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Storm Impacting the Northwest U.S.; Fire Weather Conditions in Southern California; Severe Weather in the South

A Pacific storm is bringing areas of low elevation rain, moderate to heavy mountain snow, and high winds to the Northwest. Strong Santa Ana winds and very dry conditions are producing elevated to critical fire weather conditions in southern California. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible through early Wednesday morning across parts of northeast Texas into western Tennessee. Read More >

Amarillo, TX

Weather Forecast Office

May 21-26, 2014 Drought Relief

Weather.gov > Amarillo, TX > May 21-26, 2014 Drought Relief
May 21-26, 2014 Drought Relief
 
May 21-26, 2014 Rain Totals
May 21-26, 2014 Rainfall Totals
A very slow moving upper-level storm system over the Desert Southwest allowed abundant moisture to be drawn into the southern High Plains.  With sufficient lift and moisture in place, multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms impacted the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles for six conescutive days.  Before the onset of the event, much of the region was experiencing its driest 43 months on record, but rainfall amounts up to six inches provided some drought relief, especially across the southern half of the Texas Panhandle.  Even better news was that very little severe weather accompanied the storm system, which is fairly uncommon for late May.
 
May 21, 2014 500 mb Map May 22, 2014 500 mb Map May 23, 2014 500 mb Map May 24, 2014 500 mb Map May 25, 2014 500 mb Map May 26, 2014 500 mb Chat
May 21 500 mb Chart May 22 500 mb Chart May 23 500 mb Chart May 24 500 mb Chart May 25 500 mb Chart May 26 500 mb Chart
 
Precipitation Comparison Through May 20 and May 27 2011-2014 Precipitation Through May 27
2014 Precipitation Comparison Through May 20 and May 27 2011-2014 Precipitation Comparison Through May 27
Thanks to the rainfall, 2014 precipitation totals after the rain event actually increased by as much as 400% compared to the precipitation totals before the start of the event.  Before this rain event, most places were actually drier than 2011.  However, 2014 precipitation totals are now not even close to the historically dry year of 2011 through May 27.
 
May 20, 2014 Drought Monitor May 27, 2014 Drought Monitor
May 20, 2014 Drought Monitor May 27, 2014 Drought Monitor
Not only did heavy rain occur across the Panhandles, but much of West Texas saw beneficial rains, particularly for many locations west of Interstate 35.  This also reduced the areal extent of exceptional, or D4, drought conditions across Texas and Oklahoma.  In fact, the May 27 Drought Monitor indicated 10.76% of Texas was in D4 drought conditions compared to just over 25% of the state on May 20.  The areal extent of D2-D4 and D3-D4 drought conditions was reduced, too.
 
A kayaker paddles down the Canadian River Lake Meredith Hydrograph
A kayaker paddles down the Canadian River Lake Meredith rose almost two feet
Heavy rains also caused some localized flooding issues, but overall, the flooding was minor.  The rain also produced some slight rises in rivers and lakes, including Lake Meredith that saw levels increase by almost two feet.  The Canadian River north of Amarillo rose to just above five feet, allowing kayakers to paddle down the river! 
 
Rain guage in Amarillo Ping ping ball hail near Goodnight, TX on May 21 Gustnado near Hartley, TX on May 22 Canadian River north of Amarillo
Putting the rain guage to use! Courtesy Sue Bryan Jenkins. Ping pong ball hail near Goodnight, TX on May 21.  Courtesy Trevor Leeper. Gustnado near Hartley, TX on May 22.  Courtesy Henri De Villiers. Canadian River north of Amarillo on May 26.  Courtesy Brady Kendrick.
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