Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Texas, February 3 to 4, 2010

Name: Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Texas, February 3 to 4, 2010
Start: 2010-02-03T15:00
End: 2010-02-04T12:00
Location: Texas

February 3 to 4, 2010 · NWS AMA · 6 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 AMA wrote it up.

A winter storm approached the Texas Panhandle and produced heavy snow across mainly the northwest section of the Texas Panhandle. One person was killed in the central Texas Panhandle in a single car automobile accident. Slick roads were a factor...but bald tires and driving too fast for conditions also contributed to the accident.

At 0630 CST on February 4...the Cooperative Observer in Dalhart measured seven inches of snow.

At 0630 CST on February 4...the Cooperative Observer in Texline measured eight inches of snow.

At 0652 CST on February 4...the Cooperative Observer in Dalhart measured seven inches of snow.

At 0700 CST on February 4...the Cooperative Observer in Stratford measured seven inches of snow.

At approximately 1000 CST on February 4...four to five inches of snow ten miles north of Amarillo on U.S. Highway 287 contributed to a vehicular accident which resulted in the indirect death of one person. Slick roads and bald tires on the vehicle were determined to be the cause of the accident.

At 1048 CST on February 4...a trained spotter measured seven and a half inches of snow in Dalhart.

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 3, 1:01 PM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 1:01 PM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
101 PM CST WED FEB 3 2010

.UPDATE...
WITH RAIN ALREADY SPREADING OVER ALMOST ALL OF THE REGION...INCREASED
POPS TO DEFINATE THROUGH 12Z TOMORROW. ALSO ADJUST QPF AND SNOW
AMOUNT SLIGHTLY BASED THE TRENDS OF THIS MORNINGS PRECIPITATION. WITH
SNOW BEING REPORTED AS CLOSE AS EASTERN NM...EXPECT TO SEE A MIXED
PRECIP WITHIN THE NEXT 2 HOURS...AND COULD SEE ALL SNOW OVER THE
WESTERN PANHANDLES BETWEEN 23 AND 01Z.

SJOHNSON
&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1152 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010/

AVIATION...
A RATHER COMPLEX SITUATION IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 6 HOURS. A LARGE
AREA OF PRECIPITATION EXTENDS FROM EASTERN NEW MEXICO SOUTHEAST INTO
CENTRAL TEXAS. THIS PRECIP WILL SLOWLY CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH AND
SPREAD OVER THE PANHANDLES EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. PRECIP TYPE IS THE
BIGGEST ISSUE. ALL RAIN IS EXPECTED INITIALLY. THE ONGOING PRECIP
AND AN APPROACHING MID LEVEL TROUGH WILL ALLOW FOR FURTHER COOLING
RESULTING IN A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW BY 21Z. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE
THAT ALL TERMINALS SHOULD SEE ALL SNOW BY 00Z THURSDAY AND WILL
LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. THIS TRANSITION
WILL LIKELY OCCUR EARLIER AT KDHT DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE TROUGH.
IN ADDITION...LIFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE TAF CYCLE.

KDHT AND KGUY WILL LIKELY SEE SOUTHERLY WINDS INITIALLY. HOWEVER...WINDS
ARE EXPECTED TO BACK TO THE SOUTHEAST AT ALL SITES BY 21Z THIS
AFTERNOON WITH SPEEDS UNDER 15 KTS.

NUTTALL

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 909 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010/

UPDATE...
ONE QUARTER MILE VISIBILITIES APPEAR TO BE CONFINED TO THE IMMEDIATE
VICINITY OF AMARILLO THIS MORNING. IN ADDITION...THE RAIN CURRENTLY
MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE SHOULD HELP DISSIPATE ANY
REMAINING FOG. THUS...THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

UPDATED ZONES HAVE BEEN SENT.

NUTTALL

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 648 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010/

UPDATE...
FURTHER LOOK INTO THE EXTENDED FORECAST REVEALED THE POTENTIAL FOR
PRECIPITATION LATE THIS WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.
UNFORTUNATELY...THE SIGNALS ARE NOT AS CLEAR GIVEN THE LACK OF
CONSISTENCY BETWEEN MODEL RUNS.

THE GFS BRINGS A FAST MOVING AND WEAK DISTURBANCE WITHIN THE
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT THEN SHEARS MUCH OF THE ENERGY AS IT MOVES OVER
THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS. ON THE OTHER EXTREME...THE ECMWF MOVES MUCH
SLOWER AND DELAYS THE START OF PRECIPITATION. AT THIS TIME...CONFIDENCE
WAS BEST FOR SUNDAY NIGHT...SO ADDED LOW POPS FOR RAIN OR SNOW. LATER
SHIFTS CAN EXPAND ON THIS POTENTIAL ONCE MODELS RESOLVE THEIR
SOLUTIONS.

NUNEZ

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 543 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010/

AVIATION...
THE TAFS WILL START OUT ON THE PESSIMISTIC SIDE AND WILL ONLY IMPROVE
MINIMALLY DURING THE PERIOD. LIFR CIGS ARE PRESENT ACROSS THE
AREA...WITH WIDESPREAD MVFR VSBYS AND PATCHY DENSE FOG AND DRIZZLE.
RAIN WILL INCREASE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON AS ISENTROPIC ASCENT INTENSIFIES AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING
MID LEVEL TROF. THE RAIN SHIELD HAS ALREADY REACHED KLBB AND IS
EXPECTED TO ARRIVE AT KAMA AROUND OR JUST AFTER 16Z. WIDESPREAD LIGHT
TO MODERATE RAIN IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS
BEFORE MIXING WITH SNOW AS WE APPROACH 00Z. AFTER 00Z...POINT
SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT THERMAL PROFILES WILL BECOME MORE FAVORABLE
FOR A CHANGEOVER TO A WET SNOW. THIS WILL REDUCE VSBYS CLOSE TO 1
MILE...ALTHOUGH TEMPORARY LOWER VSBYS ARE CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. THESE
POOR FLYING CONDITIONS ARE CARRIED THROUGH 12Z.

