As is usual with the winter months, snow storms piled up snow in parts of the Plains.
What was not so usual was the location of a swath of snow around the middle part of January. The winter storm dropped 11 inches of snow in Denver City, Texas. Meanwhile, College Station had 5 inches from Jan. 10 to 11 making it the greatest snowfall total in January since 1973 at that location. Waco with 4.4 inches of snow had the highest daily snowfall event there since 1982, according to the National Weather Service.
New daily snowfall records were set Jan. 10 in Waco, College Station, Lubbock, San Angelo and Midland.
As winter progresses, La Niña remains. Specific atmospheric and oceanic conditions should continue to point toward ongoing La Niña for the remainder of winter and even into the first part of spring. Forecast models are pointing toward a possible change to ENSO-Neutral by the later part of the spring season.
The month of February looks to hold above average temperatures from Texas into eastern Nebraska. For three months out, Texas into all of Nebraska should see temperatures above seasonal norms.
Below normal precipitation is forecast in February for southern to western Texas, which are unfortunately the areas that continue to be stuck with some of the worst of the drought conditions in that state. The northern Plains are favored for above normal precipitation in the next month. The area expected to see below normal moisture stretches into more of the Plains as we look farther out in time. For the next three months, Texas into Nebraska will likely see precipitation totals below normal while the northern portion of the plains should stay with above average precipitation.
Drought conditions are expected to develop or remain into the next several months for the western half of Texas and the western half of Oklahoma along with most of Kansas and all of Nebraska.
I’m always keeping an eye to the sky (and the weather patterns), so watch for March’s update.
Editor’s note: Regina Bird grew up on a farm near Belleville, Kansas. The views from the farm helped spur her interest in weather. Following high school, she went on to get a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Kansas. She currently works as a meteorologist for NTV and KFXL in central Nebraska. Follow her on Twitter: @ReginaBirdWX.
