Palo Duro Extreme Heat Study Summer 2021

The 21 Weather Stations will be recording the very hot temperatures (103-106 F) expected Monday and Tuesday!  Please be very careful if you are hiking in the Park Monday and Tuesday, as most heat illnesses happen when temperatures are near or over 105 degrees.  URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Amarillo TX 756 PM CDT Sun Aug 8 2021 TXZ317-090900- /O.NEW.KAMA.HT.Y.0005.210809T1800Z-210810T0100Z/ Palo Duro Canyon- Including the cities of Palo Duro Canyon State Park 756 PM CDT Sun Aug 8 2021 ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 105 expected. * WHERE...Palo Duro Canyon County. * WHEN...From 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures combined with outdoor activities can lead to heat related illnesses. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, avoid activities during the hot part of the day, stay out of the sun. Carrying extra water is crucial. && $$

The Heat is Back! West Texas A&M Students will be back in the Palo Duro Canyon this weekend observing the heat with the mobile weather station. Isolated storms are also crossing the Palo Duro Canyon on Saturday 7 August.

The last day of July went out with a hot day that proved perfect for WTAMU students to conduct intensive observations with the mobile van and weather balloon system. The morning students also tested the tethersonde system before it got too windy. A cold front and convection brought cooler weather for the start of August late in the evening.

 WTAMU Students were glad to have Professor Sandip Pal and his student visit from Texas Tech University. Dr. Pal is a boundary-layer expert and will be providing his expertise for the study. Unfortunately, we did not get any group photos, as the visit was so fun we forgot to take them! Only driving transects, not weather balloons were conducted on 29 July We did see the first horned lizard:

Successful Intensive Observational Period (IOP) observations were conducted on Wed 30 July. Photos from the field observations follow below. Multiple transects and the first morning and afternoon weather balloon launches, as well as some tethersonde observations before it got too windy.