A dry spring pattern continued through April for the Texas Panhandle, with most areas receiving less than one inch of precipitation during the month. Short-term deficits worsened especially in the western Panhandle, where less than one quarter of an inch fell.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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 dry spring pattern continued through April for the Texas Panhandle, with most areas receiving less than one inch of precipitation during the month. Short-term deficits worsened especially in the western Panhandle, where less than one quarter of an inch fell. In what should have been the start to the growing season, precipitation ranged from less than 5% to near 50% of normal through the month. Long-term precipitation deficits going back to October 2010 matched or were worse than similar periods in the 1930s and 1950s droughts of record. By the end of April, Exceptional (D4) Drought conditions expanded to cover all of the Texas Panhandle. Amarillo recorded 0.57 inches of precipitation for the month (0.83 inches below normal), Dalhart recorded 0.11 inches of precipitation (0.97 inches below normal), and Borger recorded 0.13 inches of precipitation (1.41 inches below normal).
Soil moisture was rated mostly very short by month's end. High winds and dried out soils led to continued blowing dust problems in some areas. Farmers prepared for spring planting while much of the winter wheat crop was zeroed out by crop insurance adjusters. Winter wheat under irrigation did well and was used as a forage for cattle where available. Rangeland remained dormant, and producers were still supplementing cattle or reducing herd sizes. Upper soil zones remained at extremely dry levels in the Panhandle, ranging from less than 1 percent full in parts of the western Panhandle to between 5 and 10 percent full in parts of the eastern Panhandle. Deeper soil moisture was mostly less than 30 percent of normal. The Palmer Drought Severity Index indicated a a rating of Severe Drought conditions for the Texas Panhandle. Countywide burn bans were supported in most counties.
Stream flows across the majority of the Panhandle were at below normal to much below normal levels, causing Moderate to Severe Hydrologic Drought. The reservoirs of Palo Duro and Greenbelt Lake were below 4 percent and 14 percent capacity respectively, and Lake Meredith was at zero percent capacity. Water watches for several public water systems persisted through April while voluntary to mandatory mild water restrictions have been enacted.
Economic losses due to the drought through April 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 Mar 31, 11:53 PM CST, 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
1253 AM CDT TUE APR 1 2014
.AVIATION...
FOR THE 06Z TAFS...LITTLE CHANGE TO PREVIOUS AVIATION AFD REASONING.
SFC COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED THRU ALL TERMINAL SITES WITH NE WINDS IN
ITS WAKE. RETURN FLOW IS EXPECTED TO COMMENCE LATE TUES MORNING...WITH
S TO SW WINDS INCREASING IN SPEED AROUND MID AFTERNOON TUESDAY. SOME
HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ALSO EXPECTED THRU LATE TUESDAY EVENING.
ANDRADE
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 812 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2014/
UPDATE...
HAVE ALLOWED THE RED FLAG WARNING AND FIRE DANGER STATEMENT TO EXPIRE
ON SCHEDULE AT 8 PM CDT. EVEN THOUGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES ARE
STILL BELOW 20 PERCENT AT THIS TIME...WINDS HAVE DIMINISHED MARKEDLY.
RH VALUES WILL SLOWLY INCREASE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT AS A WEAK
COLD FRONT CONTINUES MOVING SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA AND TEMPERATURES
COOL WITH THE ONSET OF NIGHTFALL. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH ISSUED
EARLIER FOR TUESDAY FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE FCST AREA LOOKS
QUITE PLAUSIBLE AND NO CHANGES ARE PLANNED AT THIS TIME. REMAINING
WEATHER ELEMENTS FOR TNGT ARE FINE AT THE MOMENT. UPDATED PRODUCTS OUT AS
SOON AS POSSIBLE.
ANDRADE
PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 645 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2014/
AVIATION...
FOR THE 00Z TAFS...A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE MOVING SOUTH
ACROSS THE TERMINAL SITES THIS EVENING...WITH WINDS BECOMING NE TO E.
RETURN FLOW IS THEN EXPECTED TO COMMENCE LATER TUESDAY MORNING...WITH
WINDS BECOMING S TO SW AND INCREASING IN SPEED TUESDAY AFTERNOON. SOME
HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ARE ALSO ANTICIPATED ON OCCASION THROUGH LATE TUESDAY
AFTERNOON.
ANDRADE
PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 330 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2014/
DISCUSSION...
ONLY A FEW CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO EARLIER FORECAST. ELEVATED TO
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS DAILY THROUGH THURSDAY STILL
EXPECTED. SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN RETAINED FOR FAR NORTHERN
SECTIONS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. HAVE INTRODUCED AREAS OF
BLOWING DUST ACROSS MOST OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE FOR THURSDAY.
MODELS IN SOMEWHAT BETTER AGREEMENT FOR THE WEEKEND. HAVE
INTRODUCED SLIGHT CHANCE THUNDERSTORMS AREA WIDE FOR SATURDAY NIGHT
AND SUNDAY. SOUTHEAST LOW-LEVEL FETCH EXPECTED TO ALLOW MODEST
MOISTURE RETURN AS LONGWAVE TROF MOVES INTO THE AREA. REMAINING
PERIODS WILL BE KEPT DRY. 03
COCKRELL
FIRE WEATHER...
MARGINAL CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH EARLY
THIS EVENING ACROSS THE WESTERN...CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN TEXAS
PANHANDLE. ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HAVE EXPANDED THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH TO INCLUDE THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE TEXAS AND
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES ON TUESDAY. ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDTIONS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY ACROSS MAINLY THE TEXAS
PANHANDLE. NO ELEVATED OR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY. 03
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM NOON CDT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR
THE FOLLOWING ZONES: ARMSTRONG...CARSON...DALLAM...DEAF
SMITH...HANSFORD...HARTLEY...HUTCHINSON...MOORE...OLDHAM...
POTTER...RANDALL...SHERMAN.
OK...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM NOON CDT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR
THE FOLLOWING ZONES: CIMARRON...TEXAS.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 831 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-011100- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 831 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WILL PRESENT A THREAT FOR ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR AT LEAST PORTIONS OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE EXPECTED ON THURSDAY ACROSS THE TEXAS PANHANDLE WITH SHARPLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LEVELS AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. AREA FIRE MANAGERS AND EMERGENCY OFFICIALS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR ELEVATED OR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. ANDRADE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Exceptional Drought (D4) 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 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 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: 515667, 515668, 515669, 515670, 515671, 515672, 515673, 515674, 515675, 515676, 515677, 515678, 515679, 515680, 515681, 515682, 515683, 515684, 515685, 515686.