During the early morning hours of the 2nd, patchy drizzle developed across the Oklahoma Panhandle. Given at or slightly below freezing surface temperatures the drizzle froze on elevated surfaces such as bridges and overpasses.
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.
During the early morning hours of the 2nd, patchy drizzle developed across the Oklahoma Panhandle. Given at or slightly below freezing surface temperatures the drizzle froze on elevated surfaces such as bridges and overpasses. Less than a tenth of an inch of ice accumulations were reported in Cimarron and Texas Counties. However, the slick conditions resulted in a few vehicle accidents. Icy road conditions were reported near Boise City (Cimarron County), and icy bridges resulted in a one vehicle accident in Guymon (Texas County). No injuries were reported with this accident.
During the afternoon hours of the 2nd, a cold front moved southward across the Oklahoma Panhandle. Temperatures behind the front quickly dropped 10 to 15 degrees and continued to drop throughout the evening hours. At the same time a closed low moved to the southeast from the Four Corners Region. This low provided the lift needed for warm moist air to ride overtop the intruding cold surface airmass and produce light drizzle. As the overnight hours progressed, surface temperatures dropped below freezing causing the drizzle to freeze upon contact with elevated surfaces such as bridges and overpasses. The freezing drizzle continued through the overnight hours and into the early morning hours of the 3rd. By 6 AM CST, the closed low had progressed far enough southeastward to cause the freezing drizzle to intensify into a band of light freezing rain that moved from west to east across the Panhandle. By noon of the 3rd, the upper low had progressed southeastward enough to send the band of light freezing rain into western Oklahoma. The frozen precipitation caused numerous vehicle related accidents across the Panhandle. However, no injuries were reported in association to these accidents.
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 Apr 2, 3:43 AM CST, 47 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 443 AM CDT TUE APR 2 2013 .DISCUSSION... STILL A CHALLENGING FORECAST FOR THE PANHANDLES OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS MOVING ACROSS THE FOUR CORNERS REGION THIS MORNING AND IT WILL BE THIS SYSTEM THAT COULD BRING A CHANCE FOR FROZEN PRECIPITATION LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. MODEST ELEVATED INSTABILITY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLES TODAY WILL KEEP THE POSSIBILITY FOR A FEW RUMBLES OF THUNDER. CURRENTLY THERE IS NOT A SEVERE WEATHER CONCERN WITH THESE STORMS AT THIS TIME HOWEVER...SOME ISOLATED SMALL HAIL CAN/T BE RULED OUT GIVEN THE COOL NEAR SURFACE TEMPERATURES. WHEN WE MOVE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS THE FORECAST CONFIDENCE DROPS. THE ONLY CONSISTENCY WITH THE FORECAST MODELS HAS BEEN THAT THERE IS A NARROW WINDOW WHERE THE SNOW GROWTH ZONE MOISTENS ENOUGH TO PRESENT FROZEN PRECIP CHANCES. HAVE MADE MODEST CHANGES TO THE WEATHER GRIDS TO TRY AND NARROW IN ON THE START AND END OF FROZEN PRECIP ACROSS THE PANHANDLES. A DALHART TO BEAVER LINE REMAINS THE MAIN AREA LIKELY TO SEE A TRANSITION TO ALL SNOW...AND HAVE EXTENDED MENTION OF MIXED PRECIP ALONG AND NORTH OF AN AMARILLO TO CANADIAN LINE. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS REMAIN DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY BUT 1-2 INCHES LOOK VALID FOR THE AREA EXPECTED TO SEE AN ALL SNOW TRANSITION AND FOR THE MIXED PRECIP AREAS LESS THAN 1 INCH. AS STATED BEFORE THESE VALUES WILL BE DEPENDENT ON THE SNOW GROWTH ZONE MOISTENING SUFFICIENTLY. WEDNESDAY MORNING THE FROZEN PRECIP/WINTRY MIX LINE WILL RETREAT NORTHWARD AND TRANSITION TO ALL RAIN AROUND 10AM TO NOON. THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST OF THE PANHANDLE OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY BRINGING AND END TO PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE PANHANDLES BY THURSDAY MORNING. FOR THE EXTENDED PORTION OF THE FORECAST...RIDGING WILL SET UP ACROSS THE AREA AND BRING A WARMING AND DRY TREND INTO THE WEEKEND. OVER THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE START OF NEXT WEEK A SERIES OF WEAK DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA AND POSSIBLY BRING ANOTHER CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION. && .FIRE WEATHER... NEITHER ELEVATED NOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH FRIDAY. && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 11/14
