Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Throckmorton, Texas

2021-02-15 · Throckmorton, Texas

Event narrative

Wind chill temperatures from the Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet sites located at Throckmorton measured a wind chill temperature of 18 degrees below zero. The coldest wind chill was -21 degrees.

Wider weather episode

Very bitter arctic air with ambient temperatures dropping to near zero or below zero and north winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to near 30 mph on February 14, continued into the morning of February 15. These factors resulted in extreme wind chill warning criteria reaching -18 degrees or colder for several hours for the northern areas of West Central Texas. There were a few reports of -20 to -24 degree wind chill readings. Another period of extreme cold occurred late on February 15 and continued into morning of February 16 mainly across the higher elevation areas of the northern portions of West Central Texas where the winds were a little stronger. Wind chill temperatures were estimated for some locations since the wind sensors at several weather stations froze because of ice. There were also widespread power outages during this extreme cold as a result of a failing power grid. Many residents were left with out power Monday through Tuesday and some even longer. These very cold temperatures and widespread power outages resulted in several deaths caused by hypothermia. There was also damage to pipes, public utility systems and water supply systems across the region. Many were left without water for days. Dollar damages will be well into the millions across West Central Texas. The specific and complete information relating to the fatalities and monetary damages will gradually become available.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 942338. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.