United States

Dumas, Texas

Local

National Weather Service records indicate that the Texas panhandle typically experiences periods of below-freezing weather during the winter, often in February.

The 2007 cold snap began f on February 12, 2007, when temperatures dropped below 0 degrees Celcius (32°F) and stayed below freezing for 87 hours. The average temperature in nearby Dumas, Texas, on February 14, 2007, was -3 degrees Celcius (26°F). A low temperature of -14 degrees Celcius (6°F) was reached early in the morning of February 15. The temperature did not rise above freezing until the morning of February 16.

The extended period of cold weather and the lack of freeze protection on a control station in the Valero Refinery allowed the freezing and expansion of the water inside the piping system. This led to the rupture of the pipe that resulted in propane leakage that triggered a massive fire.