Blizzard in Texas, February 24 to 25, 2013

Between the evening hours of February 24 and the afternoon hours of February 25th, widespread snowfall totals of 5 to 13 inches with a maximum of 19 inches of snow were reported across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle. This snowfall crippled the Panhandles in ways not seen since the 1957 and 1934 blizzards. In Amarillo (Potter and Randall County), this blizzard was the third largest snowfall event on record, the second largest snowfall for a calendar day on record, the largest snowfall for a single day on record, and the 17 inch snow depth from 6 AM CST Tuesday, February 26th set the highest all-time snow depth at Amarillo on record. | |The 6 PM CST upper air analysis on February 24th reviled a closed mid-level low pressure system diving south-southeastward from the Four Corners Region. This positioning put the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle under the front right quadrant of a 90 mph to 120 mph upper level jet streak, and caused a transition of a surface stationary front draped across the Southern Texas Panhandle into a cold front. The large scale forcing provided by the aforementioned factors coupled with low level moisture advection to initiate snow showers over eastern New Mexico. These snow showers quickly expanded into the northwestern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. The surface cold front surged southward in advance of the snow showers, which ensured any precipitation reaching the ground would be in a frozen state. A few embedded lightning strikes were evident as snow showers taped into very steep mid-level temperature lapse rates and weak elevated instability while moving further into the Panhandles. Snowfall rates of 1 inch to 2 inches per hour were observed, but higher snow fall rates of 2 inches to 3 inches per hour were possible given the weakly convective nature of some of the storms. By 7 PM CST, these possible higher snowfall rates were validated when a storm chaser in Hutchinson County reported 2 inches of snow had accumulated within 45 minutes.

By midnight of the 25th, the mid-level closed low had progressed into southeastern New Mexico. This placed the Panhandles squarely in the comma head of the system. As a result, bands of heavy snow developed from Hereford, Texas (Deaf Smith County) to Slapout, Oklahoma (Beaver County). Weak instability continued to produce isolated lightning strikes within these snow bands. Sustained surface winds across the Panhandles had built into the 30 to 40 mph range in response to the strong post-frontal surface pressure gradient and occasional 55 to 65 mph winds gusts were reported within the heavier snow bands. These blizzard conditions caused visibilities to drop as low as 50 feet, and produced multiple inches of snow over several hours.

By 6 AM CST, the mid-level closed low was positioned near Sweetwater, Texas, and heavy bands of snow were still evident on radar along a Hereford, TX (Deaf Smith County) to Slapout, Oklahoma (Beaver County) line. Snow amount reports averaged between 4 to 10 inches along and to either side this line with the National Weather Service in Amarillo measuring eleven inches. Blizzard conditions continued throughout the morning hours, and two hurricane force wind gusts were measured at the National Weather Service Office in Amarillo and at the Pantex plant just prior to noon. The gust at the National Weather Service office in Amarillo measured 75 mph, and the gust from the Pantex plant was measured at 77 mph.

By 12 PM CST, the mid-level closed low had progressed into north central Texas allowing a clearing line to the New Mexico/Texas state line. This further east position of the low also had a diminishing effect on the heaviest snow bands as the upper level forcing had lessen. Snowfall rates dropped to below 1 inch per hour, and the surface pressure gradient was slowly weakening to allow a slow lowering of sustained surface winds. However, near zero visibilities were still reported in locations where snow had ended due to blowing snow. The clearing line was positioned from Amarillo, Texas (Randall and Potter County) to Guymon, Oklahoma (Texas County) by 3 PM CST, and distinct snow bands were no longer evident on radar. Surface winds had also dropped below 35 mph sustained to bring an end to blizzard conditions across the Panhandles. Snow showers continued to diminish before coming to an end just before 10 PM CST.

The following is a listing of the highest snow amounts per county: 19.0 inches in Amarillo (Potter County); 1.0 inch in Dalhart (Dallam County); 8.0 inches in Vega (Oldham County); 12.0 inches in Dumas (Moore County); 10.0 inches in Morse (Hansford County); 2.0 inches in Stratford (Sherman County); 11.3 inches in Canyon (Randall County); 11.0 inches in Hereford (Deaf Smith County); 15.0 inches Perryton (Ochiltree County); 16.0 inches in Pampa (Gray County); 17.0 inches in Sanford (Hutchinson County); 14.0 inches in Wheeler (Wheeler County); 4.0 inches in Hedley (Donley County); 4.0 inches in Samnorwood (Collingsworth County); 12.0 inches in Briscoe (Hemphill County); 14.0 inches in Panhandle (Carson County); 14.0 inches in Lipscomb (Lipscomb County); 14.0 inches in Claude (Armstrong County); 14.0 inches in Miami (Roberts County); and 4 inches in Channing (Hartley County).| |While the total economic losses due to the blizzard remains largely undocumented, the blizzard cleanup cost the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) nearly $1.6 million and cattle farmers $10.24 million in cattle losses.

The 8 to 19 inch swath of snow across the majority of the Panhandles paralyzed traffic, and caused both TXDOT and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (OKDOT) to close all roads and highways across the region. TXDOT crews began performing plowing operations during the onset of snow accumulation however; plowing operations had to be suspended due to several near misses, visibilities as low as 50 feet, and operator safety concerns. Plowing operations were not allowed to resume until the morning of the 25th as conditions improved. City Utilities and Parks Departments were re-tasked to assist road crews in plowing and TXDOT crews from as far away as El Paso and Dallas were deployed to assist.

Numerous motorists became stranded, 50 in Amarillo alone, during and after the blizzard across both the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle. The National Guard deployed 53 troops and 37 vehicles to assist local law enforcement in search and rescue operations to locate stranded motorist along Interstate 40. | |The blizzard forced businesses to shut down, caused temporary power outages, and limited the supply of goods by paralyzing delivery methods. Xcel Energy reported 4,400 customers across the Texas Panhandle lost power as a result the blizzard causing an issue at a substation on the northeast side of Amarillo (Potter County). Toot-n-Totum closed 52 of their 62 locations across the panhandles, which was the first time in 62 years of operations that so many locations were closed. The remaining 10 locations were reported to have been visited by 11,000 customers with lines of 40 to 50 people deep according to security camera estimates. All Pak-A-Sak locations in Amarillo were closed for the first time in their 35 years of operations. BNSF Railway notified customers to expect a 24 to 48 hour delay in the delivery of goods. The Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport was forced to shut down on the morning of the 25th, and was unable to reopen until the morning of the 26th. However, Untied Airlines and American Airlines did not schedule any departures until the 27th.

Economic impact of the blizzard estimated from known TXDOT costs, cattle losses, and estimated vehicle repairs and delayed services.