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Dec. 24, 2025, 9:32 a.m. CT
Many Amarilloans have changed their Christmas plans from roasting a turkey and singing around the fireplace to grilling steaks, chicken and hamburgers outside.
Amarillo has seen some milder Christmases indeed, but none like THIS have been charted of late in the Texas Panhandle. Instead of ugly Christmas sweaters, warm gloves and fuzzy caps, people are donning Hawaiian shirts, shorts, flip flops and baseball caps. Whether it be climate change or an unusual weather pattern, this year is definitely different.
For a quick snapshot of what our weather seems to be brewing up for 2026, we consulted the Amarillo National Weather Service (NWS) to look into their crystal ball and doppler systems. While our winter has been untraditionally warm with record-breaking December highs, the Panhandle weather can be very fickle and disarming.
Along with late December’s above-normal temperatures, the Texas A&M Forest Service issued a warning about increased fire danger due to dry, freeze-cured grasses at risk of helping blazes spread quickly if there is a spark and strong winds — similar to the situation before 2024’s major wildfire outbreak — after rain and an active weather season helped these grasses grow and then turn dormant.
Fire preparations are already in place for the Panhandle, with Canyon Fire Department getting upgrades and gearing up to a full 24-hour staff, along with area firefighters and departments receiving more training, fire engines and equipment in the wake of the historic February 2024 outbreak. In addition, multiple counties within the region have ongoing burn bans due to the persistent dry and warm weather. This is a flip in the script from early December, when the region saw various amounts of snow, near-sub-zero wind chills and freezing fog.
But why is it so warm in December?
Peter Vanden Blosch, meteorologist with Amarillo NWS, said we had a high-pressure system over us and on the breezy side, which helps us warm up, and west to southwest winds that are down-sloping and tend to be warmer. With us being in a La Niña weather pattern — which favors drier and warmer weather but allows arctic weather outbreaks — temperatures can dip but with less moisture. In other words, warmer and drier conditions, or colder with less snow or rain, can be in the picture.
The meteorologist said that as we move into spring 2026, we should transition out of La Niña and into a neutral stage that falls neither into a La Niña nor an El Niño pattern, so it is a little less predictable. That will impact what we see later in the year, but the region should be going into spring with less rain and drier conditions, which sets the stage for possible wildfires.
“Last spring, the first half of the year was wet and led to more grasses, which later dried out and became fuel for wildfires,” Vanden Blosch said. He said they were hopeful that El Niño might show an influence for lower pressure and more rain, but if the La Niña pattern influences weather more, it can stay on the drier side, with higher winds and possible storms.
That sets the stage for possible fire storms, if the area has high winds days, according to Vanden Blosch. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but that’s what we tend to see,” he said. In a broad, generalized view, if the region hangs on to the La Niña weather, it favors low pressure, which tracks to the north and keeps us dry. But if it dies off a little earlier than anticipated, the area could see some moisture return.
Wind, hail, snow and more: Extreme weather seen in Canyon and Amarillo in 2025
The city of Canyon had its share of extreme weather and distaster declarations, starting with an old-fashioned black-out dust storm in March with 70-80 mph high winds that stranded around 45 vehicles south of town, caused the interstate to temporarily shut down and led to multiple crashes from low visibility.
April saw a small but destructive EF-1 tornado in Canyon with winds reaching 110 mph, which struck the new Madison Park area on the northwest side of the city and damaged around 20 homes. Then in June, an early morning monster hail storm with 80 mph winds and large hailstones pummeled Canyon residents’ windows on the west side of apartments, buildings, cars, homes and businesses, causing another disaster declaration and damages.
Spring 2025 also brought record snowfall. Areas including Amarillo, Canyon and Lubbock experienced a record-breaking snowstorm in April. A total of 2.2 inches fell at the Amarillo airport, which surpassed the previous April 5 record of 1.5 inches set in 1895.
Lubbock had a record 1.5 inches, breaking a previous record of 0.2 inches in 1983. According to an April 7 Globe-News story, NWS trained spotters reported as much as 4.8 inches near Westgate Mall and 3.3 inches in Thompson Park. And in Lubbock, the official NWS station at Preston Smith International Airport measured 1.5 inches while Shallowater reported 2.7 inches.
While some areas got just a dusting, the brunt of the snowfall hit Dawn, Texas, with a whopping 8 inches and approached blizzard-like conditions by Panhandle standards with wind and drifting snow.
Although rare, there have been accounts of having Easter Services in the snow and hosting Easter Egg Hunts inside buildings rather than in snow banks at the park.
