Burn Bans

Drought

Monthly Change in Drought Monitor Classification

Drought persists despite wintry precipitation -- Even though some areas of the state have received more than 4 inches of snow, it has done little to alleviate drought conditions. The drought depiction statewide declined to 41.8%, which is a 2.9% drop from the previous week. The biggest improvement took place in East Texas where most of the 500,000 acre-feet increase in statewide reservoir storage occurred.
Doug McDonough, Plainview Daily Herald, January 13, 2015

Despite much rainfall, Amarillo remains severely dry -- Amarillo is still in drought, despite receiving 19 inches of rainfall last summer. Meteorologists are hoping that El Nino will develop to provide a wetter winter to make some leeway into getting back to normal precipitation totals.
KFDA, Staff Writer, January 13, 2015

Wet start does little to dampen the North Texas drought -- Even though DFW started out 2015 receiving 1.71 inches of rain, it has done little to alleviate drought conditions. Plans for once-a-week outdoor watering restrictions are already in the works for Tarrant County as a result of the continuing drought conditions. Eagle Mountain Lake is 10 feet below normal as well, and the water district’s capacity is currently at 61.5%.
Bill Hanna, Star-Telegram, January 16, 2015

Drought Forecast: It Should Get Worse -- With the January 15th drought outlook from the National Weather Service, things don’t look too good for the Panhandle and North/Central Texas, where the drought is expected to either remain or intensify. This is for long-term trends because individual storms can provide temporary relief but not really help in the long run.
Bryan Rupp, KFDX, January 19, 2015

El Nino could mean longer drought across dry Texas -- Meteorologists are forecasting that El Nino will be weaker than expected, which means a much longer drought for some parts of Texas. The wet January has increased statewide soil moisture, but the water levels of lakes in drought-stricken areas are still low.
KGNS, Matt McGovern, January 26, 2015

Texas drought persists through rainy winter -- Even though Texas has been going through a rainy winter, nearly 40% of the state still remains in drought. The El Nino prediction does not look optimistic for the drought situation either. Another interesting note is that the Texas reservoirs are only 64.9 % full, which is less than a few percent above the record low.
Dylan Baddour, The Houston Chronicle, January 30, 2015

Forecast hints at wintry February -- Denton County experienced cooler and drier than normal conditions throughout January, so there was no help in alleviating drought conditions. Most of the county is in Extreme Drought, and the southern portion of the county is under Exceptional Drought. Forecasters have reason to believe that February could be wetter than January for North Texas, which could help alleviate drought conditions.
Brad Burton, Cross Timbers Gazette, January 31, 2015

Water Supply

Boil Water Notice Lifted For Greater Glendale Water Supply Customers -- On January 3rd, a boil water notice was issued in Gardendale following the ice storm that moved through the area. After samples of the water were cleared by TCEQ, the boil water notice was lifted.
NewsWest 9, January 6, 2015

Graham’s Water Treatment Plant Expanding -- After the drought passed, the city plans to filter more water, but in the mean time they are spending 9 million dollars to fix their current water plant and add a new one.
Summer Rascoll, KFDX, January 9, 2015

CRMWA remains cautious despite rising lake level -- Lake Meredith’s water level is about 10 feet higher this year than it was last year. The CRMWA is only using a water well to supply the cities that it covers since it had to temporarily shut off pumping from the lake when the demand for water was lower. The drought forecast shows that drought will persist in the Texas Panhandle, which is worrying for the summer when demand for water increases.
Kevin Welch, Amarillo Globe-News, January 14, 2015

Duncan Stage 5 Water Restrictions Postponed -- Stage 5 Water Restrictions were put into order in Duncan at the end of December. However, a car wash business in Duncan was given a reprieve from it and because of this, the enforcement of the water restrictions will be postponed until city council meets again on January 27th.
KFDX, January 15, 2015

Lake Texoma water levels remain steady as drought conditions persist -- The wet start to 2015 has relieved a little of drought conditions in the Texoma region. Water levels at Lake Texoma are unseasonably low but they are managing to stay steady despite the rainfall that was received at the beginning of the year. Predictions for the spring look to be favorable for getting the water levels of the lake back to where it should be.
Michael Hutchins, Herald Democrat, January 15, 2015

Agriculture

Farm Briefs: Weather plays havoc with cotton harvest -- The adverse weather conditions has created a lot of problems for those that harvest cotton. Snow, fog, and high humidity have kept the cotton yields idle; however many producers believe that will still be able to harvest their cotton in February.
Kevin Welch, Amarillo Globe-News, January 24, 2015

