Blizzard Warning, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas...UPDATE: National Guard Called In To The Texas Panhandle

The Eagle Press out of Fritch, TX is reporting that they've called in the National Guard to assist with stranded motorists and other emergencies...

[link to www.facebook.com (secure)]

Last Edited by Saddletramp on 02/25/2013 11:36 AM

Update Fort Worth we have some power outages wind and its around 40 degrees big change from yesterday Im actually on the weatherford side of fort worth it is sprinkling and I see a big storm cloud off in the distance wind is supposed to get heavy and my phone alert went off from Nooa saying snow and rain mix temps are dropping fast

Temps were 58 this morning early...Now 44 at almost 11...Hummm...Maybe WF and surrounding areas will see a little snow.

yes thats true my hubby said its not going to snow its in the 50s we went to the store came out and drove down the road it dropped to 44 in 1 hour time

Thanks for reporting in y'all! This was from early this morning.

Published on Monday, 25 February 2013 04:59
Jenny Brown

LIFE THREATENING AND HISTORIC BLIZZARD UNDERWAY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND INTO WESTERN OKLAHOMA. PLEASE STAY OFF THE ROADS!!! Blizzard conditions have ramped up across the panhandle overnight and into this morning. Travel is out of the question and not recommended anywhere across the area. 6 inches of snow is already on the ground in Amarillo with more on the way. TXDot has closed a few of the major highways in and out of Amarillo. As of this post, I-40 westbound and Hwy 87 and 152 north of Amarillo are all currently closed due to snow and blizzard conditions, and additional road closures are expected. Wind gusts in excess of 60mph have been reported in the past few hours. The NWS Amarillo just posted a really scary video on their Facebook page taken from their office just a short while ago showing the incredible blizzard winds and blowing snow at their location near Rick Husband airport…and the worst of the winds have not even arrived yet. The worst of the winds are expected to impact the area between 6am and 4pm this afternoon.

[link to www.texasstormchasers.com]

Wow...It is really just getting started...Stay safe everyone!

Amarillo..they are now talking 16 plus inches.

[link to www.srh.noaa.gov]

Granted, I've only been alive for 43 years, but this may be the worst storm in this area that I have ever seen...

Comparable to the blizzard of 1889...

Here is a fun site TxDOT live traffic cameras. Nothing but white everywhere you look!


[link to its.txdot.gov]

Going to be lots of livestock losses because of this, Thank you Lord that I don't have any cattle in a feedlot right now...

Affected Area: Armstrong; Carson; Collingsworth; Dallam; Deaf Smith; Donley; Gray; Hansford; Hartley; Hemphill; Hutchinson; Lipscomb; Moore; Ochiltree; Oldham; Potter; Randall; Roberts; Sherman; Wheeler
Crippling Blizzard Continues To Impact The Panhandles...

Blizzard Warning Remains In Effect Until 3 AM CST Tuesday

A Blizzard Warning Remains In Effect Until 3 AM CST Tuesday.

* Event... Heavy Snows And Very Strong Winds Will Continue Today. Snowfall Accumulations Are Forecast To Range From Under 3 Inches In The Far Nw Panhandles To 14 To 20 Or More Inches In A Band From Amarillo To Stinnett To Spearman. The Rest Of The Panhandles Will Generally See 6-14 Inches. Strong Northerly Winds Of 30 To 40 MPH With Gusts To 65 MPH Will Continue To Make Travel Impossible.

* Timing... Snow Will Continue Across The Panhandles Today Before Tapering Off This Evening From West To East. Winds Will Increase This Morning And Remain Strong Through The Day... Before Beginning To Diminish From West To East This Evening.

* Impacts... Snow And Blowing Snow Will Reduce Visibilities To Zero At Times... Producing White Out Conditions In Many Spots. Roads Will Be Snow Packed And Icy. Snow Drifts 5 Feet Or Higher In Some Areas Will Make Driving Impossible. Power Outages Will Be Possible.

