By Dan Schreiber
Del Rio set the official record for new snow depth, with 11.2 inches of snow on February 18th as the official recording. This surpassed January 12th, 1985 with the most snow during a given day. This value will be added to the additional 2-3 inches of snow which occurred on February 14-15th, with a monthly snowfall value of over 1-foot, which makes 2021 the snowiest year on record in Del Rio, since 1906 when records began.
Del Rio noted more one-day snowfall than any other city in Texas by the early morning of February 19th, 2021. This is largely believed to be because of the influence of Lake Amistad, akin to “Lake Effect Snow” which commonly occurs along the eastern shores of the Great Lakes.
February 19th tied for the lowest temperature ever recorded in February with 11°F (tied with Feb 2nd, 1951). The record coldest temperature ever recorded in Del Rio was 10°F set on December 23rd, 1989. Some weather sensors in Del Rio recorded temperatures as low as 9°F on Feb 19th, but these observations were not considered as the “official” observations for historical purposes.
Del Rio officially recorded wind chill temperatures in wind gusts of as low as -4°F before electric power was lost early Monday morning at Del Rio airport. It is likely that wind chill temperature dropped even lower than this value at some point during the week.
Dan Schreiber is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist in Del Rio, Texas, and a former Air Force Meteorologist.
Dan is the owner of STWX Strategic, a meteorology consulting firm specializing in forensic meteorology services for the legal and insurance industries.
