Heavy snow fell along and north of line from northern Irion County to Sterling City then northeast to Rotan, Stamford, Haskell and across northern Throckmorton county. Snowfall amounts in this area ranged from 4 to 10 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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.
Heavy snow fell along and north of line from northern Irion County to Sterling City then northeast to Rotan, Stamford, Haskell and across northern Throckmorton county. Snowfall amounts in this area ranged from 4 to 10 inches. East of this line, sleet amounts were heavy, while snowfall amounts were less.
This winter storm was caused by an upper level trough moving across the region as cold arctic air invaded West Central Texas. All universities, schools, county and city offices were closed on February 5 and even into February 6 for those areas that had the heavy snow. Roads became treacherous especially where the heavy snow fell. This snow stayed on the ground for a few days afterwards.
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 4, 5:46 PM CST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Angelo TX 546 PM CST Tue Feb 4 2020 .AVIATION... /00Z TAFS/ A mix of wintry precipitation, including snow, freezing rain, and ice pellets will begin by 06Z tonight. Flight conditions will continue to deteriorate, and will fluctuate between heavy precipitation bands. Overall, poor flight conditions should continue through at least 18Z tomorrow, then gradually improve through the afternoon. SK && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 315 PM CST Tue Feb 4 2020/ SHORT TERM... (Tonight and Wednesday) ..Winter Storm for Tonight and Wednesday... The main concern through the next 24 hours is the winter storm that will impact much of West Central Texas. An upper level trough currently across the Southwest United States will approach the forecast area overnight. Large scale lift will overspread the region resulting in the development of widespread precipitation. Across the Big Country mainly snow, heavy at times is expected. Some sleet is possible. The heaviest snowfall will be between Midnight and 6 AM. Accumulations of 4 to 8 inches, with locally higher amounts possible, are expected northwest of a Sweetwater to Albany line, and 3 to 5 inches along the I-20 corridor. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for the Big Country from 6 PM tonight to 6 PM Wednesday. Significant travel impacts are expected for Wednesday morning due to snow covered/icy roads. Farther south across the Concho Valley, northern Heartland and Northern Edwards Plateau, expect the precipitation to changeover from rain to freezing rain/sleet mainly after midnight due to a low level warm layer on top of shallow sub freezing surface air. Ice accumulations of 1/10 of an inch are possible and snow/sleet accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected northwest of a Barnhart to Ballinger line. Significant travel impacts are possible, especially across the Concho Valley due to icy roads, especially bridges and overpasses. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 9 PM tonight to 6 PM Wednesday. Temperatures will be much colder with lows mainly in the 20s and highs in the 30s Wednesday. The wind chills will be in the teens Wednesday morning. LONG TERM... (Wednesday night through next Tuesday) By Wednesday night, the precipitation will have moved out of most of the area. Skies are expected to clear as the upper level system moves off to the east, and winds will become light. With potential snowcover on the ground, clear skies, and light winds, this will set up a good radiational cooling night with temperatures likely dropping into the teens for many locations along and north of a Sterling City to Brownwood line, and low to mid 20s for the southern 2/3 of the area. Under clear skies on Thursday, temperatures are expected to be able to rebound fairly well, with highs getting back into the 40s north of I-20 to the mid 50s along the Interstate 10 corridor. The warming trend will continue into Friday as highs warming into the low 50s north of Interstate 20, to near 70 degrees south. A shortwave moving through the central Plains will send a cold front into the area Saturday, pausing the warming briefly, but this front will be dry, and not as strong as today's. Temperatures continue to warm Sunday with highs potentially back into the 70s. Models differ early next week. The GFS brings in another strong front cooling temperatures significantly, while the ECMWF keeps our area warm. Both models do bring a chance of precipitation to the area. Will keep temperatures near normal for now, and monitor future model data. 20 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Abilene 24 31 17 46 / 100 70 0 0 San Angelo 26 35 21 53 / 100 60 5 0 Junction 31 43 22 56 / 80 30 10 0 Brownwood 27 35 20 51 / 100 50 10 0 Sweetwater 24 30 19 45 / 90 70 0 0 Ozona 28 38 23 54 / 90 50 5 0 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM CST Wednesday for Callahan- Fisher-Haskell-Jones-Nolan-Shackelford-Taylor-Throckmorton. Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 6 PM CST Wednesday for Brown-Coke-Coleman-Concho-Crockett-Irion-Runnels- Schleicher-Sterling-Tom Green. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service San Angelo TX 246 PM CST Tue Feb 4 2020 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-052100- 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- 246 PM CST Tue Feb 4 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of west central Texas. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Heavy snow is expected tonight through Wednesday for the Big Country, with several inches expected especially north of I-20. Sleet, snow, and freezing rain is expected late tonight and Wednesday across the Concho Valley, Heartland, and northern Edwards Plateau. Accumulations of ice and snow will make for hazardous road conditions for motorists. The morning commute Wednesday morning will be significantly impacted. Although accumulating snow is less likely across the I-10 corridor, there is the possibility of brief periods of wintry precipitation Wednesday morning which could result in light accumulations on roadways, impacting travel. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Light sleet and snow will continue across the area through Wednesday afternoon. Hazardous travel conditions can be expected with temperatures remaining at or below freezing. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 heavy snow, 5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Rotan measured 10 inches of snow, while Roby reported 5 inches of snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer 10 miles north of Throckmorton measured 6 inches of snow. Throckmorton reported 2 inches of sleet.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Haskell measured 8.5 inches of snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Albany measured 3.3 inches of sleet and snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Stamford measured 7 inches of snow. Hawley reported 6 inches of snow, while Anson reported 3 inches of sleet and snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer measured 6 inches of snow in Roscoe. |Sweetwater reported 5 inches of sleet and snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Abilene measured 3.5 inches of sleet and snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Putnam measured 0.4 inches of sleet and freezing rain, and another inch of snow. Total depth of ice and snow was 1.4 inches.
A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer located 11 miles north northeast of Water Valley reported 4 inches of snow. He also observed thunder during the snow. Another Cooperative Observer measured 2.9 inches at Oak Creek Reservoir. Robert Lee reported 1.5 inches of snow.
Three to four inches of snow was reported in Sterling City.
Five to six inches of snow was reported in northern Irion County.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer located in Wingate measured 2 inches of snow. Runnels County had an average of 1 to 2 inches of snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer located in Paint Rock measured 0.5 inches of snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer located 2 miles northeast of Glen Cove measured an inch of snow along with some sleet and ice. Coleman reported a tenth of an inch of snow.
National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Water Valley measured 2 inches of snow. Christoval reported about an inch of snow, while National Weather Service in San Angelo measured about a tenth of an inch of sleet and snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2020
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: 877939, 877967, 877946, 877970, 877950, 877941, 877952, 877976, 878029, 878052, 878061, 878047, 878076, 878048, 878031.