A rare April winter storm in West Texas was bringing widespread snowfall Saturday and the threat of slick, icy roads across the Panhandle-South Plains region going into early Sunday.
As snow continued to fall in blowing winds, thousands of power outages were being reported around the region, including more than 3,000 customer outages around Lubbock and smaller, scattered outages around West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.
By Saturday afternoon, the heaviest snowfall was occurring in the northern South Plains and southern Panhandle, said Jordan Salem, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lubbock.
More: Rare April winter weather system to bring snow, icy conditions to West Texas
“We’re seeing kind of a bullseye in an area between Hale Center and Vigo Park (in Swisher County) where we’re projecting at least 4.7 inches of accumulation,” Salem said.
By shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, snow was beginning to accumulate across the Lubbock metro area, with upwards of 3 inches expected in northern parts of the city and 1 to 1.5 inches expected to the south through the end of the day, Salem said.
A winter storm warning was in effect through 1 a.m. Sunday for counties in the northwestern South Plains and Panhandle, with additional snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches expected, along with wind gusts up to 40 mph.
“Visibilities may drop below 1/4 mile due to heavy snow, especially over Swisher, Hale and Briscoe Counties,” reads a statement from the Weather Service. “Plan on slippery road conditions even after the snow ends tonight.”
Lubbock County and much of the central and eastern South Plains and Rolling Plains were under a winter weather advisory until 1 a.m. Sunday.
TxDOT warns of dangerous road conditions
The Texas Department of Transportation was reporting icy, slick bridges and overpasses on highways and roadway in the Panhandle as of Saturday afternoon, including Interstate 27 north of Happy and much of Interstate 40. TxDOT crews were patrolling roadways and plowing as needed.
As overnight lows dip into the low to mid 20s across the region Saturday night into Sunday while precipitation chances decrease, there will be a growing threat of icy roadways. Drivers are encouraged take precautions and can monitor the latest road conditions through the Texas Department of Transportation’s live map at www.drivetexas.org or by calling TxDOT’s travel information line at 1-800-452-9292.
Power outages reported around West Texas, Eastern New Mexico
As of Saturday afternoon, South Plains Electric Cooperative was reporting more than 3,000 customers were without power around Lubbock, with large outages reported north of the city and in the Ransom Canyon and Slaton areas.
Xcel Energy was reporting more than 200 hundred power outages throughout its coverage area in the Panhandle-South Plains and Eastern New Mexico. That includes about 180 customers without power around Plainview and north of Lubbock, as well as scattered outages around Hobbs and Amarillo, among others. In Lubbock, Lubbock Power & Light was reporting about 260 customers were without power shortly after 3 p.m.
A rare April snowstorm in West Texas
Before Saturday, the last measurable snowfall in April at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport was on April 10, 2013, when 0.4 of an inch was recorded, according to weather service data. Lubbock’s latest recorded snowfall was on April 12, 1980. In Amarillo, the latest occurrence of measurable snow on record was on May 7, 1917.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Winter storm brings snow, icy roads to Texas South Plains, Panhandle