In The Vortex

Month: December 2009

  • Rare Winter Weather Christmas Treat in West Texas! …and Tornadoes!

    12.23.09.snowmap

    UPDATE 4:39 pm CST: Storm system is taking a track further south track and the Texas South Plains is now in prime position for the heavy snow.  The NWS has issued a Winter Storm Warning, and widespread snowfall of 4-6inches with locally higher amounts possible, and whiteout conditions early tomorrow!

    A rare treat may be in store for areas of west Texas starting tonight.  A winter storm is taking shape and will move across the area, bringing accumulating snows to most of west Texas.  Right now, it doesn’t appear that widespread snow accumulations will be particularly high, perhaps only an inch or two for most of the area, but some areas on the north side of the track of the system could see 4″ or a little more.

    Right now that area appears to be areas east of I27 and north of Hwy 114.  However, some models are taking this system a little more easterly than northeasterly, and if that happens, the heavier precipitation would be a little further south.

    The snow will be behind a cold front currently plowing through the northern south plains and should be through the area by late this evening.  As the front passes, temps will drop considerable and any precip should change over to snow.  Gusty winds will also be a factor, especially on Christmas Eve as the storm system moves east of the area.  This will certainly push around any loose snow.

    There has only been snow on the ground in Lubbock, Texas 13 times in the last 97 years of records being kept.  Should snow be on the ground tomorrow, it will be a rare treat for everyone in west Texas.

    As with all winter weather, travel conditions will deteriorate and people traveling in the area through the holidays should be very careful.  This storm has blizzard potential for those traveling further northeast into OK and KS.  Winter weather advisories, watches and warnings are up from Texas to Michigan for this system.

    You can find Texas road conditions on the TXDOT website.

    In the warm sector, folks in the eastern half of Texas are dealing with severe weather with a tornado watch already up and some storms already appear to be trying to produce tornadoes!  Folks in the eastern part of Texas need to pay close attention to their local sources of information, and have those weather radios ON, especially as it gets dark.  Winter tornadoes are some of the worst killers because of the time of year and they mostly come after dark, people aren’t as aware of the potential.

  • Historic Wind Event in Texas and New Mexico Tomorrow?

    12.07.09.wind.forecast

    After an VERY chilly night across west Texas and eastern New Mexico, complete with freezing fog that may cause some frozen spots on the roadway in the morning and most certainly a glazed over windshield to start your day off nicely, temperatures should warm up considerably from today’s highs.

    But along with that comes the return of the wind machine.  This even is being compared by some forecasters to a climatologically similar event that happened in 1996. Windspread damage and significant travel impacts occurred during that event with gusts peaking at 128mph across the Guadalupe Pass and significant damage across southeast New Mexico!

    This event is expected to be similar, with widespread wind gusts of 60-65mph with higher gusts in the Davis mountains of 90mph and 120mph through Guadalupe Pass.  Some isolated gusts across the non-mountainous regions over 70mph can’t be ruled out.

    This type of wind across the area can create extreme blowing dust, bringing visibilities down to zero in some places, and most definitely will cause driving problems on North/South routes, especially with larger passenger vehicles and especially high profile vehicles like trucks and RVs.  I expect many will be turned over on the road tomorrow.  It’s quite possible state police may shut down the pass for a period during peak winds.

    Anything and everything not tied down will become airborn debris tomorrow, so brave the cold tonight and tie it down or bring it in.  This includes any of those high dollar inflatable Christmas decorations you might have in your yard.  Santa won’t need a sleigh to go flying tomorrow!

    All joking aside, this is a dangerous wind event! These are windspread tropical storm force winds folks, with gusts as high as Hurricane Category 3 ratings!  The sandstorms will make driving dangerous for anyone, and I’ve seen big wind events cause multiple car pileups in west Texas, some with fatalities.  Never mind the potential to get hit in the head with flying debris, so if you can, stay indoors and at home tomorrow!

    I of course, being the extreme weather chaser I am, will be out in the thick of it, bringing back the story and images to you!  Currently plans are to try to get to the Guadalupe Pass by noon to be in place to experience the peak wind speeds.  After a visit there, we’ll see what is going on across southeast New Mexico and then on into West Texas by the end of the day. I’ll be live streaming of course as data access allows, right here on the LIVE ChaseCam!