Abundant moisture caused fog to occur during the morning of the 20th. Dense fog with visibility at or below one quarter mile happened for at least a short period during the indicated time range in or near the cities of Amarillo (Potter and Randall counties), Dalhart (Dallam and Hartley counties), Dumas (Moore County), Hereford (Deaf Smith County), Vega (Oldham County).
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
Abundant moisture caused fog to occur during the morning of the 20th. Dense fog with visibility at or below one quarter mile happened for at least a short period during the indicated time range in or near the cities of Amarillo (Potter and Randall counties), Dalhart (Dallam and Hartley counties), Dumas (Moore County), Hereford (Deaf Smith County), Vega (Oldham County). By Noon CST, the fog had dissipated.
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 Dec 19, 10:46 PM CST, 1 hour 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 1046 PM CST FRI DEC 19 2014 .AVIATION... IFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL AT THE TAF SITES FOR MUCH OF THE OVERNIGHT. LOW CIGS AND VISIBILITIES SHOULD IMPROVE AT ALL TAF SITES BY MID TO LATE MORNING ON SATURDAY. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL PREVAIL AT SPEEDS MAINLY UNDER 12 KNOTS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 554 PM CST FRI DEC 19 2014/ AVIATION... FOR THE 00Z TAFS...MVFR CEILINGS REMAIN OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. CEILINGS ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER TO IFR OVERNIGHT AND SPREAD WESTWARD...WITH LIFR/IFR CEILINGS AND FOG LIKELY AGAIN EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. IFR CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY LIFT TO MVFR LATE MORNING AND SCATTER OUT AS SOUTHERLY WINDS TURN MORE SOUTHWESTERLY AND INCREASE TO 8-15KTS BY AFTERNOON. ELSENHEIMER PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 321 PM CST FRI DEC 19 2014/ DISCUSSION... CLOUDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING WITH AREAS OF FOG ONCE AGAIN DEVELOPING LATER THIS EVENING LASTING INTO THE MORNING HOURS. LEE SURFACE TROUGH WILL STRENGTHEN/SHARPEN TOWARD MORNING ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA AS A WEAK UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES TOWARD THE AREA. DEPENDING ON THE EXACT POSITION OF THE LEE TROUGH SOME AREAS IN THE FAR NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE AND FAR WESTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED CHANCES OF FOG EITHER FORMING OR PERSISTING INTO THE LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS TOMORROW GIVEN DRIER WESTERLY SURFACE FLOW BEHIND THE TROUGH. CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL FOR LOW CLOUDS AND FOG TO ONCE AGAIN LINGER LONGER THAN EXPECTED TOMORROW AND IMPLICATIONS THAT MAY HAVE FOR HIGH TEMPERATURES. ADJUSTED TEMPERATURES IN THE EAST DOWNWARD FOR TOMORROW TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. FOG MAY FORM ACROSS MAINLY THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE AREA TOMORROW NIGHT. DRY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE LARGE SCALE PATTERN WILL BECOME SIGNIFICANTLY MORE AMPLIFIED NEXT WEEK AS A STRONG MID-UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST AND A DEEP TROUGH EVOLVES OVER THE EASTERN CONUS. IN BETWEEN...MEAN NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL BE PRESENT OVER THE PLAINS. THE PRIMARY CHALLENGE IN THIS PATTERN IS VORTICITY MAXIMA ROTATING AROUND DEVELOPING CLOSED LOW POTENTIALLY FORCING PERIODIC BRIEF RELATIVELY INSIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EVENTS IN OUR REGION AS WELL AS MODEST COLD SURGES. THE CHALLENGE WILL BE TIMING OF THESE PERTURBATIONS. FROM AN ENSEMBLE MEAN PERSPECTIVE INDIVIDUAL WAVES ARE DAMPENED OUT EXCEPT FOR THE ONE THAT MOVE THROUGH LATE MONDAY. THIS SEEMS TO BE THE GREATEST CHANCE OF NOTEABLE SENSIBLE WEATHER CHANGES THROUGH MID WEEK. MOISTURE AND ASCENT MAY BE SUFFICIENT FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST LATE MONDAY SPREADING ACROSS THE AREA POTENTIALLY MONDAY NIGHT. COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL ARRIVE BY LATE MONDAY WITH TIMING OF THE COLD FRONT MAKING HIGH TEMPERATURE FORECAST A CHALLENGE. WITH POST FRONTAL SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND SIGNIFICANT MOMENTUM ALOFT...AND AT LEAST SOME POTENTIAL TO MIX INTO THAT...HAVE INCREASED WINDS FOR LATE MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THEREAFTER A BRIEF PERIOD OF LOW AMPLITUDE RIDGING AND INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY DOWNSLOPE SURFACE FLOW WILL BRING WARMER TEMPERATURES FOR CHRISTMAS DAY FOLLOWED BY A VIGOROUS TROUGH THAT WILL APPROACH THE REGION BY FRIDAY. SURFACE RESPONSE SHOULD MAY BE FAIRLY DRAMATIC WITH LEE TROUGH QUICKLY STRENGTHENING LATE ON CHRISTMAS DAY MORPHING INTO A BROAD SURFACE LOW THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. TYPICAL DIFFERENCES IN MEDIUM RANGE MODELS DO EXIST AT THAT RANGE WITH THE 12Z ECMWF BEING MUCH DEEPER AND STRONGER WITH SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS. SO THERE SEEMS TO BE POTENTIAL FOR A GRADIENT WIND EVENT BY AROUND FRIDAY. SUBSEQUENTLY A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH BRING COLDER AIR BY SATURDAY. BOWERS && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 15/05
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 255 PM CST FRI DEC 19 2014 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-200900- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 255 PM CST FRI DEC 19 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Dalhart airport. Broadcast media reports that one man died in a vehicle accident on highway 385 near Dalhart that was caused by the dense fog.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Dalhart airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Dalhart airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Dumas airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Amarillo airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Amarillo airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Amarillo airport and Hereford airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Hereford airport.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dense Fog, Dallam | 2014-12-20 | 47 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
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, December 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: 549926, 549928, 549929, 549930, 549931, 549932, 549933, 549934.