Issued by NWS Lubbock (Lubbock and South Plains Texas)

Affected Area: Bailey; Briscoe; Castro; Childress; Cochran; Cottle; Crosby; Dickens; Floyd; Hale; Hall; Hockley; King; Lamb; Lubbock; Motley; Parmer; Swisher
Blizzard Conditions Over Much Of The Caprock This Morning Will Spread East Through The Afternoon...

Blizzard Warning Remains In Effect Until 6 PM CST This Evening



* Timing... Blizzard Conditions Will Spread East Into Much Of The Rolling Plains And Southeast Texas Panhandle By Mid-to-late Morning... Before Diminishing By 6 PM. Farther West... Blizzard Conditions Should Begin Subsiding By The Afternoon.

* Snow Totals... Average Amounts Of 3 To 6 Inches With Up To 10 Inches Possible In The South-central Texas Panhandle.

* Wind And Visibility... Northerly Between 30 And 45 MPH With Gusts To 60 MPH. Visibility In Snow And Blowing Snow Will Fall To Near Zero At Times.

* Impacts... Travel Is Already Treacherous In Many Areas And The Texas Department Of Transportation Is Not Recommending Travel Unless It Is Absolutely Necessary. If You Decide To Travel And Become Stranded... Be Advised That Emergency Services May Be Unable To Assist You. Interstate 27 Between Lubbock And Amarillo Has Been Closed. Also... Very Strong Winds Will Stress Power Lines And Trees Increasing The Chance Of Power Outages.

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0219
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0925 AM CST MON FEB 25 2013

AREAS AFFECTED...E TX INTO SRN AR/LA/SWRN MS

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH LIKELY

VALID 251525Z - 251630Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...80 PERCENT

SUMMARY...HAIL POTENTIAL IS FORECAST TO INCREASE ACROSS THE
DISCUSSION AREA IN THE SHORT TERM...FOLLOWED BY AN INCREASE IN
DAMAGING WIND/ISOLATED TORNADO POTENTIAL LATER THIS MORNING/EARLY
AFTERNOON. WW WILL BECOME LIKELY IN THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS.

DISCUSSION...A VERY STRONG STORM SYSTEM IS ADVANCING EWD ACROSS NWRN
TX ATTM...WITH THE MID/UPPER LEVEL CENTER OF CIRCULATION INVOF CDS
/CHILDRESS TX/ AND THE SURFACE LOW NOW JUST N OF ABI /ABILENE TX/.

S OF THE SURFACE LOW...A PACIFIC COLD FRONT CONTINUES SURGING EWD
THROUGH E TX...WHILE THE WARM FRONT EXTENDS SEWD FROM THE LOW ACROSS
E TX TO THE VICINITY OF LCH /LAKE CHARLES LA/.
WITH ONLY A SLIVER OF LOW-LEVEL GULF AIR INLAND ATTM -- OVER THE
HOUSTON METRO AREA AND VICINITY...STRONG LARGE-SCALE ASCENT IS
FOCUSED ACROSS THE ARKLATEX REGION WHERE STEEP MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES
RESIDE ATOP A SURFACE-BASED STABLE LAYER. SCATTERED STORMS ARE
ONGOING INVOF THIS AREA...AND SHOULD CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL
HOURS ALONG WITH ATTENDANT HAIL POTENTIAL.

