The month of January was another dry month for most of the Texas Panhandle, with only 2 or 3 light snowfalls being reported across the far northern parts of the Panhandle. As short term precipitation deficits worsened, drought conditions returned to the eastern Texas Panhandle.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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 month of January was another dry month for most of the Texas Panhandle, with only 2 or 3 light snowfalls being reported across the far northern parts of the Panhandle. As short term precipitation deficits worsened, drought conditions returned to the eastern Texas Panhandle. Severe (D2) to Exceptional (D4) Drought conditions continued in the western Texas Panhandle. The eastern half of the Texas Panhandle remained below Severe (D2) Drought rating. Amarillo recorded 0.03 inches of precipitation for the month (0.69 inches below normal), Dalhart recorded 0.01 inches of precipitation (0.51 inches below normal), and Borger recorded 0.07 inches of precipitation (0.52 inches below normal).
With precipitation from the previous growing season not sufficient to replenish a full soil moisture profile, winter wheat struggled under the dry weather pattern. Winter wheat was in mostly fair to good condition during the month according to reports received by the Texas A&M Agrilife Program, but dryland planted wheat had very poor growth. Upper soil zones remained drier than normal in the Texas Panhandle but were driest across the southern and eastern parts. Deeper soil zones ranged from less than 30 to around 50 percent of normal in the western Texas Panhandle, but values of 110 to 150 percent of normal were scattered across the Texas Panhandle. The Palmer Drought Severity Index worsened to a rating of Severe Drought conditions for the Texas Panhandle. Countywide burn bans were supported in Moore, Hutchinson, Roberts, Hemphill, Carson, Wheeler, Deaf Smith, Randall, Armstrong, and Donley Counties.
Reservoirs and stream flows across the majority of the Panhandle were at near normal to much below normal levels, causing Moderate to Severe Hydrologic Drought especially in the southern Texas Panhandle. The reservoirs of Palo Duro and Greenbelt Lake were below 5 percent and 15 percent capacity respectively, and Lake Meredith is at zero percent capacity. Water watches for several public water systems persisted through January while voluntary to mandatory mild water restrictions have been enacted.
Economic losses due to the drought through January 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 Dec 31, 11:35 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 1135 PM CST TUE DEC 31 2013 .AVIATION...DISCUSSION FOR 06Z TAFS VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL. WINDS BEHIND A COLD FRONT ARE STILL EXPECTED TO BE THE MAIN CONCERN AS GUSTS COULD PUSH 40 KTS DURING THE AFTERNOON HRS. WILL AGAIN HOLD OFF ON ISSUING AN AVIATION WEATHER WARNING FOR KAMA GIVEN ONLY MODERATE CONFIDENCE AND LIKELY 2 MORE TAF ISSUANCES BEFORE ANY AWW CRITERIA WINDS WOULD BE ATTAINED. THERE COULD BE SOME PATCHY BLOWING DUST WITH THE STRONG WINDS...BUT NORTH WINDS TEND TO BE A LITTLE LESS DUSTY THAN SW WINDS SO WILL NOT INCLUDE ANY SORT OF VSBY RESTRICTIONS OR BLDU MENTION. SIMPSON && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 553 PM CST TUE DEC 31 2013/ AVIATION...DISCUSSION FOR 00Z TAFS VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD PREVAIL WITH WIND DIRECTIONS AND SPEEDS THE MAIN CONCERN. AFTER A GRADUAL VEERING OF LIGHT WINDS FROM SW TO NW TONIGHT INTO WED MORNING...A COLD FRONT WILL TURN WINDS TO THE NORTH LATE MORNING/MIDDAY AND THEY WILL GET STRONG AND GUSTY. AWW CRITERIA WIND GUSTS OF 40 KTS ARE POSSIBLE TOMORROW AFTERNOON BUT WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING AN AVIATION WEATHER WARNING UNTIL FUTURE GUIDANCE GIVES BETTER CONFIDENCE. SIMPSON PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 232 PM CST TUE DEC 31 2013/ DISCUSSION... A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS THE PANHANDLES NEW YEARS DAY AS AN UPPER TROUGH DROPS SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA AND NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLES BY THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING NEW YEARS. THE GFS AND ECMWF BOTH FORECASTING PRECIP ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SHORTWAVE TROUGH AS THE MAIN SHORTWAVE TRACKS SOUTHEAST OUT OF COLORADO AND INTO NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA BY 00Z THURSDAY. THE NAM IS THE DRY MODEL AND PREFER THE GFS AND ECMWF WITH THIS UPPER TROUGH. INTRODUCED SOME SLIGHT CHANCE RAIN SHOWERS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS NEW YEARS DAY WITH TEMPS IN THE UPPER 30S TO MID 40S...THEN CHANGING OVER TO BRIEF PERIOD OF LIGHT SNOW IN THE EVENING AS TEMPS DROP TO NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. ANY SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LESS THAN A HALF INCH AT MOST. QUICKLY DRIER BY LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK AS TEMPS REBOUND TO AROUND OR ABOVE SEASONABLE NORMS. ANOTHER COLD FRONT PROGGED TO PUSH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA BY SATURDAY MORNING. NORTHERN STREAM UPPER TROUGH TO TRACK SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN REGION FRIDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY...TO NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS REGION BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...AND THEN INTO THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES BY SATURDAY NIGHT. SOME UNCERTAINITIES IN THE MODELS WITH REGARDS TO THE TRACK OF THIS UPPER SYSTEM. THE ECMWF IS STRONGER AND FURTHER SOUTH WHILE THE GFS IS SLOWER AND FARTHER NORTH. THE GFS BRINGS THE UPPER SYSTEM...MUCH WEAKER THAN THE ECMWF...ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ROCKIES BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND THEN ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS STATES SATURDAY NIGHT. AT THIS TIME...PREFER THE STRONGER AND FURTHER SOUTH TRACK OF THE ECMWF. THEREFORE...EXTENDED THE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR SNOW SATURDAY NIGHT FURTHER SOUTH INTO THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. THIS UPPER TROUGH SHOULD EXIT THE PANHANDLES BY SUNDAY WITH DRY NORTHWESTERLY UPPER FLOW ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. DRY WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPS SUNDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. SCHNEIDER FIRE WEATHER... NO ELEVATED OR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED NEW YEARS DAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK AS EITHER THE MINIMUM AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL BE 20 TO 25 PERCENT OR HIGHER...OR THE 20 FOOT WINDS WILL BE LESS THAN 15 TO 20 MPH. SCHNEIDER && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 09/07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 244 PM CST TUE DEC 31 2013 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-011200- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 244 PM CST TUE DEC 31 2013 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...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. SCHNEIDER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Extreme Drought (D3) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) as depicted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Severe Drought (D2) 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, January 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: 497236, 497237, 497238, 497239, 497240, 497241, 497242, 497243, 497244, 497245, 497246, 497247, 497248.