As far as the wind making headlines in 2025, Amarillo earned the title of “windiest city” in a study by real-estate brokerage company Redfin. The rankings were based on the annual average wind speed, and in Amarillo, it clocked in at 12.9 miles per hour. Other Texas cities made the top 10 list of windiest cities in the U.S. with a population of 100,000 or more included Lubbock at No. 3, Corpus Christi at No. 4, Wichita Falls at No. 8 and Abilene at No. 10.
Among recorded wind gust totals, Amarillo had a confirmed gust of 83 mph in March, one of several high winds that tracked through the area with various fronts. The wind put a damper on the return of hot air balloons to the Amarillo sky in October, but they still managed one lift-off date in Palo Duro Canyon before setting up at the city park for trick-or-treaters.
In early August, major storms left substantial damage in Sunray, especially at Sunray High School, where multiple facilities were impacted including Bobcat Stadium. The severe weather produced winds exceeding around 80 mph, knocking down trees, power lines and Sunray’s press box, in addition to causing other damage around the Texas Panhandle community. In another part of the region, the community of Perryton continued in 2025 to rebuild and recover from 2023’s EF-3 tornado that devastated the area.
Throughout the year, many tropical storms from the Pacific and slow-moving systems tracked across New Mexico and Texas, leading to catastrophic flooding in some parts, including the Guadalupe River tragedy in Kerrville County in July, as well as multiple rounds impacting Ruidoso.
While Amarillo did not have major flooding like it saw in 2023, the Texas Panhandle saw its share of rainfall as well. According to West Texas Mesonet’s website, as of November the Amarillo area has seen anywhere from 21.65 to 27.16 inches of precipitation in 2025, with 25.20 inches recorded in Canyon, 27.95 in Borger and 22.78 for the Palo Duro Canyon State Park floor.
On the other end of weather extremes, West Texas saw a surprisingly mild summer, with most cities recording only a handful of triple-digit days. For Amarillo, the earliest triple-digit day on record is June 14 (2000) and latest on Sept. 19 (2024), with the average date falling on Aug. 5.
Amarillo has seen its share of different weather for Christmas and New Years holidays over the years. The snowiest Christmas on record for Amarillo had 4.6 inches in 1939, with the first white Christmas recorded in 1892. The last time the city saw snow on the holiday was in 2012 and 2011. Temperatures have dropped as low as 2 degrees (1983) and gone as high as 73 (1971 and 1979), with this year’s forecast looking to break the highest total on record.
Whatever the new year brings, Panhandle folks have learned to be ready and keep all four seasons of weather gear ready to go at a moment’s notice.
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Dec. 24, 2025, 9:32 a.m. CT
Many Amarilloans have changed their Christmas plans from roasting a turkey and singing around the fireplace to grilling steaks, chicken and hamburgers outside.
Amarillo has seen some milder Christmases indeed, but none like THIS have been charted of late in the Texas Panhandle. Instead of ugly Christmas sweaters, warm gloves and fuzzy caps, people are donning Hawaiian shirts, shorts, flip flops and baseball caps. Whether it be climate change or an unusual weather pattern, this year is definitely different.
For a quick snapshot of what our weather seems to be brewing up for 2026, we consulted the Amarillo National Weather Service (NWS) to look into their crystal ball and doppler systems. While our winter has been untraditionally warm with record-breaking December highs, the Panhandle weather can be very fickle and disarming.
Along with late December’s above-normal temperatures, the Texas A&M Forest Service issued a warning about increased fire danger due to dry, freeze-cured grasses at risk of helping blazes spread quickly if there is a spark and strong winds — similar to the situation before 2024’s major wildfire outbreak — after rain and an active weather season helped these grasses grow and then turn dormant.
Fire preparations are already in place for the Panhandle, with Canyon Fire Department getting upgrades and gearing up to a full 24-hour staff, along with area firefighters and departments receiving more training, fire engines and equipment in the wake of the historic February 2024 outbreak. In addition, multiple counties within the region have ongoing burn bans due to the persistent dry and warm weather. This is a flip in the script from early December, when the region saw various amounts of snow, near-sub-zero wind chills and freezing fog.
But why is it so warm in December?
Peter Vanden Blosch, meteorologist with Amarillo NWS, said we had a high-pressure system over us and on the breezy side, which helps us warm up, and west to southwest winds that are down-sloping and tend to be warmer. With us being in a La Niña weather pattern — which favors drier and warmer weather but allows arctic weather outbreaks — temperatures can dip but with less moisture. In other words, warmer and drier conditions, or colder with less snow or rain, can be in the picture.
The meteorologist said that as we move into spring 2026, we should transition out of La Niña and into a neutral stage that falls neither into a La Niña nor an El Niño pattern, so it is a little less predictable. That will impact what we see later in the year, but the region should be going into spring with less rain and drier conditions, which sets the stage for possible wildfires.
