High Wind, Midland
- When
- January 17, 12:00 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Midland forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 31.869, -102.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Texas, January 17, 1996
The lowest visibility of 3/4 mile was at 1620-1630 CST. Across much of the region brief light rain showers were occurring.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.
The lowest visibility of 3/4 mile was at 1620-1630 CST. The peak wind of 60 mph occurred at 1236 pm CST.Across much of the region brief light rain showers were occurring. Combined with the blowing dust, the rain became mud showers. It rained only enough to allow dirt to adhere to vehicles. For weeks muddy cars could be seen driving around the region due to excessively long lines at commercial car washes. A manager at a Midland car wash said that the first week after the mud storm was his busiest on record, more than tripling his usual business. He said that business would have been even better, except that people decided not to wait in the long lines. This same scenario was played out across much of the Permian Basin.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Texas, January 17, 1996
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 17 to 18, 1996
- High Wind in Kansas, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, January 17, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, January 17, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Dust Storm in Arizona, January 17, 1996
- High Wind in Iowa, January 17 to 19, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, January 17, 1996
- High Wind in Texas, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Ice Storm in Minnesota, January 17 to 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Texas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 1996
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: 5552985.