While most of the state saw temperatures below freezing, there was not much of an impact because of lack of moisture. Cold fronts brought chilly, windy conditions to parts of the state for longer periods of time, but nothing extreme. West Texas was a different story winter storms causing travel impacts and accumulating snow. While snow did not linger for long, heavy winds and snow drifts caused dairy and cattle ranchers to suffer heavy losses: an estimated 30,000 dairy cows died during the event early in the month. The cold weather did little to damage winter wheat in the South Plains. Cold temperatures helped prevent crop disease from spreading and snow insulated crops to keep them from wilting. The winter weather caused the Texas Tech athletic center to collapse due to heavy snow accumulations and caused the university and surrounding high schools to cancel track and field meets.
The Texas state climatologist said El Niño could actually continue to strengthen, which would mean the effects would last into early summer. La Niña typically follows strong El Niño events and have their own set of complications for Texas. They have favorable conditions for drier weather, but a more pronounced hurricane season. Once El Niño seems to be backing off, forecasters will have a better understanding of what is next to come. Rains associated with El Niño caused $1.2 billion in damages according to the Texas Insurance Council. This was a preliminary report and could continue to rise as nsurance reports are filed. Other estimates from late December/early January weather include $13 million in roadway damage in Kaufman County.
