A potent upper level storm system brought moderate to heavy snow to the Big Country and the northern Concho Valley including Coleman and Brown Counties. About 2 to 4 inches of snow fell over the two day period.
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 SJT wrote it up.
A potent upper level storm system brought moderate to heavy snow to the Big Country and the northern Concho Valley including Coleman and Brown Counties. About 2 to 4 inches of snow fell over the two day period. Snow covered roads and very cold temperatures resulted in many school closures across the Big Country and Coke County on February 27. The Abilene Airport was closed briefly in the morning until the plows were able to remove snow from the runways.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 26, 5:28 AM CST, 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 528 AM CST Thu Feb 26 2015 .AVIATION... /12Z TAFS/ Strong gusty north wind and lowering ceilings to MVFR are expected behind a strong cold front this morning. Light rain at KABI will transition to light snow mid morning. KABI will see the strongest wind gusts up to 33 KTS this morning. Winds will gradually decrease this afternoon. MVFR ceilings will return tonight over most TAF sites, mainly after midnight. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 433 AM CST Thu Feb 26 2015/ SHORT TERM... (Today and Tonight) Cold front was just south of I-20 from Big Spring to Abilene at 3 AM. There was a pre-frontal trough ahead of it, with north winds of 5 to 10 mph. Winds were north 15 to 25 mph behind it. Front should be along a San Angelo to Brownwood line around 6 AM...and south of I-10 by 9 AM. A band of snow has developed in the southern Texas Panhandle down to the Lubbock area at 3 AM, associated with an upper shortwave. The area of snow will move east across the Big Country this morning. It may start off as light rain, but transition to snow by 9 AM, with strong cold air advection behind the cold front. Temperatures will not be rising much today, especially across the Big Country, where clouds, snow, and cold air advection will keep temperatures below freezing for much of the day. Temperatures in the Big Country, in fact, may dip in the upper 20s mid morning, and stay there. Snow amounts in the Big Country will be light, perhaps 1 to 2 tenths, with a few flurries in the afternoon. Tonight, the NAM model indicates an increasing potential for light snow developing towards Friday morning, especially in the Big Country, with increasing low mid/level lift and moisture over the front. Have precipitation as snow, as sounding is well below freezing and saturated up to -20 C (500MB) by Friday 6 AM CST. 04 LONG TERM... (Friday through next Wednesday) The challenge for the long term portion of the forecast remains the winter weather event for the early portion of the long term, generally Friday and Friday night. Models are in fairly good agreement generally when it comes to the overall pattern Friday into the weekend. A shortwave trough will approach the area Friday morning, and move northeast away from the area Friday night. At the surface, temperatures are not expected to make it above freezing for most of the area Friday through Friday night. With synoptic scale lift in the mid and upper levels associated with the shortwave trough during the day Friday, we should see saturation through the vertical column to levels where snow can be efficiently produced. Therefore, have mostly snow in the forecast Friday across the entire area. The only exception is our far southern areas where there may be some melting, then re-freezing taking place in the lower layers of the atmosphere, and some sleet could develop with the snow. The path of the shortwave is expected to be across the Texas panhandle and caprock areas at this time. This would bring the best lift for our area to locations mainly along and north of Interstate 20. It's well within the realm of possibilities that these areas could see accumulating snowfall totals to Winter Weather Advisory criteria (1-3") during the day Friday, with lesser amounts south of the Big Country. Friday night becomes more complicated. With the shortwave moving off to the northeast, we lose our synoptic scale lift in the mid and upper levels, meaning we will likely see some drying aloft. However, we will still have saturated low levels (generally from the surface through 5000 feet or so), and weak lift associated with warm air advection over the top of the cold surface air mass. With this in mind, we could see additional light precipitation Friday night with temperatures still below freezing. Given that snow production would likely end, and near surface temperatures will be below freezing, the mostly likely precipitation for most of the area would be freezing rain or freezing drizzle. Light ice accumulations would be possible with this precipitation, and could be near advisory criteria. On Saturday, temperatures should warm to above freezing by late morning or early afternoon for most of the area, and have brought liquid precipitation back into the forecast for everywhere except north of I-20 by Saturday afternoon, and even north of the I-20 will eventually turn to all liquid, but temperatures may still be cool enough for some light freezing rain or drizzle into early afternoon here. Forecast looks to remain above freezing from Saturday night through the end of the period, and models continue to hold on to a chance for light rain or sprinkles through Tuesday, although any precipitation we get should be very light. 20 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Abilene 34 19 29 24 41 / 30 10 40 30 30 San Angelo 38 23 31 27 50 / 10 10 30 30 20 Junction 42 25 36 29 50 / 10 10 20 30 30 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 99/99/04
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 311 PM CST WED FEB 25 2015 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-262115- FISHER-NOLAN-STERLING-COKE-RUNNELS-IRION-TOM GREEN-CONCHO- CROCKETT-SCHLEICHER-SUTTON-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD- TAYLOR-CALLAHAN-COLEMAN-BROWN-MCCULLOCH-SAN SABA-MENARD-KIMBLE- MASON- 311 PM CST WED FEB 25 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR LIGHT SNOW ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 THURSDAY MORNING. LITTLE IF ANY ACCUMULATION OR IMPACT IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH A WINTER MIX POSSIBLE SATURDAY MORNING. SOME IMPACTS TO TRAVEL WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT.. SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement officials estimated about 2.5 inches of snow in Throckmorton.
Law enforcement officials estimated about 2.5 inches of snow in Haskell.
Law enforcement officials estimated about 3.5 inches of snow in Albany.
Law enforcement officials estimated about 3 inches of snow in Anson.
Law enforcement officials estimated about 2 inches of snow in Sweetwater.
A Clyde Fire Department Official measured 4 inches of snow in Clyde.
Law enforcement officials estimated about 2 inches of snow in Rotan.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer measured 2.7 inches of snow in Abilene.
A volunteer rainfall observer estimated one inch of snow 4 miles north of Water Valley.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2015
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: 563918, 563919, 563920, 563922, 563932, 563936, 563938, 563948, 563950.