Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Hutchinson, Texas

2022-02-03 · Hutchinson, Texas

Event narrative

Wind chill values fell into the minus 15 to minus 20 degree range on the morning of the 3rd. Although the mesonet near Borger measured close to or right around minus 15 for several hours, the mesonet located near Stinnett measured wind chill values well into the minus 15 to minus 20 range for about 12 hours straight.

Wider weather episode

A strong winter storm system brought some really dry snow and below freezing temperatures to the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles during the first week of February. Much of the area stayed below freezing February 2nd through the early morning on February 4th and temperatures barely rose above freezing the afternoon of the 4th. Wind chill values dropped to the -5 to -20 range for several hours between February 2nd through early morning on the 3rd as winds blew 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph at times with this storm system. Temperatures were very cold on the night of the 3rd into the morning of the 4th as winds became light. Most of the snow fell over a 48 hour period starting on the 2nd through the 3rd. Although some isolated areas received upwards of 6 inches of snow during a 24 hour period. Most of the area received 4 to 6 inches of snow over a 48 hour period. This storm system did take two lives, one direct and one indirect due to the extremely cold wind chills.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1008637. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.