Panhandle hook

A Panhandle hook (also called panhandle hooker or Texas hooker) is a relatively infrequent winter storm system whose cyclogenesis occurs in the South to southwestern United States from the late fall through winter and into the early spring months. They trek to the northeast on a path towards the Great Lakes region, as the southwesterly jet streams are most prevalent, usually affecting the Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Panhandle hooks account for some of the most memorable and deadly blizzards and snowstorms in North America, as well as tornado outbreaks in the Midwest on record. The name is derived from the region of surface cyclogenesis in the Texas and Oklahoma "panhandle" regions. In some winters, there are no panhandle hook storms; in others, there are several.