September saw above normal precipitation for the western two thirds of the Texas Panhandle, but very little fell over the eastern third of the Panhandle. Most areas measured at least 2 to 3 inches during the month, with isolated amounts in the southwest Texas Panhandle exceeding 5 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 17 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.
September saw above normal precipitation for the western two thirds of the Texas Panhandle, but very little fell over the eastern third of the Panhandle. Most areas measured at least 2 to 3 inches during the month, with isolated amounts in the southwest Texas Panhandle exceeding 5 inches. Some areas in the eastern Panhandle measured less than one half an inch of rain. All areas of Exceptional (D4) Drought improved due to frequent rain during the month. Extreme (D3) Drought remained along a line from east of Dalhart to near Clarendon and in extreme eastern portions of the Panhandle. Deaf Smith County to western Hartley County improved to a mix of Abnormally Dry (D0) to Moderate (D1) Drought conditions following the widespread heavy rain in those areas. Otherwise, the remainder of the Panhandles were rated at Moderate (D1) to Severe (D2) Drought conditions. Amarillo recorded 4.16 inches of precipitation for the month (2.24 inches above normal), Dalhart recorded 1.55 inches of precipitation (0.10 inches below normal), and Borger recorded 1.82 inches of precipitation (0.56 inches below normal).
Soil moisture was rated mostly short to adequate during the month. Crops fared well during the month, and some development was even limited by too much rain and cloudiness. Rangeland and pasture continued to improve in some areas, but cattle herd sizes remained limited due to prolonged drought. Upper soil zones were mostly in the 10 to 30 percent full range, with locations in the eastern Panhandle generally drier. Deeper soil moisture was still below normal in much of the Texas Panhandle, but values were estimated to be greater than 150 percent of normal where rainfall had been most frequent. The Palmer Drought Severity Index indicated a rating of Moderate Drought to Near Normal conditions for the Texas Panhandle. Countywide burn bans were supported in several counties.
Stream flows across the Texas Panhandle ranged from near normal to below normal during September. The reservoirs of Lake Meredith and Palo Duro were below 5 percent and 3 percent capacity respectively, and Greenbelt Lake was below 13 percent capacity. Water watches for several public water systems persisted through September while voluntary to mandatory mild water restrictions were continued.
Economic losses due to the drought through September were predominately the result of supplemental watering in the driest areas 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 Aug 31, 10:43 PM CST, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 1143 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2014 .AVIATION... COLD FRONT IS EVIDENT ON LOCAL RADARS...AND IS ALMOST UPON KDHT. WILL CALL FOR FRONTAL PASSAGE AT KAMA AT 11Z MONDAY...WITH SURFACE WINDS SHIFTING TO NORTH. EXPECT COLD FRONT TO SLOW DOWN AFTER SUNRISE AND STALL A BIT SOUTH OF KAMA FOR MUCH OF THE DAY ON MONDAY. ISOLATED LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EAST OF ALL THE TERMINALS...PRIMARILY ALONG AND NEAR THE DRYLINE AND COLD FRONT NEAR THEIR POINT OF INTERSECTION. VFR FORECAST CONTINUES NEXT 24 HOURS AT ALL TERMINALS. COCKRELL && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 855 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2014/ UPDATE... STRIPPED THE MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THIS EVENING BASED ON PREVIOUS AFD REASONING. CAN'T RULE OUT A FEW SPRINKLES ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE THIS EVENING AS THE COLD FRONT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTHWARD. NORTHEASTERLY WINDS COULD BRIEFLY GUST UP TO 25 KT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE FRONTAL PASSAGE ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE WHERE THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE THE TIGHEST. HOWEVER, THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL RELAX AFTER 12 AM, SO THESE BRIEF NORTHEASTERLY WIND GUSTS WILL BE MOSTLY RESTRICTED TO LOCATIONS NORTH OF A CLAYTON TO LIPSCOMB LINE. REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST IS IN GOOD SHAPE. JACKSON PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 648 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2014/ MESOSCALE UPDATE... JUST ONE LOOK AT THE FLAT TOP CUMULUS OUTSIDE OUR OFFICE BACKS UP WHAT OUR 0000 UTC RAOB DATA SHOW WITH A SUBSTANTIAL CAP CENTERED AROUND 540 MB. DUE TO THIS CAP, IT'S HIGHLY UNLIKELY ANY THUNDERSTORMS ARE GOING TO FORM AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ARE BEYOND PEAK HEATING. ADDITIONALLY, SPC MESOANALYSIS SHOWS SURFACE-BASED CONVECTIVE INHIBITION VALUES HAVE INCREASED BY 125 J/KG OVER THE LAST THREE HOURS, FURTHER LIMITING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION. WHERE THERE IS A LITTLE MORE UPPER SUPPORT TO THE NORTH, A FEW TOWERS TRIED TO DEVELOP IN BEAVER COUNTY ABOUT AN HOUR AGO, BUT EVEN THESE QUICKLY COLLAPSED. THERE ARE A FEW SHOWERS AND STORMS ACROSS SOUTHWEST KANSAS, BUT THESE ARE BEING GENERATED BY A WEAK COLD FRONT. IT'S NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION THAT ISOLATED SHOWERS OR STORMS COULD DEVELOP LATER THIS EVENING ALONG THE COLD FRONT AS IT MOVES INTO THE AREA. HOWEVER, ODDS ARE THAT THIS ACTIVITY WILL REMAIN JUST OUTSIDE OF OUR FORECAST AREA. JACKSON AVIATION... FOR THE 00Z TAFS, VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. AS A FRONT APPROACHES AND PASSES EACH TAF SITE FROM THE NORTH, WINDS WILL SUBSTANTIALLY DIMINISH. HAVE MEDIUM CONFIDENCE ON TIMING OF THE FRONT. THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE FOR VCTS AT KGUY 02Z-05Z, BUT CONFIDENCE OF OCCURRENCE IS TOO LOW TO MENTION. JACKSON PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 306 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2014/ DISCUSSION... A HOT AND DRY WORK WEEK WILL GIVE WAY TO A MUCH MORE POTENTIALLY WET PATTERN BY THE FRIDAY INTO NEXT WEEKEND. THIS AFTERNOON... RECORD BREAKING TEMPERATURES ARE BEING NOTED IN MANY AREAS WITH AMARILLO ALREADY HITTING 103F. A DRYLINE FEATURE HAS SET UP FROM ROUGHLY PERRYTON TO PAMPA. EAST OF THIS LINE...A FEW STORMS MAY FIRE IN THE NEXT FEW HRS. GIVEN 1000-1500 J/KG MLCAPE AND 30-35 KTS BULK SHEAR...ANY ISOLATED STORMS WILL HAVE A GOOD CHANCE AT BECOMING SEVERE WITH SOME HAIL TO THE SIZE OF HALF DOLLARS AND A DOWNBURST OR 2. MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... THESE DAYS WILL BE HOT AND MAINLY DRY. FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... INCREASING MOISTURE THROUGHOUT THE COLUMN WILL LIKELY LEAD TO ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WITH ANY WEAK WAVE THAT PASSES THROUGH. THE TROPICS WILL NEED AN EYE KEPT ON THEM AS ANY SYSTEMS IN THE GULF OR ERN PACIFIC COULD ADD EVEN MORE MOISTURE TO OUR PATTERN. SIMPSON && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 03/13
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 841 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2014 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-011115- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 841 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL EXIST ACROSS THE EASTERN PANHANDLES MONDAY EVENING...ACROSS THE NORTHERN PANHANDLES ON THURSDAY NIGHT...AND AREA WIDE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. IF STORMS DEVELOP...THEY COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. JACKSON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
17 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
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.
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.
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.
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, September 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: 544129, 544130, 544131, 544133, 544134, 544135, 544136, 544138, 544139, 544140, 544141, 544143, 544144, 544145, 544146, 544147, 544148.