WITH TIME...AS THE SURFACE LOW SHIFTS EWD ACROSS THE RED RIVER
VALLEY...NWD RETREAT OF THE WARM FRONT IS EXPECTED AHEAD OF THE
ADVANCING PACIFIC FRONT. WITH TIME...EXPECT THE NOW-STABLE LOWER
TROPOSPHERE OVER LA TO BE REPLACED BY A FAVORABLY MOIST BOUNDARY
LAYER -- AND GIVEN VEERING/STRENGTHENING FLOW WITH HEIGHT ACROSS THE
REGION...SHEAR SUPPORTIVE OF SUPERCELLS WILL RESULT IN INCREASING
POTENTIAL FOR SURFACE-BASED SEVERE WEATHER IN ADDITION TO THE
ONGOING HAIL THREAT. ALONG WITH DAMAGING WIND POTENTIAL --
PARTICULARLY IF A LINE OF STORMS EVOLVES ALONG THE PACIFIC
FRONT...ISOLATED TORNADOES APPEAR LIKELY WITH PRE-FRONTAL
SUPERCELLULAR CONVECTION.

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0220
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1054 AM CST MON FEB 25 2013

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS OF THE TX PANHANDLE...ERN OK
PANHANDLE...WRN INTO N-CNTRL OK....S-CNTRL KS

CONCERNING...BLIZZARD

VALID 251654Z - 252230Z

SUMMARY...HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE/SHIFT E/NE ACROSS THE MCD AREA
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS CURRENTLY ONGOING ACROSS
THE TX PANHANDLE ALSO WILL SHIFT E/NE INTO PORTIONS OF NW OK/S-CNTRL
KS BY LATE AFTERNOON. WIDESPREAD 1 INCH PER HOUR SNOWFALL RATES ARE
EXPECTED WITH LOCALLY 2 INCHES PER HOUR POSSIBLE.

DISCUSSION...HEAVY SNOW BAND CURRENTLY EXTENDING FROM JUST SOUTH OF
LUBBOCK NORTH-NORTHEAST ACROSS THE ERN TX PANHANDLE INTO NW OK WILL
CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SNOWFALL RATES OF 1-2 INCHES PER HOUR THE NEXT
FEW HOURS. A SFC LOW LOCATED BETWEEN CDS AND SPS AT 16Z WILL SLOWLY
SHIFT E/NE ALONG THE RED RIVER INTO S-CNTRL OK THIS AFTERNOON IN
TANDEM WITH UPPER LOW. AS THIS OCCURS...HEAVIEST SNOW WILL SHIFT
E/NE IN CONCERT WITH FAVORABLE DEFORMATION ZONE/850 MB FRONTOGENESIS
FROM THE ERN TX PANHANDLE INTO WRN OK/S-CNTRL KS. EVIDENCE OF THIS
EWD SHIFT WAS NOTED FROM NEAR END TOWARD CSM IN OK AS RAIN WAS
CHANGING TO SNOW OVER THE LAST HOUR. THIS TRANSITION WILL CONTINUE
EWD ALONG/TO THE WEST OF THE I-35/I-44 CORRIDOR IN OK BY LATE
AFTERNOON. STRONG 850 MB JET ON THE BACK SIDE OF LOW WILL OVERSPREAD
WRN INTO N-CNTRL OK/S-CNTRL KS BY LATE AFTERNOON AND BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED.

CANYON -- Canyon Police are reporting that Buffalo Hill at Kimbrough Stadium is impassable.

Officers are blocking roads to prevent traffic from going NB on US 87 toward Buffalo Hill.

Police are saying "DO NOT, repeat DO NOT attempt to travel today. Emergency responders as well as snow plows are getting stuck. White out conditions exists once you get outside the city. High drifts have are seen across the roads. "

updated 11:15 a.m.

TXDOT advises these interstates are closed due to significant blowing snow and tall snow drifts:

• Interstate 40 from New Mexico to Oklahoma
• Interstate 27 from Amarillo to Lubbock
• US 54 from New Mexico to Oklahoma
• US 87/287 from Amarillo to Oklahoma state line
· US 287 from Amarillo to Clarendon

Many other regional highways north of Lubbock have been closed. TXDOT advises you if you don't have to be out please don't be.

Also, the Lubbock airport has been closed.

Here is another list

Amarillo, TX - At this time all Texas DPS troopers in the affected areas of the Panhandle are unable to respond to all requests for assistance due to whiteout conditions.