Outdoors: Warm weather brings out company on Brazos River -- With the unseasonably warm temperatures making their way back into Texas, more fishermen are going out on the lakes. Lake Brazos is the recommended spot to go fishing since a stocking program by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has created a wide range of fish to catch.
Todd Nafe, The Waco Tribune-Herald, January 25, 2015

Plenty to keep Texas anglers happy in winter -- Even though there was a brief appearance of spring at the end of January, Texas anglers understood that winter was not yet over. Just because it isn’t the ideal conditions of fishing for bass or trout, winter is a good time to start fishing for sheepshead or white bass.
Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, January 31, 2015

Inclement Weather

Cold/Winter Weather

Freezing Rain Causes Power Outages Across Southern Plains -- The accumulation of ice forming on power lines caused 30 feet of power lines to go down in Gaines County.
Cutter Martin, KCBD, January 2, 2015

Storm brings big numbers to some businesses -- Winter weather wreaked havoc in Midland causing numerous power outages, downed tree limbs, and damage to homes. Power and tree care companies received an influx in business as a result of these damages.
Rye Druzin, Midland Reporter-Telegram, January 5, 2015

Ice Storm Ends in the Basin, Clean Up Continues -- After an ice storm moved through the Midland area, clean up crews were called out to pick up tons of debris from trees all around the town. The Transportation Department was especially busy getting the roads cleared for traffic.
Alexa Williams, NewsWest 9, January 5, 2015

Pioneer Drilling curtailed by West Texas winter weather -- Heavy icing, power outages, and limited access to facilities caused by winter weather in West Texas caused a slow down of production and drilling for the Pioneer Natural Resources Company.
Wallace Witkowski, Market Watch, January 6, 2015

Snow, ice possible for Texoma -- The first “real” winter storm is expected to move through North Texas over the next several days. The greatest chance for snow is in the southern part of Texoma. Freezing rain is the main threat for this particular winter storm.
Nate Strauch, Herald Democrat, January 7, 2015

Winter storm damages trees, power lines -- Ice from a previous winter storm weighed down tree branches that fell down on homes, cars, and power lines in Midland. Clean up was citywide once again as the citizens worked to pick up tree limbs off of the roads.
Julia Deng, NewsWest 9, January 8, 2015

Arctic Cold Front Moves Into North Texas -- A few days prior to the arctic front moving in, Texas Department of Transportation treated roads to allow for better traction in the event of icing. While travel should be avoided, it makes it safer for those that must drive to be able to make it to their destinations.
Todd L. Davis, NBCDFW, January 8, 2015

Don’t Blame Coming Storm on El Nino -- Even though the recent winter storms have all formed from the Pacific, El Nino can’t be blamed for it since the pattern has not yet truly formed. The odds of El Nino developing this winter have been lowered to 50-60 percent.
Jim Spencer, KXAN, January 8, 2015

Cold Front Continues Below Average Temperatures -- After warmer temperatures returned briefly, another cold front moved through that brought temperatures back to below average values in the San Antonio metro area. Rainfall and increased cloud cover moving through the area also factored in keeping the temperatures down during the daytime hours.
Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News January 11, 2015

Ice Storm creates unforgettable New Year’s weekend -- As a result of the ice storm, more than 40% percent of the trees in Midland were damaged, Loop 250 was closed for majority of the period, and many citizens were stuck at home. Some citizens stated that it took nearly as long to drive to your house than it did to drive from Lamesa to Midland, which regularly takes an hour.
Terry Williamson, Midland Reporter-Telegram, January 11, 2015

Winter Storm: How does storm Lola stack up to other snowstorms? -- Amarillo received 11 inches of snow before midnight January 21, making a new record for snowfall for that day.
Staff Writer, Amarillo Globe-News, January 22, 2015

About 100 cold-stunned sea turtles to be returned to Gulf -- The cold weather has not only affected humans and animals on land; it has also affected sea creatures as well. Nearly 100 green sea turtles were discovered cold-stunned, similar to hypothermia, on Texas beaches this winter. Officials with the Padre Island National Seashore will return them back to the Gulf of Mexico later in the week.
AP Staff, Enquirer-Herald, January 27, 2015

Experts predict return of rain, snow -- The weekend of the 30th looks to bring winter back into the Panhandle with a chance of snow. The snowfall is expected to be the heaviest along the New Mexico border. TxDOT is growing concerned with the chance of icy roads and hazardous driving conditions over the weekend.
JC Cortez, Amarillo Globe-News, January 29, 2015

