Following a period of balmy late Fall temperatures, a significant arctic front plunged through the South Plains during the afternoon of November 21st. In the wake of this front, an extended period of moist overrunning flow developed across West Texas in advance of a slow moving upper low in the Desert Southwest.
As early as the pre-dawn hours on November 22nd, a swath of freezing rain developed in the Permian Basin and lifted north-northeast across the southeast South Plains and into the northern Rolling Plains. The worst of this freezing rain struck portions of Crosby and Lynn Counties by late morning where up to 1/4 inch of ice was reported. Portions of Motley County also reported near 1/4 inch of icy precipitation. Farther northwest, some locales in Castro County saw light snow accumulate to nearly 1 inch. In Lubbock alone, nearly 200 motor vehicle accidents occurred between 3 AM CST and 1 PM CST after a thin glaze of ice plagued area roads.
Following a lull in precipitation from the evening of the 22nd through early on the 23rd, a large area of lift and deep moisture entered West Texas late in the afternoon on the 23rd - well in advance of the upper low. The result was two rounds of mixed wintry precipitation, including periods of heavy freezing rain, sleet and heavy snow. The first round was localized, but produced heavy snow mainly across northern Swisher County. The second round struck early in the evening and lasted through the early morning of the 24th. This latter round affected all of the South Plains, southern Texas Panhandle and the Rolling Plains with significant precipitation. Marginal instability above a shallow dome of arctic air produced multiple bands of heavy snow, freezing rain and sleet. A large swath of heavy snow between 6 and 10.5 inches blanketed all of the northwest South Plains and much of the far southern Texas Panhandle. In the Rolling Plains, freezing rain and sleet was prevalent with ice accumulations generally around 1/10th to 1/4 of an inch. In the city of Lubbock, freezing rain for much of the evening eventually changed over to all snow, but not before forcing the closure of two major overpasses on the west side of the city and causing hundreds of vehicle accidents. Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalties occurred.
Wintry precipitation began diminishing in coverage and intensity by early morning on the 24th, but nearly all roads remained slick and hazardous due to high temperatures below freezing. On the Caprock, road cleaning efforts were seriously hampered during this multi-day storm as many locations remained below freezing for 80 continuous hours or more. Temperatures finally thawed out by the afternoon of the 25th as the decaying upper low passed over the region. Some very light mixed wintry precipitation accompanied this low late on the 25th, but did not result in any adverse impacts.
Selected snow totals from the 23rd-24th:
10.5 inches at Happy...
9 inches at Muleshoe...
8 inches at Friona and Dimmitt...
7 inches at Memphis and Tulia...
6 inches at Silverton and Hart...
5 inches at Morton and Lakeview (Hall County)...
4 inches at Littlefield and Childress...
3 inches at Plainview...
2.2 inches at Lubbock Int'l Airport...
2 inches at Plains.
Selected snow/sleet and ice totals (estimated) from the 23rd-24th:
3 inches snow/sleet and 0.1 inches ice at Flomot...
2.5 inches snow/sleet and 0.3 inches ice at Crosbyton...
2 inches snow/sleet and 0.3 inches ice at Brownfield...
1.5 inches snow/sleet and 0.3 inches ice at Levelland...
1 inch sleet and 0.2 inches ice at Jayton...
0.25 inches sleet and 0.3 inches ice at Tahoka...
0.3 inches ice at Post.

Ice Storm in CROSBY, TEXAS
From 22-NOV-13 06:00:00 to 22-NOV-13 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Ice Storm in LYNN, TEXAS
From 22-NOV-13 05:00:00 to 22-NOV-13 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winter Storm in SWISHER, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 09:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Winter Storm in CASTRO, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 08:30:00 to 24-NOV-13 11:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winter Storm in PARMER, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 07:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in BAILEY, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 07:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 09:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Broadcast Media

Winter Storm in BRISCOE, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 11:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in HALL, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 12:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 13:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winter Storm in COCHRAN, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 07:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winter Storm in CHILDRESS, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 12:30:00 to 24-NOV-13 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in LUBBOCK, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 09:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in LAMB, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 08:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in HOCKLEY, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 08:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in YOAKUM, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 07:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 09:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in TERRY, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 07:30:00 to 24-NOV-13 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in HALE, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 09:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in LYNN, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 09:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in FLOYD, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 11:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in CROSBY, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 10:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in GARZA, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 10:30:00 to 24-NOV-13 12:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Storm in MOTLEY, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 12:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Storm in KENT, TEXAS
From 23-NOV-13 17:00:00 to 24-NOV-13 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Ice Storm in MOTLEY, TEXAS
From 22-NOV-13 07:30:00 to 22-NOV-13 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer