Rare blizzard strikes West Texas

December 26, 2009

Anonymous The San Marcos Record Sat Dec 26, 2009, 09:41 AM CST

Dallas — In much of the rolling plains of West Texas, a blizzard has never been recorded.

There has been one now.

The region west and northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area saw blizzard-like conditions throughout the day Thursday as up to 8 inches of snow fell in the region, according to the National Weather Service. Winds gusting at up to 65 mph drifted the snow as deep as 5 feet in some areas.

No blizzard warning had ever been issued for an area of Texas as far south as Interstate 20, said Jim Wingenroth, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service office in San Angelo.

Heavily traveled Interstate 20 between Cisco and Abilene was closed after six inches of snow fell in the area 130 miles west of Dallas, said Larry Smith, Brownwood area engineer for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

"There's a two-foot snow drift at my front door," Smith said Thursday from his office 50 miles south of the closed interstate.

Road crews worked late in the afternoon to reopen the highway to traffic, he said.

A steep grade on Interstate 20, called Ranger Hill, often becomes unscalable by heavy vehicles during icy weather — and Thursday was no exception.

"They're turning 'em around. No one can get up it," said Sue "Pooh" Vasquez, a waitress at the Smokestack restaurant in Thurber, at the base of the hill.

Compounding the traffic obstacles on the interstate are the multitude of jackknifed tractor-trailer rigs and stalled cars, said Trooper Sparky Dean of the Texas Department of Public Safety office in Abilene.

No fatalities or serious injuries have been reported, he said. Dean did not expect the problems to end once the snow stopped.

"Traffic is gonna subside and the moisture's gonna freeze again, and it's very desolate out there," he said.

Of tow truck operators, Dean said, "They're making money. It's Christmas for them."

Gov. Rick Perry activated emergency resources. On Thursday afternoon, he activated some military personnel and high profile vehicles, as a precaution, to assist motorists. Perry cited blizzard conditions on stretches of U.S. 84.

The weather forced cancellation of 150 of 900 scheduled departures from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Thursday, said airport spokesman David Magana.

Southwest Airlines canceled "a handful" of flights at Dallas Love Field on Thursday, said spokesman Brad Hawkins. He said the Dallas-based carrier saw more ill-effects to its schedule in such storm-swept areas as Oklahoma City; Tulsa, Okla.; and Kansas City, Mo.

Text Only

Associated Press Stories

BP yet to make call on latest bid to stop Gulf oil
BP's latest experimental bid to plug its seabed oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico hung in the balance early Wednesday as its top executive reviewed overnight tests before deciding whether to go ahead.

May 26, 2010
Space shuttle Atlantis close to 120,000 miles
Space shuttle Atlantis closed in on the 120 million-mile mark as its final voyage neared an end and its astronauts inspected their ship in advance of Wednesday's landing.

May 24, 2010
Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible
May 24, 2010
Frustration mounts as oil seeps into Gulf wetlands
Anger grew along the Gulf Coast as an ooze of oil washed into delicate coastal wetlands in Louisiana, with many wondering how to clean up the monthlong mess — especially now that BP's latest try to plug the blown-out well won't happen until at least Tuesday.

May 24, 2010
Austin legislative hearing on Texas budget woes
May 11, 2010
Texas could adjust 22-student class limit
Some legislators want to look at adjusting the 22-student class-size limit for lower grades as Texas faces an estimated $11 billion budget shortfall going into the 2011 session.

May 10, 2010
Barrier-breaking jazz star Lena Horne dies at 92
Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, has died. She was 92.

May 10, 2010
BP struggles with list of ways to plug Gulf gusher
Top hats and junk shots are on the list of possible next steps as BP, casting about after a 100-ton containment box failed, settles in for a long fight to stop its uncontrolled oil gusher a mile under the Gulf of Mexico.

May 10, 2010
Ala. researchers find oil chunks approaching coast
Dauphin Island Sea Lab researchers say they believe parts of the oil slick are closer to the northern Gulf coast than previously thought.

May 8, 2010
Bubble of methane triggered rig blast
The deadly blowout of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico was triggered by a bubble of methane gas that escaped from the well and shot up the drill column, expanding quickly as it burst through several seals and barriers before exploding, according to interviews with rig workers conducted during BP's internal investigation.

May 8, 2010
More Associated Press Stories Headlines

Associated Press Stories

Search Results

Rare blizzard strikes West Texas

Site Map

Contact Us