Winter has arrived for the Southern Plains

We had a sorta unexpected snow storm in the Panhandle. Most the models had very little snow or mostly no snow around Amarillo. That was a little off as we recieved nearly 5 inches, which I slept through most. It was a very heavy snow from what I saw for the few minutes I was awake, which aided in such a high total for the barely freezing temps and the short period it snowed. Most of the trees around here were stilled loaded with leaves, when combined with that heavy, wet snow it made the area look like a ice storm had slammed the area. Trees of all sizes were missing limbs all over town, which caused power loses to about 5000 people.

The other side to that storm that is interesting is that it came in a La Nina year. For the Panhandle it normally means warmer temps and less precip, which equals less snow for an area that averages less than 20 inches per year as it is. So not only was it an early snow storm for around here, but it came in a year that we shouldn't expect much as it is. So much for expectations.