An arctic front swept southward across the west Texas region during the evening hours of the 6th. The frontal passage was accompanied by northerly winds sustained above 30 mph with a few gusts near 50 mph.
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The episode as NWS LUB wrote it up.
An arctic front swept southward across the west Texas region during the evening hours of the 6th. The frontal passage was accompanied by northerly winds sustained above 30 mph with a few gusts near 50 mph. The winds damaged transmission lines south of Childress, and resulted in a short-lived power outage.
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 Lubbock, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 6, 5:42 PM CST, 2 hours 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 542 PM CST WED JAN 6 2010 .AVIATION... A STRONG COLD FRONT IS STILL ON TRACK TO MOVE THROUGH THE KLBB TERMINAL WITHIN AN HOUR WITH THE FRONT ALREADY MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH KCDS. WITH LOW CIGS RAPIDLY FILLING IN BEHIND THE FRONT...STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE MVFR CIGS WITH A SMALL CHANCE AT IFR CIGS. WITH MODELS SHOWING RATHER DRY LOW LEVELS...PRECIPITATION MAY NOT BE SIGNIFICANT WITH LOW CIGS BEING THE PRIMARY CONCERN RATHER THAN LOW VISBYS. WINDS WILL TAPER OFF TOMORROW MORNING WITH THE LOW CIGS DISSIPATING AS DRIER AIR FILTERS INTO THE REGION. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 325 PM CST WED JAN 6 2010/ SHORT TERM... MAIN EVENT CONTINUES TO BE THE IMPENDING ARRIVAL OF AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT INTO THE AREA. SURFACE TROUGH HAS SAGGED FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO BRING WINDS AROUND TO THE NORTH OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA...AND THE OLD QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS HAS BEGUN MOVING BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST INTO NORTHERN ZONES. BUT THE ARCTIC FRONT ITSELF...ALTHOUGH CLOSING FAST...REMAINS FURTHER NORTH IN THE PANHANDLE. ANYWAY...WINDS SWINGING AROUND TO THE NORTH IN ADVANCE WILL NOT BE THE TRUE FRONT. LATEST TIMING SHOWS FRONT ARRIVAL TO CHILDRESS-TULIA-DIMMITT BY 5 PM...MORTON-LUBBOCK-ASPERMONT SHORTLY AFTER 6 PM...AND FINALLY DENVER CITY BY 8 OR 9 PM. SHORT TERM MODEL TRENDS HAVE INCREASED THE 3 HOUR SURFACE PRESSURE RISES TO 8 OR 9 MB PER THREE HOUR PERIOD THIS EVENING...SUGGESTING WIND SPEEDS JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW OUR WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA...OR MOSTLY SUSTAINED AROUND 30 MPH. HOWEVER... TREND HAS BEEN STRONGER WITH LATEST GUSTS FORECASTS ON THE ORDER OF 40 TO 45 MPH. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE 50 MPH GUSTS AS WELL. THE VERY COLD AIR WILL FOLLOW IMMEDIATELY THIS STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT...SO ITS ARRIVAL SHOULD MOSTLY FOLLOW THE VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS. EVEN SO...SUSTAINED WINDS LATER TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY SHOULD STILL BE ON THE ORDER OF 20 TO 25 MPH WHILE TEMPERATURES WILL BE SETTLING INTO THE LOWER TEENS OR PERHAPS UPPER SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS THE EXTREME SOUTHERN PANHANDLE. THIS RESULTS IN WIND CHILL READINGS FROM MINUS 5 TO MINUS 10 ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA FROM ABOUT 3 AM THURSDAY UNTIL LATE THURSDAY MORNING...WHILE THE CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS WILL BE ZERO TO MINUS 5. BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THIS EVENT ON THE MORNING COMMUTE AND DUE TO ITS RELATIVE RARITY...WE HAVE ISSUED A WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM THE CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS NORTHWARD EVEN THOUGH TECHNICAL CRITERIA MAY NOT BE MET OVER THE SOUTHERN-MOST ROW. A SMALL AMOUNT OF LIFT WILL ACCOMPANY AND FOLLOW THE FRONT WITH MARGINAL MOISTURE CENTERED FROM 800-850 MB. EVEN THOUGH OUR FORECAST SOUNDINGS STILL ARE NOT SHOWING MUCH CHANCE FOR SURFACE SATURATION... WE WILL MAINTAIN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST OF LOW CHANCE FOR FLURRIES OR FREEZING DRIZZLE. ARCTIC AIRMASSES HAVE A WAY OF FORCING MORE SURFACE SATURATION SOMETIMES THAN IS MODEL FORECASTED. VERY COLD AIR WILL SETTLE FURTHER SOUTH ON THURSDAY WITH PREVIOUS HIGH TEMPERATURE FORECAST MOSTLY RETAINED. WINDS SHOULD GRADUALLY TAPER OFF LATER THURSDAY WHILE CLOUD COVER SHOULD ALSO TREND THINNER THOUGH MAY NOT TOTALLY BREAK. RMCQUEEN LONG TERM... EXTENDED FORECAST WILL BE PUNCTUATED BY COLD TEMPERATURES EARLY ON...WITH SOME MODIFICATION INTO WEEKEND. ADDITIONALLY...