Fog developed during the afternoon hours across the region and became dense across Hale County. A woman traveling northbound on Interstate 27 in Hale County crossed the median and was struck by a vehicle traveling southbound.
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 LUB wrote it up.
Fog developed during the afternoon hours across the region and became dense across Hale County. A woman traveling northbound on Interstate 27 in Hale County crossed the median and was struck by a vehicle traveling southbound. The woman in the northbound vehicle was killed while the driver of the other vehicle was injured.
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 Dec 13, 11:42 AM CST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1142 AM CST TUE DEC 13 2011 .AVIATION... LIFR CIGS/VSBYS CONTINUE FOR BOTH KLBB AND KCDS TERMINAL SITES. COULD SEE SOME BRIEF MINOR IMPROVEMENT THIS AFTERNOON WITH SOME -SHRA MOVING ACROSS THE AREA. SHOULD REMAIN AT LIFR THROUGH MOST OF THE UPCOMING TAF PERIOD...THRU 18Z WEDNESDAY. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO SLOWLY INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS...BUT WITH STRONG WARM MOIST ADVECTION...UNLIKELY TO SEE MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN CIGS/VSBYS DESPITE INCREASING WINDS. COULD SEE A THUNDERSTORM OR TWO TONIGHT AS UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES BUT CONFIDENCE TOO LOW FOR MENTION IN TAF. CERTAINLY SOME INTERMITTENT SHOWERS LOOK LIKELY ESPECIALLY IN THE 05Z TO 09Z TIME FRAME...MORE LIKELY AT KCDS. SHOULD SEE RAPID IMPROVEMENT...AND WINDS RAMPING UP FROM THE SW...WITH PACIFIC FRONTAL PASSAGE AROUND 15Z WEDNESDAY. && PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 339 AM CST TUE DEC 13 2011/ SHORT TERM... FOG...DRIZZLE...VERY LIGHT RAIN IS WIDESPREAD ACROSS WEST TEXAS THIS MORNING. VISIBILITIES HAVE REMAINED ABOVE A QUARTER MILE LOCALLY ON THE SOUTH PLAINS...BUT FORECAST PROFILES SUGGEST DENSE FOG CAN NOT YET BE RULED OUT THIS MORNING. MESOSCALE MODELS SUGGEST THAT WARM AIR ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE REGIME WILL INTENSIFY THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PRE-DAWN HOURS AS A 50 KT LOW LEVEL JET SPREADS NORTH FROM THE PERMIAN BASIN. INITIAL EVIDENCE OF THIS MAY BE SEEN NOW WITH INCREASING LIGHT RADAR ECHOES OVER THE BASIN. WEAK FORCING/ASCENT WITHIN THIS REGIME IS PROGGED TO PEAK OVER THE CENTRAL/EASTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS THRU 15Z THEN TRANSLATE NORTHEASTWARD TOWARD THE EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN PANHANDLE. PROFILES SUGGEST THAT DRIZZLE/VERY LIGHT RAIN AND PERHAPS SCATTERED CONVECTIVE SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE FAIRLY WIDESPREAD BUT LIGHT PRECIPITATION AS THIS SCENARIO UNFOLDS TODAY. HAVE INCREASED GRIDDED POPS TO THE LIKELY CATEGORY /60-70 PERCENT/ OVER THE NORTHEASTERN HALF OF THE AREA. THIS IS SUPPORTED BY ALL MOS GUIDANCE AND SREF WHICH SHOWS 70-75 PERCENT PROBABILITIES FOR GREATER THAN 0.01 INCH NORTHEAST OF LUBBOCK BETWEEN 15-18Z. ASCENT IS SHOWN TO WEAKEN/TRANSLATE NORTHEASTWARD WITHIN THE 290-300K ISENTROPIC SURFACE BY AFTERNOON...AND THIS MAY RESULT IN REPRIEVE FROM DRIZZLE/LIGHT RAIN OVER THE WESTERN COUNTIES...HELPING TEMPERATURES TO WARM A COUPLE DEGREES ABOVE YESTERDAY/S DAYTIME HIGHS. HOWEVER DEEP FORCING WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING AS THE SOUTHWESTERN MID/UPPER AIR LOW/TROUGH FINALLY BEGINS TO EJECT AND THE NOSE OF A 120 KT UPPER AIR JET APPROACHES. RELATIVELY MORE ROBUST CONVECTIVE SHOWERS /WITH HIGHER AND MORE MEANINGFUL PRECIPITATION RATES/ SHOULD SPREAD OVER THE NORTHWESTERN ZONES DURING THE 00-06Z TIMEFRAME. PROGGED LAPSE RATES CONTINUE TO SUPPORT A MENTION OF THUNDER...ESPECIALLY AS THIS DEEPER FORCING OVERSPREADS THE AREA THIS EVENING. THIS FORCING WILL TRANSLATE EASTWARD OVERNIGHT AND WILL FOCUS OVER THE EASTERN PANHANDLE/WESTERN OKLAHOMA BY 12Z. THUS HIGHEST POPS /70-75 