Fourth Snowfall and Eagles at The Lake

Dalhart Weather Review
By Aaron Graves

Eagles are reported at Lake Rita Blanca. This one was in the
old tree next to the boat ramp, enjoying his breakfast.

While the eastern part of the nation fell into a deep freeze, Dalhart enjoyed light snowfall Saturday and Sunday. A total of 1.5” of snow was reported to the National Weather Service office in Amarillo. It was rather dry, however, with little real moisture content. Thus, only a trace of precipitation was recorded. Still, this makes the fourth snow event for the season, with a total of 11” since Nov. 21. 

Along with the snow last weekend came the bitter cold, with a low of 7 degrees early Monday morning. And, believe it or not, it is the temperature that determines how much moisture the ground benefits from during a snow event. 

“A good average number is that about a foot of snow is equivalent to one inch of water,” explains the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M on their website. It continues, “but this number is highly variable, and in particular is strongly dependent on temperature.  If the temperature is above freezing, an inch of liquid might correspond to six inches of snow. This is called wet snow. If the temperature is around 30 degrees, ten inches of snow might equal an inch of rain. And if the temperature is only 10 degrees Fahrenheit, it might take 18 to 24 inches of snow to equal one inch of liquid water. This is called dry snow, or powder snow.”

December 2013 ended with an average high of 47.2 degrees and an average low of 18.5 degrees. We had 6 days during the month when the temperature never got above 32 degrees, and only 2 days when the overnight low did not fall below freezing. Our overall average temperature for the month was 32.8 degrees, which was 1.6 degrees cooler than the 30 year average. 

We enjoyed 6.5” of snow in December, which translated into 0.21” of moisture. This is 0.33” below the 30 year average. We received 7.84” of precipitation for the entire year of 2013. Our 30 year normal is 17.61”.  

January has an average precipitation total of 0.54”. Hopefully, this pattern of frequent snow events will continue, and bring us more moisture. 

Through the weekend, high temps will get into the mid 50s, with no rain or snow in the forecast. A 20% chance of rain mentioned in the newsletter version of this column has dried up for our area. 

Hi and low temperatures the past week

Dec 30: 51, 16
Dec 31: 57, 22
Jan 1: 54, 23
Jan 2: 49, 15
Jan 3: 64, 23
Jan 4: 44, 20
Jan 5: 24, 11

Eight eagles, several ravens, and a coyote were visible on the surface
of Lake Rita Blanca after a recent freeze. Eagles have been visible most
mornings at the lake, either on the ice or in the trees around the lake.

Over at Lake Rita Blanca, just south of town, the eagles are in full force right now. They are large birds, the adults have white heads and white tales. Younger eagles are just as large as the adults, but have brown feathers streaked with white. 

When the lake is frozen, you can spot several eagles on the ice feeding on fallen geese. Smaller birds you see with the eagles are usually ravens. They have been visible from the boat ramp. Both photos in this week's column have come from that area of the lake. However, if you drive back to the dam, you can also spot eagles up in the trees at the back of the lake. 

Along with eagles and ravens, look for Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers, in addition to the large amount of Canadian and Snow Geese. Smaller birds spotted near the lake recently include the White-crowned Sparrow and Meadowlarks (found along the road leading to the dam). I was also able to lay eyes on a Ferruginous Hawk with the past month.