAKES PLACE. THE COMBINATION OF THE STRONG WINDS AND COLD TEMPERATURES MAY LEAD TO WIND CHILL VALUES BETWEEN 0 AND 12 DEGREES BELOW 0 TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW AND FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT ANY SNOW OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL REMAIN LIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. BROST
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The wind gust was measured at the Hereford AWOS station located at the Hereford Municipal Airport.
The sustained wind was measured at the Hereford AWOS station located at the Hereford Municipal Airport.
The wind gust was measured at the Hereford AWOS station located at the Hereford Municipal Airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 2008
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: 140478, 140480, 140479.