Texas, 2025

Cold in Texas, January 21, 2025

January 21, 2025 · NWS OUN · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

An expansive, high-amplitude upper trough sat across the eastern two-thirds of the CONUS during the middle of the month. An embedded system (and associated surface front) made quick southeastward progress across the Plains on the 20th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.

An expansive, high-amplitude upper trough sat across the eastern two-thirds of the CONUS during the middle of the month. An embedded system (and associated surface front) made quick southeastward progress across the Plains on the 20th. This strong frontal intrusion brought about another period of very cold temperatures and wind chills across the WFO Norman area.

What forecasters said that day

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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 10:44 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Updated at 1019 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025
  • Cold weather advisory for all of the area tonight into Tuesday morning.
  • Warmer temperatures through the end of the week.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 10:44 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Norman OK
1044 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 1019 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

- Cold weather advisory for all of the area tonight into Tuesday
  morning.

- Warmer temperatures through the end of the week.

&&

.NEAR TERM...
(Rest of today and tonight)
Issued at 236 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

The cold front is moving through northern Oklahoma with the band
of moderate snow near the front. It is important to know also that
the radars are not detecting all of the snow that is occurring.
The snow development is occurring at a low enough level that the
radar beam is too high to detect the snow one the beam gets far
enough from the radar. We have been seeing this near Gage where
radar do not show many echoes but visibility has recently been
down to 1/4 mile in snow. These bands of snow will continue to
move south with the front, although the forcing looks to diminish
through the evening so the areas of snow are expected to become
less widespread through the evening. POPs from NBM seemed to
diminish things too quickly per many of the model solutions so
have kept POPs higher this evening than the NBM would have
suggested. Still expect the area of snow accumulation to primarily
be within the area where we have the Winter Weather Advisory so
have left this unchanged, but we will of course be watching the
trends.

The snow will eventually diminish and clouds will also diminish
overnight allowing for increased radiational cooling. Lows will be
near (or even below) zero in the northwest to the mid-upper teens
in the southeast. There will still be enough wind to bring wind
chill values down as low as around -15 in the northwest to around
+5 in western north Texas and southeastern Oklahoma. Have expanded
the Cold Weather Advisory to encompass the entire forecast area.
With wind chill values already near or below zero in northwest
Oklahoma behind the front, we will now have the Cold Weather
Advisory begin at 6 PM as opposed to midnight.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(Tuesday through Wednesday night)
Issued at 236 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

Another cool days is expected on Tuesday, although winds will be
shifting to southwest and begin to push the colder air out of the
forecast area. Most areas should at least approach if not rise
above freezing on Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures will continue to
moderate as the cold high pressure area moves toward the east
coast on Thursday and highs Thursday are expected to be in the 40s
to lower 50s.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Thursday through Sunday)
Issued at 220 AM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

A warming trend back up into the 50s is expected across the area
as southerly winds return late in the week and mid-level ridging
builds in. For the most part, overnight lows will stay in the 20s
to 30s, given the clear skies that are expected. The long term
will be mainly dry, outside of the low chance for showers across
far southern Oklahoma over the weekend.

Bunker

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1019 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

Bands of snow gradually ending across the area this evening as
skies clear from northwest to southeast this evening and
overnight. Most locations will start with VFR ceilings and become
clear before sunrise Tuesday morning. Cold front working south
through the area will have a period of gusty winds before winds go
light later tonight. Surface trough will move east across the area
during the day tomorrow with southwest winds picking up by midday
and early afternoon. Some gusts of 20-25kts expected across the
north and west by afternoon. Winds stay gusty after 00Z tomorrow
evening.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Oklahoma City OK   9  33  23  45 /  30   0   0   0
Hobart OK          6  34  21  50 /  40   0   0   0
Wichita Falls TX  14  34  22  50 /  20   0   0   0
Gage OK           -5  34  19  44 /  10   0   0   0
Ponca City OK      0  32  21  44 /  40   0   0   0
Durant OK         17  33  21  46 /  10   0   0   0

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST Tuesday for OKZ004>048-
     050>052.

TX...Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST Tuesday for TXZ083>090.

&&

NEAR TERM...26
SHORT TERM...26
LONG TERM....13
AVIATION...30

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 20, 7:51 PM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
751 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0735 PM     Snow             Enid                    36.40N 97.89W
01/20/2025  E1.0 Inch        Garfield           OK   Emergency Mngr

&&

BT
Local storm report, Jan 20, 9:09 PM CST, 2 hours 51 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
909 PM CST Mon Jan 20 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 PM     Snow             Ponca City              36.71N 97.09W
01/20/2025  M1.5 Inch        Kay                OK   Public

&&

BT

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Archer

When
January 21, 12:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Archer forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
33.615, -98.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clay

When
January 21, 12:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
33.786, -98.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Wilbarger

When
January 21, 12:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Wilbarger forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
34.081, -99.241 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Wichita

When
January 21, 12:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Wichita forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
33.988, -98.704 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2025

Sources

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: 1229616, 1229617, 1229618, 1229619.