A historic outbreak of arctic air resulted in record breaking cold temperatures during an extreme cold spell that lasted almost two weeks for some locations across the combined Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. The cold air moved over the northeastern combined Panhandles as early as Feb 8th, and spread southwest through Feb 12th, engulfing most of the southern plains by Feb 13th. The northeast Panhandles remained below freezing for 12 days straight while the southwest Panhandles were below freezing for a full week or more. Periods of flurries and freezing fog also occurred mainly in the overnight and morning periods almost each day Feb 8th through Feb 18th. In addition, two storm systems interacted with the arctic air to produce several inches of snow, not only across the Panhandles but across most of the Great Plains, including almost the entire state of Texas and surrounding states.
The frigid arctic air would put a strain on area power grids, resulting in rotating blackouts for some locations (this was much worse for other portions of Texas due to a state wide power crises felt most on the ERCOT power grid). The extreme cold also caused multiple indirect fatalities in the Texas Panhandle and led to school closings due to winter weather and/or the Texas energy crises that required measures to strongly limit energy consumption. The cold also halted plant operations due to issues with natural gas fuel, killed some livestock and also caused localized damage to residences and schools due to freezing water pipes. There were isolated reports of private water wells freezing up across the area. In addition, several municipal water wells in the southeast Texas Panhandle froze up and sustained damage (Donley County) during this time. There was also reported damage to water treatment facilities in Oldham County.
While local impacts in the Panhandle were less than the rest of Texas because the region's infrastructure is more built to handle major cold outbreaks, losses in the state of Texas were estimated to be well into the billions. Impacts from the power disruptions and natural gas fuel issues caused by the cold were certainly felt well outside of the worst hit areas and this included the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. For example, local dairy production was halted for a period of time because the processing plants located outside the Panhandles were without power and unable to operate. Farmers were forced to dispose of milk produced during this timeframe. Damage outside the Panhandles to the southeast was extensive due to power interruptions within the ERCOT power grid which led to numerous broken pipes and damages down state in Texas. These greater disruptions impacted the far southeast Texas Panhandle, which was the only area that was included on the ERCOT power grid at the time.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in BEAVER, OKLAHOMA
From 14-FEB-21 03:00:00 to 15-FEB-21 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Mesonet

Exact start times of wind chills below -15��F were not possible to get as mesonet sites across the Oklahoma Panhandle were frozen from below freezing temperatures and freezing fog since the 8th of February in Beaver County. It is estimated that winds were well above 15 mph which accompanied by temperatures in single digits to below 0��F . Wind chill values got as low as -15 to -30 between the morning of the 14th through the late morning to afternoon of the 15th. Though this was the most dangerous time period to be exposed to the elements. Areas in the county endured below freezing temperatures for around 306 hours straight, almost 13 full days. The coldest ambient temperature reading at the Beaver mesonet was -15 ��F on the 15th.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in TEXAS, OKLAHOMA
From 14-FEB-21 03:00:00 to 15-FEB-21 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Mesonet

Exact start times of wind chills below -15��F were not possible to get as mesonet sites across the Oklahoma Panhandle were frozen from below freezing temperatures since the 8th of February in Texas County. It is estimated that winds were well above 15 mph which accompanied by temperatures in single digits to below 0��F . Wind chill values got as low as -15 to -30 between the morning of the 14th through the late morning to afternoon of the 15th. Though this was the most dangerous time period to be exposed to the elements. Areas in the county endured below freezing temperatures for around 280 hours straight, almost 12 full days. The Goodwell mesonet site ambient air temperature reached -18 ��F on the 15th which was the coldest morning of the event.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in CIMARRON, OKLAHOMA
From 14-FEB-21 03:00:00 to 15-FEB-21 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Mesonet

Exact start times of wind chills below -15��F were not possible to get as mesonet sites across the Oklahoma Panhandle were frozen from below freezing temperatures since the 8th of February in Cimarron County. It is estimated that winds were well above 15 mph which accompanied by temperatures in single digits to below 0��F . Wind chill values got as low as -15 to -30 between the morning of the 14th through the late morning to afternoon of the 15th. Though this was the most dangerous time period to be exposed to the elements. Areas in the county endured below freezing temperatures for around 256 hours straight, almost 11 full days. The Boise City mesonet site ambient air temperature reached -19 ��F while Kenton reached -20��F on the 15th which was the coldest morning of the event.

Freezing Fog in BEAVER, OKLAHOMA
From 09-FEB-21 12:00:00 to 11-FEB-21 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Utility Company

A prolonged period of freezing fog after an initial arctic front moved into the region caused several power lines across the county to be downed and even snapped a few poles.