A vigorous lee side low pressure system developed across southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico during the afternoon on February 9th. This created a strong surface pressure gradient across the western Oklahoma Panhandle.
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 AMA wrote it up.
A vigorous lee side low pressure system developed across southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico during the afternoon on February 9th. This created a strong surface pressure gradient across the western Oklahoma Panhandle. Sustained winds of 25 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph were common across the Panhandle. However, strong mid layer winds of 60 to 70 mph mixed to the surface to produce a 60 mph gusts at the Oklahoma mesonet site 2 miles east of the city of Goodwell (Texas County). The surface low moved off the southern Rockies and into southwestern Kansas, and a surface cold front swept across the Oklahoma Panhandle. The stabilization of the near surface atmosphere provided by the cooler post-frontal airmass, and a weakening of the surface pressure gradient brought an end to high wind conditions by 7 PM CST.
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 9, 5:58 PM CST, 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
558 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013
.AVIATION...DISCUSSION FOR 00Z TAFS
WINDS AND BLOWING DUST ARE THE MAIN CONCERN AT THE TAF SITES. THE
IFR RESTRICTIONS IN BLOWING DUST WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT HOUR TO
MAYBE 2 AT KDHT AND KAMA...WITH VERY STRONG WINDS CONTINUING DURING
THIS PERIOD. AN AVIATION WEATHER WARNING CONTINUES FOR KAMA THROUGH
730 PM. GUSTS WILL BEGIN TO SUBSIDE OVERNIGHT AND WINDS WILL VEER TO
THE WEST AND EVENTUALLY NW THROUGH THE DAY TOMORROW. GUSTS WILL PICK
BACK UP AFTER 10/14Z AND CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST MID AFTERNOON.
AFTER INITIAL IFR CONDITIONS AT KDHT AND KAMA...VFR CONDITIONS WITH
MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE
PERIOD.
SIMPSON
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 338 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013/
DISCUSSION...
THIS EVENING...STILL A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY. BATTLE GOING ON BETWEEN
HIGH WINDS AND DRY AIR IN THE WESTERN PANHANDLES AND THE INFLUX OF
MOISTURE AND THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EAST. HIGH WIND WARNING
AND WIND ADVISORIES STILL LOOK GOOD THROUGH EARLY EVENING. SHORT
RANGE AND MESOSCALE MODELS THIS AFTERNOON HAVE NOT BEEN BULLISH ON
THE CONVECTIVE THREAT IN THE EASTERN PANHANDLES. HOWEVER...DEW POINT
DEFINITELY ON THE INCREASE AND SATELLITE IMAGERY ALREADY INDICATING
DEVELOPMENT OF CUMULUS. WILL PROBABLY BE MAKING LAST MINUTE GRID
TWEAKS DEPENDING ON HOW THE BATTLE DEVELOPS.
TUESDAY...DID NOT MESS WITH CHANGING THE GOING FORECAST. STILL LOOKS
LIKE A CHANCE FOR SNOW AND MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT BRINGING AN
UPPER TROUGH ALMOST DIRECTLY OVER THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. GFS INDICATES
POTENTIALLY HIGHER POPS OVER THE EASTERN PANHANDLES...BUT ECMWF
CONTINUES A MORE WIDESPREAD POP STRUCTURE. THIS TIME FRAME WILL NEED
TO BE WATCHED. AT THIS TIME WILL CONTINUE WITH A SPECIAL WEATHER
STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTING THIS THREAT.
FRIDAY...HAVE MAINTAINED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR THE FRIDAY TIME
FRAME. GFS AND ECMWF ARE DIVERGING ON THIS SOLUTION. ECMWF KEEPS
UPPER TROUGH IN THE SOUTHWEST AND IS FAVORABLE FOR A SNOW SOLUTION.
HOWEVER...GFS INDICATES A BROAD PROGRESSIVE TROUGH WITH DRIER
NORTHWEST FLOW. BOTH MODELS STILL AGREE ON A PLAINS SURFACE HIGH WITH
GOOD COLD AIR ADVECTION INTO THE REGION.
FIRE WEATHER...
FIRE DANGER STATEMENT REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CST FOR THE
WESTERN PANHANDLES. STRONG WINDS ALONG WITH HUMIDITIES IN THE 15 TO
20 PERCENT RANGE WILL BE ON TAP. A FEW AREAS IN THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST
TEXAS PANHANDLE WILL DROP TO BELOW 15 PERCENT...BUT THOSE CONDITIONS
ARE NOT EXPECTED FOR MORE THAN A HOUR OR TWO. DRY AIR IS EXPECTED TO
PERSIST ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ON SUNDAY LEADING TO
CONTINUED ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER POTENTIAL.
