From December
18th through the 20th, a major winter storm blew across the Panhandles
bringing a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow. The storm
affected most of the Panhandles but hit the hardest across the
western Texas to Oklahoma Panhandles. Across the Panhandles, numerous
downed tree limbs and power poles caused traffic problems and
left many Panhandle residents without electricity. The hardest
hit area was in Texas county in the Oklahoma Panhandle where around
900 residents and businesses lost power.
The storm first affected the Panhandles on Monday
the 18th in the afternoon. Initially, the storm produced light
freezing rain on Monday night. As the airmass cooled and moisture
increased, the light freezing rain showers became more intense.
In fact, some locations even received thunderstorms that produced
freezing rain. The widespread freezing rain showers continued
all day Tuesday (the 19th) providing up to 1 inch of ice in the
worst hit locations. Generally though, most areas in the Panhandles
received about 1/2 inch of ice. Late Tuesday night into Wednesday
(the 20th) morning, the freezing rain showers changed over to
snow. Areas in the northwest Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles received
4 to 5 inches of snow, with slightly lower snow totals across
the central to eastern Panhandles.
Above are a few photos taken after the event
by NWS Hydrometeorlogical Technician Steve Bilodeau in the Amarillo
area.
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