“Last spring, the first half of the year was wet and led to more grasses, which later dried out and became fuel for wildfires,” Vanden Blosch said. He said they were hopeful that El Niño might show an influence for lower pressure and more rain, but if the La Niña pattern influences weather more, it can stay on the drier side, with higher winds and possible storms.
That sets the stage for possible fire storms, if the area has high winds days, according to Vanden Blosch. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but that’s what we tend to see,” he said. In a broad, generalized view, if the region hangs on to the La Niña weather, it favors low pressure, which tracks to the north and keeps us dry. But if it dies off a little earlier than anticipated, the area could see some moisture return.
Wind, hail, snow and more: Extreme weather seen in Canyon and Amarillo in 2025
The city of Canyon had its share of extreme weather and distaster declarations, starting with an old-fashioned black-out dust storm in March with 70-80 mph high winds that stranded around 45 vehicles south of town, caused the interstate to temporarily shut down and led to multiple crashes from low visibility.
April saw a small but destructive EF-1 tornado in Canyon with winds reaching 110 mph, which struck the new Madison Park area on the northwest side of the city and damaged around 20 homes. Then in June, an early morning monster hail storm with 80 mph winds and large hailstones pummeled Canyon residents’ windows on the west side of apartments, buildings, cars, homes and businesses, causing another disaster declaration and damages.
Spring 2025 also brought record snowfall. Areas including Amarillo, Canyon and Lubbock experienced a record-breaking snowstorm in April. A total of 2.2 inches fell at the Amarillo airport, which surpassed the previous April 5 record of 1.5 inches set in 1895.
Lubbock had a record 1.5 inches, breaking a previous record of 0.2 inches in 1983. According to an April 7 Globe-News story, NWS trained spotters reported as much as 4.8 inches near Westgate Mall and 3.3 inches in Thompson Park. And in Lubbock, the official NWS station at Preston Smith International Airport measured 1.5 inches while Shallowater reported 2.7 inches.
While some areas got just a dusting, the brunt of the snowfall hit Dawn, Texas, with a whopping 8 inches and approached blizzard-like conditions by Panhandle standards with wind and drifting snow.
Although rare, there have been accounts of having Easter Services in the snow and hosting Easter Egg Hunts inside buildings rather than in snow banks at the park.
As far as the wind making headlines in 2025, Amarillo earned the title of “windiest city” in a study by real-estate brokerage company Redfin. The rankings were based on the annual average wind speed, and in Amarillo, it clocked in at 12.9 miles per hour. Other Texas cities made the top 10 list of windiest cities in the U.S. with a population of 100,000 or more included Lubbock at No. 3, Corpus Christi at No. 4, Wichita Falls at No. 8 and Abilene at No. 10.
Among recorded wind gust totals, Amarillo had a confirmed gust of 83 mph in March, one of several high winds that tracked through the area with various fronts. The wind put a damper on the return of hot air balloons to the Amarillo sky in October, but they still managed one lift-off date in Palo Duro Canyon before setting up at the city park for trick-or-treaters.
In early August, major storms left substantial damage in Sunray, especially at Sunray High School, where multiple facilities were impacted including Bobcat Stadium. The severe weather produced winds exceeding around 80 mph, knocking down trees, power lines and Sunray’s press box, in addition to causing other damage around the Texas Panhandle community. In another part of the region, the community of Perryton continued in 2025 to rebuild and recover from 2023’s EF-3 tornado that devastated the area.
Throughout the year, many tropical storms from the Pacific and slow-moving systems tracked across New Mexico and Texas, leading to catastrophic flooding in some parts, including the Guadalupe River tragedy in Kerrville County in July, as well as multiple rounds impacting Ruidoso.
While Amarillo did not have major flooding like it saw in 2023, the Texas Panhandle saw its share of rainfall as well. According to West Texas Mesonet’s website, as of November the Amarillo area has seen anywhere from 21.65 to 27.16 inches of precipitation in 2025, with 25.20 inches recorded in Canyon, 27.95 in Borger and 22.78 for the Palo Duro Canyon State Park floor.
On the other end of weather extremes, West Texas saw a surprisingly mild summer, with most cities recording only a handful of triple-digit days. For Amarillo, the earliest triple-digit day on record is June 14 (2000) and latest on Sept. 19 (2024), with the average date falling on Aug. 5.
Amarillo has seen its share of different weather for Christmas and New Years holidays over the years. The snowiest Christmas on record for Amarillo had 4.6 inches in 1939, with the first white Christmas recorded in 1892. The last time the city saw snow on the holiday was in 2012 and 2011. Temperatures have dropped as low as 2 degrees (1983) and gone as high as 73 (1971 and 1979), with this year’s forecast looking to break the highest total on record.
Whatever the new year brings, Panhandle folks have learned to be ready and keep all four seasons of weather gear ready to go at a moment’s notice.
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