Severe Weather

First Earthquake of 2015 Recorded in North Texas -- At 8:30 PM on New Years’ Day the first earthquake of the year hit in Irving. There were no damage reports from this first earthquake.
Staff Writer, KYTX, January 2, 2015

Tropical Storm Force Winds Rip Across Texoma -- Wind advisories were issued by the National Weather Service for the Texoma area due to strong winds. The Wichita Falls area recorded winds of 45 mph. Thankfully there were no reports of damage due to the strong winds.
Jessica Bruno, KFDX, January 4, 2015

11 North Texas Earthquakes in Around 27 Hours -- 11 earthquakes occurred in North Texas causing cracks in walls and ceilings, and even a few broken pictures. Earthquake damage insurance has now increased in intake after the series of earthquakes. The strongest of all the earthquakes was a 3.6 in magnitude.
Jennifer Lindgren, CBS 11 DFW, January 7, 2015

Unseasonal Temperatures

San Antonio could see record high temperatures this week -- The calendar says its winter, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it in the Alamo City where they have a chance of breaking the record high temperature of 81 degrees set back in 1909. The forecast for the day is a high of 80, which is just one degree shy of the record max temperature.
Elizabeth Zavala & Mandalyn Mendoza, San Antonio Express-News January 26, 2015

Record heat expected Wednesday in Central Texas -- Unseasonably warm temperatures will cause areas in Central Texas to likely break their records for the maximum high temperature. The previous record high in Austin is 79 degrees set back in 1970, and the forecasted high temperature is 82 degrees.
Staff Writer, Austin American-Statesman, January 28, 2015

Alamo City visitors enjoy warm weather -- In San Antonio, no one was complaining about the unseasonably warm temperatures. Temperatures on the 28th were near record high approaching 80 degrees. Compared to the multiple feet of snow in the Northeastern United States, 80 degree temperatures is much more appealing for anyone.
Justin Horne, KSAT, January 29, 2015

Other Climate Impacts

Academics

Weather Related closings and cancellations -- Winter weather caused more cancellations to occur for school districts including Eanes ISD, Georgetown ISD, Hays CISD, Hutto ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Leander ISD, Manor ISD and Pflugerville ISD.
KXAN Staff, KXAN, January 9, 2015

Cold Weather Closures and Delays -- As a result of the icy conditions in and around the San Antonio metro area, numerous schools and businesses were closed or delayed. Alamo College and Texas A&M University - San Antonio closed for the day on the 10th, and the Generations Federal Credit Union opened up at 10am.
FOX, January 10, 2015

Inclement weather delays/cancellations for January 21-22 -- Due to the winter storm passing through, some schools and businesses decided to close or delay their hours. Amarillo Public Library, Amarillo College, and the DPS Offices decided to close for the entire. Clarendon Community College at Pampa and Clarendon delayed their hours until 10 a.m. Numerous public school districts such as Amarillo ISD, Bushland ISD, and Groom ISD cancelled classes for the entire day.
Grayson Edds, KVII January 21, 2015

Amarillo gets foot of snow, schools, city offices close -- After a winter storm dropped a foot of snow in Amarillo, schools and businesses were forced to cancel things for the day or just delay opening. The city offices in Amarillo and Canyon both closed down for the day due to the unsafe conditions on the roads.
Associated Press, KXAN, January 22, 2015

Roads/Traffic/Travel

Ice, snow and slow travel in bitter cold West Texas -- Lubbock received an inch of snow overnight, and it covered the preexisting ice from freezing rain and sleet the previous day. Thankfully, people were avoiding traveling as much as possible, but the present road delays were expected to worsen.
Associated Press, Lubbock News-Journal, January 1, 2015

Slick Roads and Cold Temperatures Still an Issue for North Texas -- The areas west of the DFW area were expected to get more ice on the roads due to colder air mixing with the rain falling in the evening. Due to the freezing rain possibility, 140 departures and 128 arrivals were canceled and five flights were delayed for the DFW International Airport.
Todd L. Davis, NBCDFW, January 1, 2015

Winter Weather Slows Down Air Travel -- Many airplanes were covered in frost, so flights were delayed in order to deice them. Also, there were worse storms in the Rockies, where many travelers were headed, so those flights had to be delayed as well.
Jeff Ray, CBS, January 1, 2015

