The month of December was another dry month for most of the Texas Panhandle, with most precipitation being observed late in the month in a single snowstorm that brought 6 to 10 inches of snow to the northwest Texas Panhandle. This led to a general degradation of drought conditions across the Panhandle and an expansion of drought into areas which were drought-free after summer 2013.
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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.
The month of December was another dry month for most of the Texas Panhandle, with most precipitation being observed late in the month in a single snowstorm that brought 6 to 10 inches of snow to the northwest Texas Panhandle. This led to a general degradation of drought conditions across the Panhandle and an expansion of drought into areas which were drought-free after summer 2013. Exceptional (D4) Drought conditions returned to portions of the northwest Texas Panhandle while Extreme (D3) Drought conditions also expanded in that area. The remainder of the western half of the Texas Panhandle remains at Moderate (D1) to Severe (D2) Drought rating. The eastern half of the Texas Panhandle remains below Severe (D2) Drought rating, but most of the Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions there degraded to Moderate Drought by the end of December. Amarillo recorded 0.32 inches of precipitation for the month (0.39 inches below normal), Dalhart recorded 0.21 inches of precipitation (0.33 inches below normal), and Borger recorded 0.27 inches of precipitation (0.50 inches below normal).
Winter wheat was in need of moisture, but most winter wheat was in fair to good condition during the month according to reports received by the Texas A&M Agrilife Program. Upper soil zones remained drier than normal in most of the Texas Panhandle, but moisture levels were near normal in areas having received snowfall during the month. Deeper soil zones ranged from less than 30 to around 50 percent of normal in the western Texas Panhandle, but values of greater than 150 percent of normal were reported in the northeastern Texas Panhandle. The Palmer Drought Severity Index remained at a rating of Moderate Drought conditions for the Texas Panhandle. Countywide burn bans continue to be supported in Moore, Roberts, Hemphill, Randall, and Armstrong Counties.
Reservoirs and stream flows across the majority of the Panhandle were at near or below normal levels, causing Moderate to Severe Hydrologic Drought especially in the southern Texas Panhandle. The reservoirs of Palo Duro and Greenbelt Lake are both below 15 percent capacity, and Lake Meredith is at zero percent capacity. Water watches for several public water systems persisted through December while voluntary to mandatory mild water restrictions have been enacted.
Economic losses due to the drought through December were predominately the result of supplemental watering, reduction of cattle herd sizes, and supplemental feed for cattle on drought-thinned rangeland and pastures.
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 Nov 30, 11:10 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 1110 PM CST SAT NOV 30 2013 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE SURFACE RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE PANHANDLES TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR LIGHT...5 TO 10 KNOTS OR LESS...WINDS MAINLY FROM THE NORTHWEST AND NORTH. HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL KEEP VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY AS AN UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES THE THREE TAF SITES FROM THE WEST. SCHNEIDER && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 511 PM CST SAT NOV 30 2013/ AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE ZONAL UPPER FLOW WILL TRANSITION TO NORTHWESTERLY SUNDAY AS AN UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL WITH ONLY SOME FEW TO SCATTERED HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS. WEAK COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE PANHANDLES TODAY AS SURFACE RIDGE BUILDS IN TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. NORTH AND NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS OR LESS CAN BE EXPECTED AT ALL THREE TAF SITES THROUGH 00Z MONDAY. SCHNEIDER PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 349 PM CST SAT NOV 30 2013/ DISCUSSION... WARMER THAN NORMAL WEATHER WILL BE THE FORECAST FOR THE PANHANDLES THROUGH TUESDAY. MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES AND SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL HELP TO WARM TEMPERATURES INTO UPPER 60S AND LOWER 70S BY TUESDAY...BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEXT COLD FRONT. THERE IS SOME MODEL DISAGREEMENT ON THE EXACT TIMING OF THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...WITH THE GFS PUSHING A WEAK FRONT THROUGH ON TUESDAY THEN RETREATING NORTHWARD WEDNESDAY AND MAKING ITS FINAL PUSH THROUGH ON THURSDAY. THE ECMWF AND CMC REPRESENT THE OTHER SOLUTION...KEEPING THE COLD FRONT IN SOUTHERN KS ON TUESDAY AND ONLY MAKING A SOUTHWARD PUSH THROUGH THE PANHANDLES ON THURSDAY. FOR NOW...HAVE OPTED TO BRING THE FRONT INTO THE OK PANHANDLE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...THEN THROUGH THE PANHANDLES FULLY ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES SHOULD QUICKLY DROP TO BELOW FREEZING ON THURSDAY...WITH THE OK PANHANDLE AND NORTHERN TX PANHANDLE MAXING OUT IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOW 30S THAT MORNING. THE CHANCE FOR FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL FOLLOW BEHIND THE FRONT THURSDAY AND BE AN ON AND OFF CONCERN UNTIL FRIDAY MORNING. FORECAST SOUNDINGS DO NOT SUPPORT A WIDESPREAD SNOW THREAT AT THIS POINT...THOUGH A BRIEF WINDOW FOR LIGHT SNOW WILL EXIST THURSDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE MIDDLE LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE DRY OUT. AS CONFIDENCE IN THE FORECAST INCREASES...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE CHANCES FOR FREEZING DRIZZLE AFFECTING AREA ROADWAYS. SNEAK PEEK...NEXT WEEKEND AND BEYOND... TEMPERATURES SHOULD ONLY MODERATE BRIEFLY HEADING INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE LONG RANGE MODELS HINT AT ANOTHER STRONG COLD FRONT PUSHING THROUGH ON MONDAY. NF FIRE WEATHER... NEITHER ELEVATED NOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES COULD DROP TO BETWEEN 15 AND 20 PERCENT ACROSS PARTS OF THE PANHANDLES ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY...THOUGH 20 FOOT WIND SPEEDS SHOULD REMAIN BELOW 20 MPH DURING THOSE PERIODS. NF && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 11/08
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 315 PM CST SAT NOV 30 2013 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-010915- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 315 PM CST SAT NOV 30 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR FREEZING DRIZZLE ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SPREADING TO THE WHOLE PANHANDLES THURSDAY AND LASTING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MAY BE ISSUED AS CONFIDENCE INCREASES AND AS TIME NEARS THE EVENT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. NF
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 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: 489404, 489405, 489406, 489407, 489409, 489410, 489411, 489412, 489413, 489414.