Snow suddenly collided with the raging wildfires in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, and some Texans viewed it as a gift from God.
Widespread wildfires consuming thousands of acres began on Monday throughout the state. The Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest of the blazes, has since grown to scorch nearly 1 million acres, CNN reported. At least one person has been killed, and thousands of animals have died as the fires continue to rage across the state. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has since issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties in the state.
On Thursday, snow began to fall in the region near the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which has since grown to become the largest wildfire in Texas history.
Texas Pastor Brian Gibson called the snow an answer to his church’s prayers.
“The church prayed last night for rain we’ve been praying three hours a day this week and I want you to see what we woke up to this morning,” Gibson said before the person filming him moved the camera to show snow accumulating on the roadway.
Texas Storm Chasers also shared a video of the falling snow.
“The snow is tapering off now, but it came down at a good clip in Amarillo #Texas earlier this morning and covered some roadways,” the account shared. “Snow also fell on wildfire regions across the Panhandle.”
Snow falling in the Panhandle near the Smokehouse Creek Fire benefited firefighters by adding moisture to the air, and meteorologist Samuel Scoleri told Newsweek that the added moisture would make it harder for fires to ignite and would assist in keeping the flames from spreading.
“It’s a good day to battle those fires and get them contained,” Scoleri said.
Scoleri added that there was some snow accumulation on the ground. However, even if the snow doesn’t accumulate in some areas, it will still benefit the firefighters by adding moisture to the air.
However, weather conditions this weekend are expected to be dry, hot and windy, which threatens to reignite any remaining fires, Scoleri said.
Although the cause of the fires is unknown, a red flag warning was in place throughout much of the state on Monday, when temperatures soared across much of the United States in advance of a storm working its way west. The high temperatures, combined with low humidity and gusty winds, created dangerous conditions for outdoor burning, prompting the red flag warning.
Then, on Wednesday, a fast-approaching cold front collided with the fires and sent the flames southward in erratic behavior. The fires have left substantial burn scars throughout the Texas Panhandle.
