Low-Level Jet Streams are a frequent visitor to West Texas during the early morning hours of Spring/Autumn days. A moderate low-level jet developed during the overnight hours of October 19th, 2009. Most of the stronger winds with these jets do not make it to ground level...peaking around 2000 to 4000 feet AGL (for those areas on the caprock escarpment). However, those mesonet stations near and just east of the escarpment routinely measure strong wind gusts as the low-level jet is able to mix down higher winds to the surface. The WTM Reese Center boundary layer profiler frequently records low-level jet events. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also maintains a tropospheric profiler near Jayton, Texas which also detects jet streams. A boundary-layer profiler is emitting 1/8 the energy of a tropospheric profiler...which means better small-scale resolution for the boundary layer profiler, but they are limited in resolving wind speed readings at higher altitudes.

WTM Reese Center Boundary Layer Profiler for October 18-19th, 2009 showing low-level jet with a peak wind speed of 50 knots around 06Z on the 19th. Bin spacing of 60-meters and a sampling rate of 30-minutes. Compare to the NOAA Jayton Tropospheric Profiler below. Please note the height scale on the left from ground level to three km AGL.

NOAA Jayton Tropospheric Profiler for October 18-19th, 2009 showing same low-level jet. Bin spacing of 310 and 900-meters with a sampling rate of 60-minutes. Please note the height scale on the left from ground level (Jayton profiler is 410-meters lower in elevation than the Reese Center profiler) to sixteen km AGL.

Several West Texas Mesonet stations sampled this low-level jet...one station just east of the escarpment measured strong sustained winds. Meteograms are in standard time (add one hour for daylight savings). Click on the thumbnail for a full-sized image. Note the initial surge in 10-meter wind speeds around midnight local standard time (06Z GMT time).