2010 Lubbock NWS Weather Events Page

Spring Starts with Another Quick Round of Snow

20 March 2010

Picture of snow blanketing southwest Lubbock during the early morning hours of Saturday, March 20th. Click on the photo for a larger view.

The first day of astronomical spring started at 12:32 pm on Saturday, March 20th. However, it didn't feel much like spring as the South Plains region was again assaulted by a late season winter storm. The relatively mild weather of previous several days was abruptly brought to a halt as a strong cold front moved through the region Friday afternoon and evening. Temperatures behind the cold front quickly dropped into the 20s and 30s as gusty northerly winds brought in much colder air of Canadian origin.

The winter-like weather was compounded by an approaching storm system from the west, which brought lift that resulted in the development of widespread precipitation. Initially, there was enough instability that fairly widespread thunderstorms developed around and shortly after midnight, producing anything from rain to sleet to snow, with even a little small hail mixed in at a few locations. The precipitation then changed to all snow as temperatures continued to fall during the early morning hours of the 20th. Periods of snow then continued on through much of the morning and into the afternoon hours off the Caprock, though the intensity waned. The snow eventually shifted east of the region along with the upper level storm system by mid to late Saturday afternoon.

Graphic displaying the amount of snow that fell on March 20th. Amounts are in inches. Click on the image for a larger view.

The above graphic shows the snowfall totals that were reported to the National Weather Service in Lubbock, TX. One to two inches of snow was fairly widespread, with slightly heavier amounts favoring the southern Texas Panhandle. This snow, along with the gusty northerly winds, created some travel problems, though conditions generally improved by later in the day.

To view the public information statement issued regarding this snow event CLICK HERE.