Many square miles of the South Central USA eastward now under the gun for a serious winter with major icing problems. This includes near blizzard conditions in places like Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle. A mid-morning surface analysis shows that the low pressure area is already under development over South and West Texas with a good inflow of moisture from the West and NW Gulf of Mexico.
Here are some current spot reports, not all inclusive by any means:
NORTH AND WEST TEXAS
23 Amarillo, sleet, wind NE, gusts 35, wind chill 7
31 Childress, freezing rain, NE gusts 35
31 Lubbock, freezing rain, NE 33 with gusts to 44
51 Pecos, cloudy, calm (cold air not there yet*)
30 Muleshoe, north 13 (love that name, been there several times)
56 Dallas-Fort Worth, light rain
OKLAHOMA
30 Oklahoma City, freezing rain, NE, gusts 28
28 Tinker AFB, freezing rain, gusts 32, wind chill 15
30 Tulsa, cloudy, NE gusts 26 (they will be under the gun later)
ARKANSAS
47 Little Rock, cloudy, they also will have problems later
* About Pecos, in West Texas: We spent the night there once in a motel which had the only vacancy left. We soon realized why. It was not a Five Star Motel, not even a 1/2 star. A howling dust storm swept through during the night with visibility nil and winds had to be over 50 mph. The dust penetrated our room and we were hacking and coughing. To make it worse, we discovered bed bugs or fleas in our bed. Next morning, we had trouble getting out of our room because tumbleweeds were piled against the door and I had to rake them away from my car to even get in! So, I will never, ever forget that place. The town/city of Pecos is a nice place, however.
(Excuse all this extra stuff. I am working on my rambling problem)
