(click any of the below images to see a larger version)
| As Christmas day approached, a large storm system was developing across the southwest United States. In the image to the right, one can see the intensity of this 500mb trough of low pressure on Christmas morning as it approached west Texas. In its advance, strong southwesterly flow was helping to pump in plenty of moisture across the southern United States. |
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| At the surface, an area of low pressure was developing across south central Texas with a warm front extending eastward along I-10. The track of this surface low would ultimately determine the locations that would receive either severe or wintry weather. Areas to the south were primed for severe weather, with dewpoints in the 60s as well as high instability and wind shear. To the north, much colder air was wrapping around the system. Another feature on the surface map is a strong cold front moving through the area from the northwest. The front helped move colder air in from the north and also helped to concentrate thunderstorm activity as the entire system moved off to the east. | |||||||||
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As mentioned before, the severe weather threat for Christmas day was great for much of the southern and southeastern United States. A moderate risk for severe weather extended from Houston, Tx eastward to Jackson, Ms as well as to Mobile and Birmingham, Al. As the day progressed, a few instances of severe weather were noted in the Shreveport, La NWS county warning area, but the brunt of the severe weather reports were found to the east.
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| Rain was another welcome aspect of this storm system, with most of the area seeing between one half and 2 inches. Some locations received in excess of 3 or 4 inches of rain. Fortunately, no flash flooding was reported to the Shreveport, La NWS office. | |||||||||
| Below is a graphic that displays the amount of snow that fell across the four state region of the Shreveport, La NWS County Warning Area.
A heavier band of snow developed across portions of extreme northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas. These areas from De Kalb, Tx to south of Idabel, Ok northeastward to Nashville, Ar experienced 7 to 8 inches of snow, which were the highest totals from this event for the forecast area. To see a text version of all the snowfall reports received, click here. The below photos were taken by Shreveport, La NWS Cooperative Weather Observers. To learn more about the Cooperative Weather Observer program, click here.
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