Strong wind, blowing dust and sprinkles
10 December 2021
Water vapor loop from 6:51 am to 7:31 am on Friday (10 December 2021).
Water vapor loop from 6:51 am to 7:31 am on Friday (10 December 2021).
 

A powerful storm system ejecting from the southern Rockies, which ingested a couple of smaller disturbance, brought major impacts to the center of the nation, including here in West Texas on Friday (10 December). Where the system encountered better moisture, severe thunderstorms erupted across the central Mississippi River Valley, producing numerous tornadoes that caused major damage and killed tens of people. On the cold side of the system, a swath of heavy snow fell from the central and southern Rockies into parts of the Upper Midwest. 
 
Lubbock WSR-88D base reflectivity loop valid from 6:19 am to 9:05 am 10 December 2021.
Lubbock WSR-88D base reflectivity loop valid from 6:19 am to 9:05 am 10 December 2021.
 

Here in West Texas, we ended up on the dry and windy southern side of the system, as often happens with these potent winter storms. Enough mid-level moisture and lift did race across the region early in the day to provide a few sprinkles and light showers from the eastern South Plains through the Rolling Plains and southeast Texas Panhandle, though rainfall was spotty and light, generally trace amounts.
 
West Texas Mesonet LiDAR wind data (m/s) sampled at Reese Center on 10 December 2021.
West Texas Mesonet LiDAR wind data (m/s) sampled at Reese Center on 10 December 2021.
 
When the clouds cleared and temperatures warmed, we quickly tapped the intense westerly winds moving across the region not far above ground level. Wind speeds quickly jumped, peaking in the 30 to 40 mph range, sometimes higher, while wind gusts reached 50 to 60+ mph from late morning through mid-late afternoon. The strongest winds in the late morning and early afternoon were concentrated in a band from the southern South Plains through the southern and central Rolling Plains, where several locations recorded gusts as high as 60 to 65 mph. Impressively, the Lubbock Airport reported a peak wind gust of 67 mph during this period as well. The intense winds lofted several bands of dust, dropping the visibility to 2 miles or lower at times, and likely much lower downwind of open fields.
 
Dusty Lubbock skyline captured around midday on 10 December 2021. The picture is courtesy of Jack Maney and KLBK. 
Dusty Lubbock skyline captured around midday on 10 December 2021. The picture is courtesy of Jack Maney and KLBK. 
 
Another bout of lift and mid-level moisture generated clouds and spotty sprinkles across the South Plains during the mid-afternoon. Although only trace amounts of rain accompanied this activity, the showers did locally enhance the wind and blowing dust. One such "dirt" shower generated a second 67 mph wind gust at the Lubbock Airport just before 3 pm.
 
"True Color" satellite loop valid from 3:11 pm to 3:22 pm on 10 December 2021.
"True Color" satellite loop valid from 3:11 pm to 3:22 pm on 10 December 2021.
 
The windy and dusty day was accompanied by mild/warm temperatures that peaked in the 60s and 70s at most locations. In addition, as the relative humidity dropped to around and even under 20%, conditions grew favorable for wildfire development and spread as fuels (mostly grasses) have gone dormant and significantly dried through the fall. Numerous wildfires developed through the mid-late afternoon across the region, most concentrated from western North Texas into southwestern Oklahoma. A few fires developed even further west across the Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains, including one fire that ignited between Roaring Springs and Matador.
 
Peak wind gusts recorded by the West Texas Mesonet on Friday, 10 December 2021.
Peak wind gusts recorded by the West Texas Mesonet (WTM) on Friday, 10 December 2021. The peak wind speeds measured by the WTM on the 10th can be VIEWED HERE. A contoured plot of the peak wind gust on the 10th can be seen HERE.
 

Thankfully, conditions gradually improved as winds decreased during the evening. A strong cold front followed, carrying much cooler air into the region on gusty northerly winds late Friday night, as the storm system pulled away from the region. Temperatures abruptly dropped from the 50s and 60s in advance of the front to the 30s and 40s behind the front. Lows by Saturday morning (11 December) ended up in the 20s and 30s, with a few teens over the southwest Texas Panhandle.

The preliminary storm reports collected over this windy December day can be found below.
 

Wind Reports from NWS Lubbock on December 10th

 

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX
817 PM CST FRI DEC 10 2021

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1035 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 6 NNE LUBBOCK           33.67N 101.82W
12/10/2021  M59 MPH          LUBBOCK            TX   ASOS

1058 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 10 SW PADUCAH           33.89N 100.40W
12/10/2021  M58 MPH          COTTLE             TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION.

1110 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 6 NNE LUBBOCK           33.67N 101.82W
12/10/2021  M67 MPH          LUBBOCK            TX   ASOS

1115 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NE SLATON             33.46N 101.62W
12/10/2021  M62 MPH          LUBBOCK            TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION. ADDITIONAL GUSTS TO 61
            MPH OCCURRED AT 1139 AM AND 1140 AM.

1133 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 NE ASPERMONT          33.17N 100.20W
12/10/2021  M58 MPH          STONEWALL          TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION.

1206 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 10 WSW GUTHRIE          33.57N 100.48W
12/10/2021  M60 MPH          KING               TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION.

1209 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 10 WSW GUTHRIE          33.57N 100.48W
12/10/2021  M65 MPH          KING               TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION. A 65 MPH GUST WAS ALSO
            MEASURED AT 1216 PM. SEVERAL GUSTS OF 58 TO 65 MPH
            OCCURRED BETWEEN 1217 PM AND 132 PM.

1212 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 NE ASPERMONT          33.17N 100.20W
12/10/2021  M62 MPH          STONEWALL          TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION. ADDITIONAL GUSTS OF 59
            TO 60 MPH OCCURRED BETWEEN 1152 AM AND 1215 PM.

0106 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 5 SSW GRAHAM            33.08N 101.52W
12/10/2021  M59 MPH          GARZA              TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION.

0146 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 1 W O`DONNELL           32.97N 101.85W
12/10/2021  M61 MPH          LYNN               TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION. ADDITIONAL GUSTS OF 58
            TO 60 MPH OCCURRED FROM 0148 PM TO 0205 PM.

0204 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 5 SSW GRAHAM            33.08N 101.52W
12/10/2021  M60 MPH          GARZA              TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION. ADDITIONAL GUSTS OF 58
            TO 60 MPH OCCURRED BETWEEN 202 PM AND 224 PM.

0251 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 6 NNE LUBBOCK           33.67N 101.82W
12/10/2021  M67 MPH          LUBBOCK            TX   ASOS

            ADDITIONAL GUSTS BETWEEN 58 MPH AND 64 MPH ALSO
            OCCURRED BETWEEN AND 1111 AM AND 142 PM.

0331 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NE FRIONA             34.65N 102.69W
12/10/2021  M65 MPH          PARMER             TX   MESONET

            WEST TEXAS MESONET OBSERVATION. ADDITIONAL GUSTS OF 58
            TO 62 MPH OCCURRED BETWEEN 332 PM AND 333 PM.