What Is a Panhandle Hook?

Every winter here in the Midwest, we have a storm that moves through the area that we refer to as a panhandle hook storm system. So what is a panhandle hook storm system? This type of system receives its name from the track it takes. These types of storm systems develop in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and eject northeastward.

The track of the low after it ejects out of the panhandle region is critical to snowfall amounts. If the low tracks over St. Louis, this would bring heavy snow to the state of Iowa. If the low tracks further north over Iowa, the rain/snow line moves northwest with it into northwest Iowa and into South Dakota, leaving the southeast half of the state receiving rain.

This is why when it comes to a forecast for these types of systems, it is often very difficult to pinpoint down on where that rain/snow line will set up. If there is even a 25-mile shift in the track of the low, north or south, this would move the sharp cutoff line between rain and snow. These storm systems can also generate very gusty winds, which impact visibilities.

Some of the most memorable snowstorms are panhandle hookers. The Armistice Day snowstorm of 1940 and the storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald on 1975 were both panhandle hookers.