Much colder air behind a cold front arrived the night of the 22nd. This, in combination with an approaching upper level weather system, resulted in the development of light snow with accumulations around or slightly more than one inch across the far southwestern portions of the Texas Panhandle.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Much colder air behind a cold front arrived the night of the 22nd. This, in combination with an approaching upper level weather system, resulted in the development of light snow with accumulations around or slightly more than one inch across the far southwestern portions of the Texas Panhandle. One inch of snow accumulated three miles west of Bootleg (Deaf Smith County). One and a half inches of snow accumulated at Vega (Oldham County).
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 22, 5:11 PM CST, 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
511 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014
.AVIATION...
ANY RAIN AND SNOW SHOULD BE OVER FOR DHT AND GUY AND THESE SITES
SHOULD REMAIN VFR THROUGH THIS FORECAST. AT AMA...A BRIEF PERIOD OF
RAIN OR SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING ALONG WITH MVFR
CONDITIONS. OTHERWISE...CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VFR. STRONG NORTH
WINDS DEVELOP BY MID TO LATE MORNING ON TUESDAY. WINDS WILL BE IN THE
32 TO 37 KNOT RANGE WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THERE MAY BE SOME LOWER
VISIBILITIES DUE TO BLOWING DUST MAINLY AT THE DHT TAF SITE...BUT
CONFIDENCE IS NOT GREAT ENOUGH TO ENTER IT IN THE TAF AT THIS POINT.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 359 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014/
SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MIDDAY TUESDAY
THE MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE THROUGH THE NEXT 18 HOURS INCLUDES THE
POTENTIAL FOR SNOW OVER PARTS OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. A
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NOW POSTED FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN
TEXAS PANHANDLE.
CURRENT RADAR/SATELLITE TRENDS INDICATE INCREASED FORCING FOR ASCENT
OVER NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. LATEST SURFACE OBS REVEAL LOWERING
CEILINGS OVER THE PANHANDLES AND THE ONSET OF LIGHT SNOW AT CLAYTON.
THESE TRENDS ARE IN LINE WITH NWP WHICH OVERSPREAD DEEP FORCING
EASTWARD FROM NEW MEXICO OVER THE WESTERN PANHANDLES...BUT QUICKLY
TRANSLATE THIS ASCENT SOUTHEASTWARD OVER THE SOUTH PLAINS OF WEST
TEXAS. THIS FORCING WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NOSE OF AN INTENSE
150+ MPH UPPER AIR JET NOW DIVING INTO THE BASE OF A MID LEVEL
TROUGH AXIS PASSING OVER THE REGION TONIGHT.
FORECAST SOUNDINGS AND TIME/HEIGHT SERIES DEPICT FAVORABLE PROFILES
FOR DENDRITIC SNOW GROWTH OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE BY
AROUND 03Z. TODAY/S SEASONAL TEMPERATURES AND GROUND TEMPERATURES
AROUND 40 DEGREES /WTM/ WILL LIMIT OVERALL ACCUMULATION POTENTIAL...
BUT GIVEN POTENTIAL FOR MODERATE SNOWFALL BETWEEN 00-06Z...
ACCUMULATIONS AROUND 1 INCH ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN
CORNER OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. THIS IS SUPPORTED BY SREF 1 INCH
ACCUMULATION PROBABILITIES IN EXCESS OF 70 PERCENT. A SLOWER
TRANSITION TO A SUB-FREEZING COLUMN SHOULD LIMIT THE WINDOW OF
OPPORTUNITY FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW OVER THE CENTRAL TEXAS
PANHANDLE...AND THE QUICK SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF FORCING WILL
LIMIT POTENTIAL FURTHER NORTH OVER THE NORTHWESTERN PANHANDLE. WILL
MAINTAIN A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR LESSER ACCUMULATIONS OVER
THE BROADER WESTERN AND CENTRAL PANHANDLES...GENERALLY LESS THAN 1
INCH.
AS SUCH...FORCING/ASCENT WILL PASS SOUTH OF THE PANHANDLES BY
SUNRISE...WITH PRECIPITATION CHANCES ENDING. HOWEVER NORTHERLY WINDS
WILL BE RAMPING UP IN THEIR WAKE...WITH HEADLINE MAGNITUDE WIND
SPEEDS EXPECTED BY MIDDAY TUESDAY.
LONG TERM...TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY
PREDOMINATELY DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED IN THIS PERIOD DESPITE
MULTIPLE SHRTWV TROUGHS PROGGED TO TRAVERSE THE AREA. LACKING
MOISTURE WILL LIKELY RESULT IN ONLY AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER WITH
AN UPR TROUGH PASSAGE FRI-SAT. ANOTHER STRONGER UPR TROUGH IS
EXPECTED EARLY NEXT WEEK, BUT ITS PASSAGE WILL PROBABLY WAIT UNTIL
JUST BEYOND THE END OF THIS EXTENDED PERIOD.
OF MORE CONCERN WILL BE THE STRONG WINDS TOMORROW. HAVE GONE AHEAD
AND HOISTED A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE NW PANHANDLES, WHERE BUFR
SOUNDINGS AT KDHT INDICATE UP TO 51 KTS AT AROUND 1500FT AGL. THE
REMAINDER OF THE AREA WILL LIKELY REACH WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA, BUT
HELD OFF ON AN ADVISORY FOR NOW GIVEN ANTECEDENT HEADLINES. DID ADD
AREAS OF BLOWING DUST IN THE NW PANHANDLES GIVEN A PREDOMINATELY SNOW
FREE SOURCE REGION IN SERN CO AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR LOCALIZED
BLOWING DUST NEAR RECENTLY HARVESTED FIELDS. ALSO ADDED A SMALL AREA
OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE FAR SW TX PANHANDLE WHERE WE THINK THE
CHANCES FOR ACCUMULATIONS ARE THE BEST TONIGHT.
AFTER A SEASONALLY "NORMAL" DAY ON WEDNESDAY, SANTA MAY NEED THAT
GLASS OF MILK TO COOL OFF ON CHRISTMAS DAY AS H85 MIX DOWN
TECHNIQUES YIELD BREEZY HIGHS IN THE 60S FOR MOST FOLKS.
ANOTHER FRONT SHOULD PASS DRY ON THU NIGHT WITH COOLER TEMPS
EXPECTED FOR FRI BEFORE ANOTHER MODEST WARMUP INTO THE WEEKEND.
SIMPSON
FIRE WEATHER...
VERY STRONG NORTH WINDS WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL BE NOTED BEHIND A
COLD FRONT ON TUESDAY...BUT RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BE AT OR
ABOVE 40 PERCENT. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL DROP TO AROUND 20
PERCENT ON WEDNESDAY BUT WINDS SHOULD BE LIGHT. THE COMBINATION OF
STRONGER SW WINDS AND LOWER RELATIVE HUMIDITIES ON CHRISTMAS DAY
WILL LIKELY RESULT IN ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
SIMPSON
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...HIGH WIND WATCH FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: DALLAM...HARTLEY...MOORE...SHERMAN.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 3 AM CST TUESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: DEAF SMITH.
OK...HIGH WIND WATCH FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: CIMARRON...TEXAS.
&&
15/05HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 359 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-231215- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 359 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW MAY DEVELOP ACROSS PARTS OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES TONIGHT. MOST SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW ONE INCH AT THIS TIME THOUGH PORTIONS OF DEAF SMITH COUNTY COULD SEE AROUND AN INCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NORTH WINDS IN THE 30 TO 40 MPH RANGE WITH GUSTS ABOVE 50 MPH ARE LIKELY TUESDAY ACROSS THE PANHANDLES. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE NOTED IN THE NORTHWEST PANHANDLES...WHERE GUSTS COULD REACH 60 MPH AND A HIGH WIND WARNING MAY BE NEEDED. ELSEWHERE...A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE REQUIRED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME BUT SNOWFALL REPORTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 359 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 OKZ001-002-TXZ001>003-006>008-011>013-017-018-230900- CIMARRON-TEXAS-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON- OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BOISE CITY...KEYES...GUYMON...DALHART... STRATFORD...SPEARMAN...GRUVER...HARTLEY...CHANNING...DUMAS... BORGER...VEGA...AMARILLO...PANHANDLE...WHITE DEER...CANYON... CLAUDE 359 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 ...LIGHT SNOW POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES... SHOWERS WILL INCREASE OVER PORTIONS OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES THIS EVENING. LIGHT RAIN WILL MIX WITH AND CHANGE TO LIGHT SNOW OVER THE WESTERN PANHANDLES BY MID EVENING...WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF SNOWFALL OVER THE WESTERN PANHANDLES. SOME AREAS OF THE WESTERN PANHANDLES MAY SEE A DUSTING OF SNOW WITH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN ONE INCH POSSIBLE. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...WHERE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. THE THREAT OF SNOW WILL END BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...BUT STRONG NORTH WINDS ON TUESDAY WILL BECOME SUSTAINED AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. AREA RESIDENTS AND THOSE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES SHOULD STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION BY LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE AT: WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AMA... ...OR BY FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. LINDLEY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...RESENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 405 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 OKZ001-002-TXZ001>003-006>008-011>013-017-018-230930- CIMARRON-TEXAS-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON- OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BOISE CITY...KEYES...GUYMON...DALHART... STRATFORD...SPEARMAN...GRUVER...HARTLEY...CHANNING...DUMAS... BORGER...VEGA...AMARILLO...PANHANDLE...WHITE DEER...CANYON... CLAUDE 405 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 ...LIGHT SNOW POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES... SHOWERS WILL INCREASE OVER PORTIONS OF THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES THIS EVENING. LIGHT RAIN WILL MIX WITH AND CHANGE TO LIGHT SNOW OVER THE WESTERN PANHANDLES BY MID EVENING...WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF SNOWFALL OVER THE WESTERN PANHANDLES. SOME AREAS OF THE WESTERN PANHANDLES MAY SEE A DUSTING OF SNOW WITH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN ONE INCH POSSIBLE. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...WHERE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. THE THREAT OF SNOW WILL END BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...BUT STRONG NORTH WINDS ON TUESDAY WILL BECOME SUSTAINED AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. AREA RESIDENTS AND THOSE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES SHOULD STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION BY LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE AT: WWW.WEATHER.GOV/AMA... ...OR BY FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. LINDLEY
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
At least one inch of snow accumulation was reported three miles west of Bootleg.
The Sheriff's Office estimated that one and a half inches of snow fell in Vega by 7:44 PM CST.
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: 549935, 549936.