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS ON FRIDAY WITH A PASSING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE. UA PATTERN WILL FEATURE AN EASTERN TROUGH AND WESTERN RIDGE INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEKEND BEFORE THE RIDGE BEGINS TO BREAKDOWN AND AN UA TROUGH TRANSLATES ACROSS WEST TEXAS EARLY NEXT WEEK. PREDOMINATE SFC FEATURE EARLY ON WITH THIS PATTERN WILL BE A SPRAWLING HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT WILL DOMINATE THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN CONUS WITH VERY COLD TEMPERATURES. LATEST ROUND OF GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THE SFC RIDGING WILL BE SLOWER TO DEPART THE SOUTH PLAINS THAN EARLIER THOUGHT...WITH A FINAL SHORTWAVE TROUGH DIVING DOWN THE BACKSIDE OF THE EASTERN TROUGH PROVIDING CONTINUED SFC RIDGING INTO SATURDAY. THIS WILL HELP KEEP TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK AND INTO AT LEAST THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEKEND AND HAVE COOLED FORECAST TEMPERATURES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. RETURN FLOW MAY FINAL BEGIN BY SUNDAY WITH TEMPERATURES MODERATING BACK UP TOWARD AVERAGE LEVELS. A PASSING POSITIVELY TILTED UA TROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL PUSH A WEAK COLD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA NEXT MONDAY...THOUGH CURRENTLY IT APPEARS TO BE A DRY PASSAGE. BEYOND THAT...AN UPPER RIDGE WILL SLIDE IN FROM THE WEST WITH MODERATING TEMPERATURES EXPECTED INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. REGARDING PRECIPITATION CHANCES THIS FRIDAY...LATEST ITERATION OF MODELS HAVE SHIFTED BEST FORCING/SATURATION SOUTHWESTWARD AND NOW DEPICT THE BEST SHOT OF LIGHT SNOW JUST CLIPPING THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE CWA FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. ALTHOUGH LOW-LEVEL FLOW WILL BE OF A WEAK UPSLOPE COMPONENT...IT WILL BE ADVECTING IN VERY DRY AIR WHICH WILL LIKELY LIMIT INTENSITY AND EASTWARD EXTENT OF SNOW. THUS...HAVE TRIMMED POPS BACK SLIGHTLY FROM THE EAST...THOUGH DID BUMP UP INTO LOW CHANCE CATEGORY ACROSS THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST SOUTH PLAINS WHERE BEST FORCING WILL EXIST. REGARDLESS...ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT...WITH PERHAPS AN INCH OR SO POSSIBLE TOWARD DENVER CITY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 9 23 6 29 11 / 20 10 10 10 0 TULIA 10 23 5 29 11 / 20 10 10 10 0 PLAINVIEW 12 23 7 28 11 / 20 10 10 10 0 LEVELLAND 14 25 10 28 11 / 20 10 20 20 0 LUBBOCK 14 25 9 28 11 / 20 10 20 10 0 DENVER CITY 17 27 12 26 11 / 20 10 20 30 0 BROWNFIELD 16 27 11 27 11 / 20 10 20 20 0 CHILDRESS 14 24 8 26 11 / 20 10 10 10 0 SPUR 16 26 9 28 13 / 20 10 10 10 0 ASPERMONT 20 27 10 27 13 / 20 10 10 10 0 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM 3 AM TO NOON CST THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ021>038. && 01
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 343 AM CST WED JAN 6 2010 TXZ021>044-070945- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 343 AM CST WED JAN 6 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NON PRECIPITATION SUSTAINED NORTHERLY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN THE WAKE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. IN ADDITION...TEMPERATURES WILL FALL INTO THE TEENS...AND WHEN COMBINED WITH THE WIND...WIND CHILL READINGS WILL DROP TO NEAR OR SLIGHTLY BELOW ZERO BY THURSDAY MORNING. AREAS OF FREEZING DRIZZLE MAY ADDITIONALLY REDUCE VISIBILITIES AND SUPPORT A LIGHT ICE GLAZE ON SOME EXPOSED SURFACES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA FRIDAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2010
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: 208477.