WINDS WILL MAINTAIN A GENERAL SOUTHERLY COMPONENT...BEGINNING FROM
THE SOUTHWEST THIS MORNING AND BACKING TO THE SOUTHEAST THROUGHOUT
THE DAY. WINDS AT THE SURFACE SHOULD REMAIN AROUND 15 KTS OR LESS.
HOWEVER...JUST ABOVE THE LOW LEVEL INVERSION /AROUND 1500 FEET/ WILL
BE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 KTS. THIS COULD CREATE SOME
LOCALIZED WIND SHEAR EFFECTS AND WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED. MISSING
CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE IN THE SHORT TERM AT KDHT/KGUY. THUS...NO SKY
CIG AMENDMENTS WILL BE MADE UNLESS JUSTIFIED BY SURROUNDING OBS.

JOHNSON

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 439 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010/

DISCUSSION...
THE PRIMARY CONCERN WILL BE THE INCREASED SNOW POTENTIAL. THE
FORECAST STARTS OFF WITH STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION IN THE LOWER TO
MID LEVELS OVER THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS WHILE AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
TILTS NEGATIVELY ACROSS NORTHERN MEXICO. PRECIPITATION IS STILL SOUTH
OF THE PANHANDLES BUT RACING NORTHWARD ACCORDING TO THE LATEST RADAR
IMAGES OVER WEST AND SOUTH TEXAS. IN THE MEANTIME...FOG WILL MAINTAIN
A STRONGHOLD ACROSS MUCH OF THE PANHANDLES. THE EXISTING DENSE FOG
ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE.

RAINFALL SHOULD ENTER THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE AROUND MID MORNING.
THANKFULLY...TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK GIVEN THE
WARMER DEWPOINTS...SO WE MAY HAVE DODGED THE THREAT OF FREEZING
RAIN/DRIZZLE.

PRECIPITABLE WATER CONTENT WILL BE GENEROUS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
TONIGHT...AND SUPPORTS CONSIDERABLE RAINFALL AND LIQUID EQUIVALENT
WHEN THE RAIN AND SNOW DEVELOPS RESPECTIVELY. WHILE THE PRECIPITATION
CHANCES ARE EXCELLENT...THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE TIME
WHEN RAIN TRANSITIONS TO SNOW. OUR HIGHEST CONFIDENCE BRINGS A MIXTURE
OF RAIN AND SNOW AROUND THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON HOURS AND THEN A
COMPLETE CHANGEOVER TO SNOW AROUND 6 PM. BASED ON THIS TIMING...TOTAL
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD RANGE BETWEEN 3 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS THE TEXAS
AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED AS
A RESULT.

WITH SO MUCH DETAIL GIVEN TO THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF THE
FORECAST...WE WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE TO THIS DISCUSSION AFTER WE HAVE
TIME TO DIAGNOSE THE EXTENDED FORECAST. PRECIPITATION MAY BE UPON US
AGAIN LATE SUNDAY/MONDAY.

NUNEZ

FIRE WEATHER...
NO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS THROUGH TUESDAY.

NUNEZ

&&

.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON CST THURSDAY FOR THE
     FOLLOWING ZONES: ARMSTRONG...CARSON...COLLINGSWORTH...
     DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...DONLEY...GRAY...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...
     HEMPHILL...HUTCHINSON...LIPSCOMB...MOORE...OCHILTREE...
     OLDHAM...POTTER...RANDALL...ROBERTS...SHERMAN...WHEELER.

OK...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON CST THURSDAY FOR THE
     FOLLOWING ZONES: BEAVER...CIMARRON...TEXAS.

&&

06/16

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 3, 11:37 AM CST, 3 hours 23 minutes before

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1137 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010

OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-032200-
ARMSTRONG-BEAVER-CARSON-CIMARRON-COLLINGSWORTH-DALLAM-DEAF SMITH-
DONLEY-GRAY-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-HEMPHILL-HUTCHINSON-LIPSCOMB-MOORE-
OCHILTREE-OLDHAM-POTTER-RANDALL-ROBERTS-SHERMAN-TEXAS-WHEELER-
1137 AM CST WED FEB 3 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES.

.DAY ONE...
FOG THROUGH THE AFTERNOON WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN A
MILE AT TIMES ACROSS THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. RAIN WILL
CHANGE OVER TO SNOW THIS EVENING...RESULTING IN SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF
3 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS MOST OF THE PANHANDLES. A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR SNOW IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH NOON
THURSDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO THE DAY ON THURSDAY...ENDING FROM WEST TO
EAST BY THURSDAY NIGHT. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BEYOND MIDDAY
THURSDAY SHOULD BE MINIMAL.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.  HOWEVER...
SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE REQUESTED TO RELAY
SNOW AND ICE REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO.

SJOHNSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Hartley

When: February 3, 3:00 PM CST to February 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Hartley forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.840, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sherman

When: February 3, 3:00 PM CST to February 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 36.278, -101.893 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dallam

When: February 3, 3:00 PM CST to February 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Dallam forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 36.278, -102.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dallam

When: February 3, 3:00 PM CST to February 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Dallam forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 36.278, -102.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hartley

When: February 3, 3:00 PM CST to February 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Hartley forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 35.840, -102.603 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Potter

When: February 4, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Potter forecast zone
Deaths: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

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
Winter Weather, Potter	2010-02-04	30	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Indirect

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, February 2010

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: 214781, 214783, 214784, 214786, 214787, 214782.