Freezing Rain, sleet lightens traffic west Texas -- Most Interstates were able to stay open, although they had black ice and sleet. The freezing rain did make roads dangerous to travel, though from the Panhandle to San Angelo.
Staff Writer, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal January 1, 2015

Last Week’s Ice Kept Towing Services Busy -- There were 47 wrecks where citizens could not continue to drive their cars, with another 54 wrecks where the cars were still drivable. Authorities believe the main cause for many of the wrecks were people texting and not paying attention to the dangerous, icy roads.
Jessica Bruno, KFDX, January 4, 2015

City of Midland Traffic Alerts, Lane Closures -- Drivers were cautioned to know that areas which look like they are just wet could in fact have ice. Also, a truck with too heavy of a load was at the Loop 250 overpass at Interstate 20 and it was causing traffic delays over a bridge.
NewsWest 9, January 9, 2015

Icy conditions reported on roadways -- There were six areas of roads where reports were confirming ice on the roads. At that time there were no closures on the roadways.
KTBC, January 10, 2015

Icy roads briefly return -- Texas DPS officials stated that snow and ice affected the entire Odessa district (composed of 12 counties). Snowplows were even called out to Fort Stockton to clear roadways. Warming temperatures on the next day allowed the ice to melt and created better conditions out on the roadways.
Jared Wilson, Odessa American , January 10, 2015

Despite no icy conditions, wet roads still cause problems in East Texas -- Just because no frozen precipitation fell in Longview doesn’t mean that road conditions weren’t affected. Weather-related accidents still occurred on the slick roadways causing police to issue a statement telling citizens to slow down even if the road is not frozen.
Bob Hallmark, KLTV, January 11, 2015

Drivers face wet and icy roads in Austin -- Winter Weather in Central Texas caused problems on the roadways for some citizens. On Highway 183 near FM 620 in Austin, there was a rollover accident. This prompted TxDOT to urge people to stay off the roadways.
KVUE, January 11, 2015

Ten killed, five injured after Texas prison bus hits train -- Icy conditions caused a Texas prison bus to slide off the road and crash into a train that was passing by. Ten people were killed and five people were injured as a result of the crash. All of this occurred just outside of Odessa.
Jon Herskovitz, Reuters, January 14, 2015

APD begins counting collisions during winter storm -- During the winter storm, the Amarillo Police Department decided to count the amount of accidents that occurred. This may have been done to deter the public from driving on icy roads. Between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. there were 18 accidents, none of which had injuries reported with them.
Grayson Edds, KVII January 21, 2015

Flooded Roads Prevent Some Bryan Students from Getting to School -- Extended periods of rainfall in the Bryan-College Station area caused flooding on certain roadways. These flooded roads were too dangerous for buses to drive on so some students could not be picked up in order to be taken to class. Nearly 300 students had to miss classes due to this event.
Staff Writer, KBTX, January 23, 2015

Patches of black ice possible around the borderland -- In El Paso, where they saw nearly 5 inches of snow, numerous commuters were worried about black ice on the roadways. Experts recommend staying calm, slowly taking your off the accelerator, and avoid hitting the brakes.
Clarissa Tapia, KFOX, January 23, 2015

Recreation/Leisure/Athletics

City Offices Closed Today, January 2 Due to Weather -- Inclement weather conditions cause the Odessa city offices to close for a day.
City of Odessa, January 2, 2015

Central Texas weather cancellations and closings -- Inclement weather caused many activities to be canceled or delayed for Central Texas. On the 10th, the libraries, Health Clinic facilities, and parks were closed. All ACC campuses were closed and all activities and events for Austin ISD were canceled. Round Rock ISD was able to keep activities that happened after 3pm.
Austin American-Statesman, January 9, 2015

United Blood Services Asking for Donors of All Blood Types -- A busy winter with a lot of winter storms means emergency personnel are busy as well. The United Blood Services of West Texas announced a major shortage of all blood types. This is due to an influx of weather-related accidents, which caused need for units of blood to be used. It is now more important than ever to donate blood if you are a resident in West Texas.
Staff, KLBK January 17, 2015

Shoppers make a last minute run for groceries before heavy snow hits -- As the winter storm is approaching, grocery stores were packed with people that were gathering supplies as they prepared to be stuck indoors for a few days. Things such as milk, bread, and eggs were running low on supply so stores had to restock earlier than expected. The stores don’t plan on closing early since the demand is so high for groceries ahead of a storm.
KFDA, January 21, 2015