Light surface winds, abundant moisture, and clear skies resulted in favorable conditions for the formation of fog during the early morning hours of the 4th lasting into the mid-morning hours. Dense fog occurred at many locations across mainly the eastern portion of the Texas Panhandle.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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.
Light surface winds, abundant moisture, and clear skies resulted in favorable conditions for the formation of fog during the early morning hours of the 4th lasting into the mid-morning hours. Dense fog occurred at many locations across mainly the eastern portion of the Texas Panhandle. Visibility of one quarter mile or less occurred in or near the cities of Amarillo (Potter and Randall counties), Clarendon (Donley County), Claude (Armstrong County), Dumas (Moore County), Panhandle (Carson County), Pampa (Gray County), Wellington (Collingsworth County), and Wheeler (Wheeler County) for at least a short period during the indicated time range. By 9 AM CST, the dense 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 3, 5:59 PM CST, 5 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 559 PM CST WED DEC 3 2014 .UPDATE... UPDATED FOR 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .AVIATION.../00Z TAFS/ KAMA...COMPLEX SCENARIO FOR THE NEXT 12 HOURS AS GENERALLY MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES CAN BE EXPECTED. THERE IS SOME CONCERN THAT IFR AND EVEN LIFR VISIBILITIES/CEILINGS WILL DEVELOP ALTHOUGH WITH WINDS VEERING TO THE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST BY 08Z...NOT CONFIDENT TO PUT INTO THE FORECAST AT THIS TIME. VFR CONDITIONS WILL RETURN AT LEAST BY 18Z...BUT CONFIDENCE ON TIMING WHEN THE LOW CLOUDS/VISIBILITIES WILL IMPROVE IS VERY LOW AT THIS TIME. KGUY...VERY SIMILAR FORECAST TO KAMA...ALTHOUGH INCLUDED A VCSH AFTER 18Z. KDHT...BIG QUESTION AS TO WHETHER LOW CLOUDS/VISIBILITIES WILL EVEN MAKE IT THAT FAR WEST. HAVE HELD OFF ON INCLUDING MVFR CONDITIONS FOR NOW. ALSO ADDED VCSH FOR AFTER 18Z. KNS && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 302 PM CST WED DEC 3 2014/ SUMMARY...FOG AND LOW CLOUDS DEVELOPING TONIGHT WITH RAIN CHANCES ON THE RISE THURSDAY NIGHT. RAIN CHANCES OVER THE WEEKEND LOWERING AS THE SYSTEM COMES IN DRIER. EARLY NEXT WEEK LOOKS DRY. WINDS ACROSS THE PANHANDLES ARE SLOWLY VEERING TO A MORE SOUTHERLY DIRECTION AND WILL CONTINUE THIS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. AS WINDS VEER, A SURGE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL MOVE INTO THE PANHANDLES. AS TEMPERATURES DROP OVERNIGHT AND WINDS BECOME LIGHT, WE COULD SEE THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOG. VISIBILITIES SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE 3 MILES BUT ISOLATED LOWER VISIBILITIES COULD BE POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY ALONG THE CANADIAN RIVER VALLEY AND OFF THE CAPROCK. ANY FOG THAT DEVELOPS SHOULD DISSIPATE A FEW HOURS AFTER SUNRISE THURSDAY AS HEIGHTS BEGIN TO FALL ACROSS THE PANHANDLES. SPRINKLES TO LIGHT RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE DAY ON THURSDAY BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO WIDESPREAD RAIN THURSDAY NIGHT. PRECIPITATION TYPE IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN LIQUID DUE TO OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES REMAINING ABOVE FREEZING WHILE PRECIPITATION IS OCCURRING. A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE PANHANDLES AND BRING AN END TO PRECIPITATION FROM NW TO SE LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. HIGH TEMPERATURES FRIDAY WILL MODERATE SLIGHTLY (BUT REMAIN ABOVE AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR) AS THE BULK OF THE COLD AIR WILL BE WELL OFF TO OUR EAST. AS WE MOVE INTO THE WEEKEND ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE PANHANDLES. AS WE HAVE GOTTEN CLOSER TO THIS TIME FRAME THE CHANCES HAVE BECOME MORE PESSIMISTIC. HAVE HELD ONTO LOW END CHANCES ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE COMBINED PANHANDLES AND ACROSS THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE SUNDAY DAYTIME. IF THE DRYING TREND CONTINUES THEN WE COULD BE LOOKING AT A DRY WEEKEND LEADING INTO A DRY EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 300 PM CST WED DEC 3 2014 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-041000- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 300 PM CST WED DEC 3 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PATCHY FOG IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE COMBINED PANHANDLES LATE TONIGHT. VISIBILITIES SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE 3 MILES WITH LOCALLY LOWER VISIBILITY POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. PATCHY FOG ACROSS THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE COMBINED PANHANDLES SHOULD DISSIPATE BY 9 AM THURSDAY MORNING. VISIBILITIES SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE 3 MILES WITH LOCALLY LOWER VISIBILITY POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
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 Dumas airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Amarillo airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Pampa airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile at Amarillo airport.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile.
Visibility fell to one quarter mile.
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: 547751, 547837, 547864, 547866, 547867, 547868, 547869, 547871, 547872.