PERCENT/ FOR THE EVENT WILL BE DEPICTED OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN PANHANDLE 06-12Z. LONG TERM... THE EXTENDED FORECAST REMAINS CHALLENGING ESPECIALLY TOWARD THE WEEKEND. LARGE SCALE TROUGH IS PROGGED TO EXTEND FROM THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. FIRST BATCH OF ENERGY SHOULD SCOOT WELL NORTH OF US WITH TRAILING TROUGH DELAYING CROSSING UNTIL THURSDAY. AT THAT POINT UPPER LOW DIVES ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST AND MATURES ACROSS NORTHERN BAJA INTO SATURDAY. IT IS THE EVOLUTION OF THIS LOW THAT WILL PROVIDE FOR THE UNCERTAINTY INTO THE FORECAST EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE GFS EJECTS THE LOW INTO THE WESTERN PLAINS MONDAY MORNING WHICH WOULD CREATE MORE OF A WIND EVENT WHEREAS THE ECM IS SLOWER AND DRAGS THE LOW ALONG THE I-20 CORRIDOR WHICH WOULD RESULT IN A RAIN AND/OR SNOW EVENT. BOTH MODELS SHOW A COMPLEX SCENARIO WITH MULTIPLE LOW CENTERS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY INTERACTING WITH EACH OTHER. GIVEN THE TENDENCY THIS COOL SEASON FOR A MORE SOUTHERN TRACK...WILL EDGE THE FORECAST MORE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SLOWER ECM. PRECIPITATION SHOULD QUICKLY WANE ACROSS THE EAST WEDNESDAY MORNING. WINDS ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WILL PROBABLY GET A FAIR BIT BREEZY BEHIND THE EXITING SYSTEM WITH WINDS UP IN THE 20-25 MPH RANGE. FORTUNATELY...GIVEN THE PROTRACTED PERIOD OF DRIZZLE AND COOL CONDITIONS...MIN RH VALUES WOULD REMAIN ABOVE 30 PCT AREAWIDE AND POSE LITTLE RISK FOR GRASSLAND WILDFIRES. A COLD FRONT IS DUE IN THURSDAY MORNING WHICH WILL KEEP NORTHERLY FLOW IN PLACE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. RETURN FLOW WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE WEST INTO FRIDAY BUT BE SHORT LIVED AS WINDS SWING A BIT MORE WESTERLY WITH TIME. LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY BECOME MORE TRICKY AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED WITH THE SELECTION OF A WETTER COOLER SOLUTION FOR THIS FCST. THE PRECIPITATION TYPE REMAINS NEBULOUS BUT GIVEN WE ARE TALKING DAY 6-7 HAVE GONE WITH A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE BEST LIFT COMES ACROSS ON MONDAY AND HAVE UNDERCUT HI TEMP GUIDANCE GIVEN PROSPECTS FOR COLD AIR ADVECTION. THE COLD AIR LOOKS TO BE A BIT OUT OF PHASE AT THIS POINT BUT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO HAVE THE FRONT EASE IN 12-24 HOURS SOONER THAN DEPICTED YIELDING A MUCH MORE WHITE SOLUTION. STAY TUNED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 48 41 50 26 47 / 60 70 10 0 0 TULIA 47 43 53 29 48 / 70 60 10 0 0 PLAINVIEW 48 46 55 30 49 / 70 60 10 0 0 LEVELLAND 49 45 56 30 52 / 50 50 10 0 0 LUBBOCK 48 47 57 30 51 / 60 50 10 0 0 DENVER CITY 55 48 57 31 52 / 40 50 10 0 0 BROWNFIELD 51 48 58 31 53 / 40 50 10 0 0 CHILDRESS 51 49 63 34 52 / 70 70 30 0 0 SPUR 49 49 60 34 54 / 60 50 20 0 0 ASPERMONT 54 53 65 37 55 / 50 50 30 0 0 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 06/93/06
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1226 PM CST TUE DEC 13 2011 TXZ021>044-141830- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1226 PM CST TUE DEC 13 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NON PRECIPITATION AREAS OF DENSE FOG WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY AND PERSIST INTO THE OVERNIGHT. VISIBILITIES WILL BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN 100 FEET AT TIMES...PRIMARILY ON THE CAPROCK. A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE AREA LATE THIS WEEKEND ACCOMPANIED BY A THREAT OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION OVER A LARGE AREA.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dense fog. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dense Fog, Hale | 2011-12-13 | 69 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 2011
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: 351619.