Texas, 1979

Tornado and Hail in Texas, March 17, 1979

March 17, 1979 · 11 events in 7 counties and zones

9 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

9 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Gaines

When
March 17, 5:20 PM CST
Where
Gaines County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
32.720, -102.750

Hail, Gaines

When
March 17, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Gaines County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
32.720, -102.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Gaines

When
March 17, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Gaines County
Coordinates
32.720, -102.650

Tornado, Briscoe

When
March 17, 6:40 PM CST
Where
Briscoe County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
30 yd
Coordinates
34.450, -101.300

Hail, Yoakum

When
March 17, 6:53 PM CST
Where
Yoakum County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.200, -102.830

Hail, Cochran

When
March 17, 7:20 PM CST
Where
Cochran County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.600, -102.620

Hail, Yoakum

When
March 17, 8:47 PM CST
Where
Yoakum County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.180, -103.080

Hail, Potter

When
March 17, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Potter County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.220, -101.720

Hail, Cochran

When
March 17, 9:21 PM CST
Where
Cochran County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.470, -102.770

Hail, Terry

When
March 17, 11:23 PM CST
Where
Terry County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.330, -102.200

Hail, Lubbock

When
March 17, 11:45 PM CST
Where
Lubbock County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.580, -101.850

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

More

Every storm in Texas in 1979Every state in 1979This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1979

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10129312, 10129313, 10129314, 10129315, 10129316, 10129317, 10129318, 10129319, 10129320, 10129321, 10129322.