The dry spring pattern continued through most of May across the Oklahoma Panhandle before an abrupt change to a wet pattern over Memorial Day weekend. Prior to the start of the rainy weather, 3- to 4-year precipitation deficits rivaled those of the worst periods during the 1930s Dust Bowl and 1950s droughts of record.
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.
The dry spring pattern continued through most of May across the Oklahoma Panhandle before an abrupt change to a wet pattern over Memorial Day weekend. Prior to the start of the rainy weather, 3- to 4-year precipitation deficits rivaled those of the worst periods during the 1930s Dust Bowl and 1950s droughts of record. Most of the Panhandle received at least 1 inch of rain over the last 10 days of the month, and many areas received between 2 to 5 inches. Short-term dryness continued in the far western and eastern Oklahoma Panhandle. Widespread Exceptional (D4) Drought conditions at the start of May improved to a mix of Extreme (D3) and Exceptional Drought conditions at the end of the month. Guymon recorded 2.29 inches of precipitation for the month (0.15 inches below normal).
Soil moisture was rated from very short to adequate by the end of May, though soils were dry for most of the month before the onset of the rainy pattern. Farmers were rushing to plant summer crops, while most winter wheat had either been lost due to spring dryness or was being harvested. Rangeland quickly greened up following the rain, though range and pastures continued to be rated mostly in poor condition following several years of drought. Upper soil zones were greater than 40 percent full in the central Oklahoma Panhandle and between 20 to 30 percent full in the western and eastern parts of the Panhandle. Deeper soil zones were still drier, rated between 10 to 30 percent full. The Palmer Drought Severity Index indicated a rating of Severe Drought conditions for the Oklahoma Panhandle. A governor's burn ban was in effect for the Oklahoma Panhandle counties to start the month, but all burn bans were lifted by the end of the month.
Reservoirs and stream flows across the majority of the Oklahoma Panhandle were at below normal levels.
Economic losses due to the drought through May were predominately the result of supplemental watering, winter wheat losses, 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 Apr 30, 10:17 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1117 PM CDT WED APR 30 2014
.AVIATION...
LIGHT NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PICK UP INTO THE 15 TO 20 KNOT RANGE WITH
HIGHER GUSTS BY MID MORNING ON THURSDAY. WINDS WILL THEN DECREASE
WITH THE SETTING SUN THURSDAY EVENING. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 554 PM CDT WED APR 30 2014/
AVIATION...
WINDS WILL DECREASE TO AROUND 10 KNOTS BY 02Z THIS EVENING AND THEY
WILL GENERALLY KEEP THEIR SAME DIRECTION. NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS
WILL PICK UP INTO THE 15 TO 20 KNOT RANGE WITH HIGHER GUSTS AGAIN BY
MID MORNING ON THURSDAY. HIGH CLOUDS WILL INCREASE BY THURSDAY
MORNING. THEREFORE...CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VFR.
PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 334 PM CDT WED APR 30 2014/
DISCUSSION...
THROUGH TONIGHT: BLOWING DUST MAY LOCALLY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO AS
LOW AS 2 MILES NEAR OPEN FIELDS AND CONSTRUCTION AREAS ACROSS THE
WESTERN PANHANDLES THROUGH 9 PM. THE DUST SHOULD RELAX AS BREEZY
NORTH NORTHWEST WINDS SUBSIDE BY 9 PM. WITH WINDS RELAXING OVERNIGHT,
A LIGHT FREEZE MAY OCCUR ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST PANHANDLES. HAVE
LOW TO MODERATE CONFIDENCE WITH RESPECT TO THE FREEZE WARNING.
THURSDAY-THURSDAY NIGHT: NORTH NORTHWEST WINDS WILL REMAIN BREEZY,
BUT SLIGHTLY WEAKER THAN TODAY. SOME PATCHY BLOWING DUST WILL STILL BE
POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WESTERN PANHANDLES DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING HOURS. SOME LIGHT RAIN/SPRINKLES MAY CLIP THE FAR
WESTERN/SOUTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE BETWEEN 4 PM AND 8 PM, BUT CONFIDENCE
OF OCCURRENCE IS LOW. HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S IN THE
NORTHWEST TO NEAR 70 IN THE SOUTHEAST. NO FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE
ANTICIPATED THURSDAY NIGHT.
FRIDAY-FRIDAY NIGHT: IT'S SHAPING UP TO BE A NICE DAY WITH HIGHS
WARMING INTO THE 70S TO NEAR 80 AREAWIDE AND FINALLY SOME LIGHT
WINDS!
SATURDAY-WEDNESDAY: VERY HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT SUMMERLIKE WARMTH IS
STILL ON TAP FOR MUCH OF THIS PERIOD, ESPECIALLY SUNDAY THROUGH
TUESDAY. UNFORTUNATELY, THE UPPER-LEVEL PATTERN EARLY TO MID-WEEK
NEXT WEEK MAY BRING THE WIND MACHINE BACK TO THE SOUTHERN HIGH
PLAINS. EVEN WORSE, DRY CONDITIONS LOOK TO PERSIST THROUGH THE END OF
THIS FORECAST PACKAGE. THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS THAT THERE COULD BE
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES BY LATE NEXT WEEK, BUT SIGNIFICANT TIMING
DIFFERENCES AND THE ONGOING DROUGHT DON'T GIVE US MUCH CONFIDENCE.
JACKSON
FIRE WEATHER...
ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MOST
OF THE PANHANDLES ON THURSDAY AS RELATIVE HUMIDITIES RANGE BETWEEN 15
AND 20 PERCENT WITH NORTHWESTERLY 20-FOOT WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH.
NEITHER ELEVATED NOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON
FRIDAY DUE TO 20-FOOT WINDS REMAINING BELOW 15 MPH. ELEVATED TO
BRIEFLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY DUE TO NEAR SINGLE DIGIT MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES
AND BREEZY SOUTHWEST 20-FT WINDS. FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS LOOK TO
INCREASE EARLY TO MID-WEEK NEXT WEEK AS THE UPPER-LEVEL PATTERN
BECOMES SUPPORTIVE OF MORE WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS.
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...FREEZE WARNING FROM 5 AM TO 9 AM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: DALLAM...HARTLEY.
OK...FREEZE WARNING FROM 5 AM TO 9 AM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: CIMARRON.
&&
15/10HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 823 PM CDT WED APR 30 2014 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-011330- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 823 PM CDT WED APR 30 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. A SHORT DURATION LIGHT FREEZE IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST PANHANDLES LATE TONIGHT. A FREEZE WARNING IS IN EFFECT BEGINNING AT 5 AM AND LASTING THROUGH 9 AM THURSDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE FREEZE WARNING ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST PANHANDLES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 9 AM THURSDAY. ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MOST OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ELEVATED TO BRIEFLY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ACROSS THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. AREA FIRE MANAGERS AND EMERGENCY OFFICIALS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THURSDAY...SATURDAY...AND SUNDAY. GOEHRING
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Exceptional (D4) Drought as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional (D4) Drought as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional (D4) Drought as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, May 2014
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: 522839, 522840, 522841.