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 442 AM CDT TUE APR 2 2013 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-022145- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 442 AM CDT TUE APR 2 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE TODAY. ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LEVELS AT THIS TIME BUT AN ISOLATED STRONG STORM CAN NOT BE RULED OUT. ANY STRONG STORM THAT DEVELOPS WILL PRIMARILY PRESENT A SMALL HAIL THREAT. LATE TONIGHT A WINTRY MIX OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW MAY BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA AND NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. LIGHT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN A HALF INCH WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. LIGHT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE AND A WINTRY MIX OF LIGHT SNOW AND RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE NORTH OF AN AMARILLO TO CANADIAN LINE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE WHILE AMOUNTS LESS THAN AN INCH ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE REST OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 443 AM CDT TUE APR 2 2013 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-022100- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BOISE CITY...KEYES...GUYMON...BEAVER... FORGAN...DALHART...STRATFORD...SPEARMAN...GRUVER...PERRYTON... BOOKER...HIGGINS...FOLLETT...HARTLEY...CHANNING...DUMAS... BORGER...MIAMI...CANADIAN...VEGA...AMARILLO...PANHANDLE... WHITE DEER...PAMPA...SHAMROCK...WHEELER...HEREFORD...CANYON... CLAUDE...CLARENDON...WELLINGTON 443 AM CDT TUE APR 2 2013 ...COMPLEX WEATHER PATTERN TO BRING WINTRY PRECIPITATION TO THE PANHANDLES... AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING OUT OF THE FOUR CORNERS REGION WILL BRING ACTIVE WEATHER TO THE PANHANDLES THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. DURING THE DAY TODAY ANY PRECIPITATION THAT OCCURS WILL BE IN THE FORM OF LIQUID. AS THE EVENING HOURS PROGRESS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE WILL BEGIN TO SEE A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION. AROUND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR...LOCATIONS NORTH OF A DALHART TO BEAVER LINE WILL BEGIN TO SEE A TRANSITION TO ALL SNOW WHILE WINTRY MIX MOVES SOUTHWARD TO SETUP ALONG AN AMARILLO TO CANADIAN LINE. THE BEST TIMEFRAME FOR ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 10 AM WEDNESDAY. LOCATIONS NORTH OF A DALHART TO BEAVER LINE WILL COULD SEE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 1 TO 2 INCHES WHILE LOCATIONS SOUTH OF THIS LINE AND NORTH OF AN AMARILLO TO CANADIAN LINE COULD SEE A TRACE TO LESS THAN ONE INCH OF SNOW. BY LATE MORNING WEDNESDAY...ANY FROZEN OR MIXED PRECIPITATION WILL TRANSITION BACK TO ALL LIQUID PRECIPITATION. THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST OF THE PANHANDLES BY THURSDAY MORNING AND BRING A END TO PRECIPITATION CHANCES. THERE REMAINS A GREAT DEAL OF UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE SNOW GROWTH ZONE BECOMING SUFFICIENTLY MOIST TO PRODUCE SNOW OR A RAIN/SNOW MIX LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING ACROSS MUCH OF THE PANHANDLES. THIS WILL ALSO HAVE AN IMMENSE IMPACT ON ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AND LOCATIONS. IT IS ADVISED TO REMAIN VIGILANTE FOR FORECAST UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS BY CHECKING OUR WEBSITE...MONITORING LOCAL TV MEDIA...OR FOLLOWING YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Multiple vehicle accidents caused by icy roadways, but no injuries reported. At the Beaver mesonet site 0.03 inches of ice was reported.
The Cimarron Sheriff's office in Boise City reported icy roadways but no vehicle accidents. The Boise City mesonet reported 0.06 inches of ice.
The Texas County Sheriff's office in Guymon reported icy roadways, and one accident due to the icy conditions. The Guymon ASOS reported 0.07 inches of ice.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, April 2013
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: 448411, 448412, 448413.