Troopers are attempting to respond but roadways are impassable.

National Guard units are in transit to assist with stranded motorists and emergency calls.

Here's a list of road closures for the entire Texas Panhandle:

-Hollywood at southern edge of Loop 335

-Buffalo Hill at Kimbrough stadium is impassable. The Canyon Police Department is blocking roads to prevent traffic from going northbound on US87 toward Buffalo Hill.

-I27 from Amarillo to Lubbock

- I40(Westbound) beginning at Soncy Rd in Potter County all the way to Albuquerque

-I40(Eastbound) out of Amarillo

-US87(Westbound/Southbound) & US287(Northbound/Southbound) from Marsh in Potter County to Stratford in Sherman County

-US87(Westbound/Southbound) & SH152(Eastbound/Westbound) in Moore County

-FM119(Northbound/Southbound) in Sherman County

-Every major road in Gray, Roberts, Dallam, and Hartley county

-NE 24th impassable between Grand and Lakeside

-Loop 335 on the NE side of town is closed due to a jack-knifed truck

All roads in the Texas Panhandle are virtually impassable

Austin here.

Clear and sunny.

Turn the sound down on this one


Video from near I-27 in Amarillo, TX in whiteout conditions.

Amarillo Blizzard 2013 Whiteout Conditions - Feb 25, 2013



[link to youtu.be]

Found this on youtube just now. It was filmed about an hour ago. Yep, that's bad.

[link to youtu.be]

YUCK! Stay safe everyone!

OMG..It looks like a hurricane with snow!




[link to youtu.be]

I'm in San Antone and it's windier than a chili cook off!

My 100 lb grill moved about 15 feet already with the wheels locked.

We have about 16 to 18inch on the ground here about 2 hours north east of Amarillo and its still coming down heavy.

LOL...Its not too bad in the DFW area right now. Here is our forecast.

Now
A few showers and thunderstorms will continue this morning mainly north and east of a line from Graham to Greenville to Athens. Lightning and small hail will be the main threats with any storms. Rainfall accumulations will be less than tenth of an inch. The main story of the day now turns to the strong winds occurring behind a front that is slowly progressing east across the region. Winds from the west at 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 or 50 mph will become more common during the afternoon hours with the strongest winds expected along and west of Interstate 35. Lightweight or loose outdoor objects should be secured. A Wind Advisory is in effect for all of north and central Texas through midnight. Later this afternoon we will see additional showers mainly north of Interstate 20 as a powerful upper level low moves across Oklahoma. There will likely be some snow mixed with the rain north of Interstate 20. Very light accumulations of snow are possible this afternoon but are more likely this evening near the Red River. Otherwise...mostly cloudy skies can be expected despite brief breaks in the clouds. Temperatures through midday will remain in the 40s and 50s.

Amarillo Globe News is reporting literally thousands of stranded vehicles all over the Texas Panhandle today...

Life threatening situation out there people, if you are at home, stay home! If you are at your place of work, stay at your place of work! If you are in any kind of decent warm shelter, stay in that decent warm shelter!!!

And apparently word is coming in that the National Guard that was coming in to help with rescue operations is stranded as well...

If by some chance you are stranded, and can see this, if you are in open country and cannot see a house or town very nearby, you should stay put INSIDE YOUR VEHICLE until the wind abates this evening...

We'll get you out when we can get out...

Last Edited by Saddletramp on 02/25/2013 12:56 PM

Snow is going good here in Wichita now. Round 2.

Dumping on us good here in southwest Lubbock, high winds to top it off.

Lipscomb or Hemphill county?!?!? Hello?

I'm at the Hutchinson/Roberts county line here...18+ inches, drifting over the top of my 10ft tall greenhouse (apex) even as we speak...

Sustained winds of 37mph, peak gusts of 72mph...

Last Edited by Saddletramp on 02/25/2013 01:03 PM