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: ARMSTRONG...CARSON...HANSFORD...HUTCHINSON...MOORE...
POTTER...RANDALL...SHERMAN.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: DALLAM...DEAF SMITH...HARTLEY...OLDHAM.
OK...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: TEXAS.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CIMARRON.
&&
09/16HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 344 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-100945- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 344 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON EAST OF A GUYMON TO AMARILLO LINE AND QUICKLY MOVE EASTWARD. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF A QUARTER ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS PANHANDLE. VERY STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS BETWEEN 35 AND 45 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 65 MPH ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE FAR WESTERN PANHANDLES WHERE A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT. STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE BETWEEN 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH OVER THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE PANHANDLES. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT AND CAUTION IS ADVISED ON AREA LAKES. THESE WINDS MAY CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING DUST. IN ADDITION...ELEVATED OR PERHAPS BRIEFLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER WILL OCCUR OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. A FIRE DANGER STATEMENT IS IN EFFECT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER IS AGAIN EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE SUNDAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAINLY ACROSS THE EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. AREA FIRE MANAGERS AND EMERGENCY OFFICIALS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR ELEVATED OR BRIEFLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE WESTERN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES...AND AGAIN ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. GARCIA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 345 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-101200- 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 345 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 ...ACCUMULATING SNOWS POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY... AN UPPER STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR ACCUMULATING SNOWS TO THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES EARLY NEXT WEEK. LOCATION... ANYWHERE IN THE PANHANDLES COULD SEE SNOW. THERE CONTINUES TO BE UNCERTAINTY IN THE LOCATION OF THE GREATEST ACCUMULATIONS. HOWEVER...AT THIS TIME SNOWFALL BETWEEN ONE AND FOUR INCHES IS POSSIBLE TROUGH OUT THE PANHANDLES. TIMING... A FAST MOVING BUT POTENT UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE PANHANDLES TUESDAY MORNING. SNOW COULD BEGIN TO FALL AS EARLY AS MONDAY AFTERNOON IN THE WESTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND THE NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE. BY MONDAY EVENING CHANCES FOR SNOW WILL INCREASE AND WILL INCLUDE ALL SECTIONS OF THE PANHANDLES. MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING WILL BE THE PERIOD WHEN ALL SECTIONS OF THE PANHANDLES WILL HAVE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR SNOW. CHANCES FOR SNOW WILL THEN END FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE AFTERNOON ON TUESDAY. THE MAJORITY OF ANY SNOW WILL LIKELY FALL DURING THE TWELVE HOURS BEFORE NOON ON TUESDAY. AMOUNTS... WITH THIS STORM SYSTEM STILL A FEW DAYS OUT...CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY EXISTS REGARDING ITS TRACK AND STRENGTH. HOWEVER...THE POSSIBILITY DOES EXIST FOR LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE TO FOUR INCHES. ANY SHIFT IN THE TRACK OR CHANGE IN INTENSITY COULD LOWER OR RAISE THESE NUMBERS...SO CONTINUE TO CHECK THE LATEST FORECASTS FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO AS THE EVENT DRAWS NEAR. FUTURE STATEMENTS...FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE ADVISORIES WILL BE ISSUED AS THIS EVENT UNFOLDS. GARCIA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
355 PM CST SAT FEB 09 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0350 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 11 WNW BOOTLEG 34.89N 102.99W
02/09/2013 M60 MPH DEAF SMITH TX MESONET
WEST TEXAS MESONET
&&
EVENT NUMBER AMA1300067
JACKSONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
404 PM CST SAT FEB 09 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 11 WNW BOOTLEG 34.89N 102.99W
02/09/2013 M63 MPH DEAF SMITH TX MESONET
WEST TEXAS MESONET
&&
EVENT NUMBER AMA1300068
JACKSONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
432 PM CST SAT FEB 09 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0425 PM HIGH SUST WINDS BOOTLEG 34.83N 102.81W
02/09/2013 M48 MPH DEAF SMITH TX MESONET
&&
EVENT NUMBER AMA1300069
SFJPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
554 PM CST SAT FEB 09 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0549 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 6 NNW AMARILLO 35.29N 101.85W
02/09/2013 M59 MPH POTTER TX BROADCAST MEDIA
&&
EVENT NUMBER AMA1300070
SFJPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
601 PM CST SAT FEB 09 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0518 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SW DALHART 36.03N 102.55W
02/09/2013 M58 MPH HARTLEY TX ASOS
&&
EVENT NUMBER AMA1300071
SFJThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Oklahoma mesonet site in Goodwell (Texas County).
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, February 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: 435183.