Blizzard sweeps through northern Texas with heavy winds, snow

One thing Texas weather will do is keep us on our toes, wondering what is next. This week has already faced a weather whirlwind, as a blizzard blew across the Texas Panhandle, bringing heavy winds and snowfall. 

The northern panhandle faced harsh winter weather conditions Monday, January 8, including wind gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour, according to NWS Amarillo. Although the snowfall ended in the western and central panhandles before nighttime, conditions remained dangerous as strong winds continued to blow snow and cause blizzard like conditions through midnight. 

Going into Tuesday morning, January 9, the winter storm has reached a standstill, but that doesn’t mean more snow isn’t on the way. NWS has not received official snowfall counts from Monday’s winter storm, at this time, but preliminary reports indicate some areas received less than 1 inch of snowfall. 

NWS is predicting a slight chance of snow for Thursday, January 11, for cities like Amarillo, as northerly winds up to 35 mph could bring light snowfall. Although the Alamo City doesn’t seem to be on the roadmap for snow, there is a 20-30% chance highs will remain below freezing going into next week, marking the strongest cold front of the season, so far. The front is expected to arrive late Sunday, January 14, into Monday morning, January 15.

San Antonio faced a windy Monday night into Tuesday morning, as peak wind gusts along the 1-35 corridor reached 50 mph. NWS predicted 50-55 mph gusts over the Hill County and 1-35 and I-37 corridors overnight. San Antonians can expect mostly clear skies and breezy conditions Tuesday with highs in the 50s and lower 60s.