A favorable La Nina Pattern resulted in severe drought conditions across portions of the Northwest Hill Country and the Northern Edwards Plateau. However, the drought improved across Brown, Irion, Mason, Menard, San Saba, and Schleicher Counties by early January as beneficial rainfall fell in December.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 SJT wrote it up.
A favorable La Nina Pattern resulted in severe drought conditions across portions of the Northwest Hill Country and the Northern Edwards Plateau. However, the drought improved across Brown, Irion, Mason, Menard, San Saba, and Schleicher Counties by early January as beneficial rainfall fell in December. According to the Texas crop weather report issued January 19 and 25 by the Texas A&M agriculture program, the following agricultural impacts were noted across the drought stricken counties of West Central Texas: extremely cold, dry and windy conditions continued. All counties needed rain to keep winter pastures and crops going. Extremely dry conditions continued to take a toll on wheat and oats. Small grain crops were complete failure in some areas. There was very little field activity due to dry soils. Producers increased Supplemental feeding of livestock as range land and pasture conditions continued to decline.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 5:37 PM CST, 6 hours 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 537 PM CST FRI DEC 31 2010 .DISCUSSION... SEE THE 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. && .AVIATION... MID/HIGH LEVEL CLOUD COVER WILL BE THE RULE THROUGH AROUND 18Z SATURDAY BEFORE SKIES BEGIN TO CLEAR. IN THE MEANTIME...A BAND OF MID LEVEL RADAR ECHOES WILL CONTINUE TO STREAK TO THE ENE THIS EVENING ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. LIGHT PRECIPITATION FALLING THROUGH A VERY DRY SUB CLOUD LAYER EVAPORATE/SUBLIMATE FOR THE MOST PART. HOWEVER...A FEW SPRINKLES AND/OR SNOW FLURRIES WILL BE POSSIBLE AT KABI. THIS SHOULD HAVE NO AVIATION IMPACT. THIS TOP DOWN MOISTENING SHOULD LOWER CIGS A BIT AS WELL AND WILL BRING IN THE POSSIBILITY OF HIGH END MVFR CIGS LATER TONIGHT. I PUT IN A SCATTERED DECK AT 3000 FEET BUT THIS WILL BEAR WATCHING. WIND SPEEDS WILL TYPICALLY REMAIN LESS THAN 10 KTS WITH INITIALLY NORTH WINDS BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE OVERNIGHT. WINDS WILL BE PREDOMINANTLY FROM THE NORTHWEST ON SATURDAY. JOHNSON && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 346 PM CST FRI DEC 31 2010/ SHORT TERM... EXTENSIVE MID AND UPPER LEVEL CLOUD COVER TODAY HAS KEPT TEMPERATURES DOWN ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON RANGING FROM NEAR 60 AT JUNCTION TO THE MID TO UPPER 40S ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. LARGE UPPER LEVEL LOW IS CURRENTLY LOCATED ACROSS CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND FORECAST TO TREK NORTHEAST TOWARDS THE GREAT LAKES REGION TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW. IN THE MEANTIME...A SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT...AROUND THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL LOW. THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH LIFT TO INCREASE MID TO UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS AND RESULT IN A FEW RAIN SHOWERS TONIGHT. FORECAST SOUNDINGS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY INDICATE DRY AIR IN THE MID TO LOWER LEVELS. IN ADDITION SURFACE DEWPOINT DEPRESSIONS SHOULD REMAIN HIGH...SO ANY PRECIPITATION THAT FALLS SHOULD REMAIN LIGHT...WITH MOST EVAPORATING BEFORE REACHING THE GROUND. THERE COULD BE A FEW SNOW FLAKES MIXED IN WITH THE LIGHT RAIN...BUT CONFIDENCE WAS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO INCLUDE IN THE CURRENT FORECAST. TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL BE BELOW NORMAL...RANGING FROM THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. ANOTHER SURGE OF COLDER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA OVERNIGHT...BEHIND THE AFOREMENTIONED SHORTWAVE. TEMPERATURES TOMORROW ARE A BIT TRICKY...WITH THE NAM BEING THE WARMEST AND THE ECMWF AND GFS BEING COLDER. QUITE A BIT OF COLD AIR IS LOCATED ACROSS MUCH OF THE PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SUBZERO TEMPERATURES ALL THE WAY INTO CENTRAL NEBRASKA. ALTHOUGH THE BEST PUSH OF COLDER AIR WILL BE TO THE EAST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...BELIEVE THE NAM IS A BIT TOO WARM FOR SATURDAY...SO STAYED CLOSER TO THE COLDER GFS NUMBERS. TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CWA TO THE MID 40S ACROSS THE NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY...AS MODEST CAA AND SOME HIGH CLOUDS HELP TO KEEP HIGH TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL. LONG TERM... SURFACE HIGH BUILDS SOUTH INTO OKLAHOMA EARLY SUNDAY...THEN SHIFTS EAST INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY BY SUNDAY EVENING. EARLY MORNING TEMPERATURES WILL BE QUITE COLD SUNDAY WITH READINGS GENERALLY IN THE LOWER 20S BY SUNRISE. MODELS SHOW SOME THIN HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT SO DID NOT GO QUITE AS LOW AS THE COLDER MEX NUMBERS WOULD SUGGEST. DEWPOINTS WILL BE VERY LOW THOUGH AND WINDS LIGHT SO TEMPS MAY NEED A SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT DOWNWARD IN LATER FORECASTS IF CLOUD COVERAGE WERE TO DECREASE. TEMPERATURES WILL BE VERY NEAR SEASONAL NORMS BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH LIGHT WINDS AND HIGHS IN THE 50S. SPLIT FLOW PATTERN DEVELOPS EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH UPPER TROUGH OVER THE NORTHERN TIER AND CLOSED UPPER LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES. ZONAL FLOW MONDAY THEN WEAK RIDGING DEVELOPS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS BY MID WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING TO ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS THROUGH THURSDAY. STILL QUITE A BIT OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE FORECAST BY WEEKS END WITH MODEL DIFFERENCES CONTINUING. DID NOT MAKE ANY WHOLESALE CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED PERIOD BEYOND THURSDAY AT THIS TIME...AS ANY PRECIPITATION CHANCES SHOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL THE WEEKEND TIME FRAME. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 28 48 21 52 32 / 10 0 0 0 0 SAN ANGELO 28 53 22 57 33 / 10 0 0 0 0 JUNCTION 26 58 22 58 29 / 0 0 0 0 0 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 25
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 318 PM CST FRI DEC 31 2010 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-012130- FISHER-NOLAN-STERLING-COKE-RUNNELS-IRION-TOM GREEN-CONCHO- CROCKETT-SCHLEICHER-SUTTON-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD- TAYLOR-CALLAHAN-COLEMAN-BROWN-MCCULLOCH-SAN SABA-MENARD-KIMBLE- MASON- 318 PM CST FRI DEC 31 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Crockett County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Sutton County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Kimble County experienced severe to moderate drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Schleicher County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Menard County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Mason County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Irion County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, Brown County experienced severe drought conditions.
According to the US Drought Monitor, San Saba County experienced severe drought conditions.
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, January 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: 278320, 278321, 278322, 278323, 278324, 278325, 278326, 279850, 279852.