Hail, Gaines
- When
- April 10, 3:50 PM CST
- Where
- Gaines County, Seminole
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 32.720, -102.650
Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, April 10, 1997
The beginnings of a monster storm were in western Andrews County along the dry line and began moving to the northeast. Just after leaving Seminole in central Gaines County this storm became a supercell and turned almost straight east.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $390,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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 beginnings of a monster storm were in western Andrews County along the dry line and began moving to the northeast. Just after leaving Seminole in central Gaines County this storm became a supercell and turned almost straight east. According to the KMAF 88D average storm movement was 221 degrees at 26 kt, but this supercell turned and slowed to 268 degrees at 14 kt (47 degrees to the right at 54% speed). The storm continued into the Texas South Plains where it produced numerous other tornadoes and caused one fatality.The environment for the storms according to the rawinsonde sounding that evening on the SHARP workstation showed a buoyancy of about 2800 J/kg for the best lifted parcel and 1700 J/kg for a mean low level parcel. A cap of 65 J/kg kept other storms from forming in the area.
The radar
The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:49 UTC.
Event by event
3 tornado, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Gaines
- When
- April 10, 4:21 PM CST to 4:27 PM CST
- Where
- Gaines County, Seminole to 10 mi E of Seminole
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 2.2 mi
- Path width
- 130 yd
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 32.670, -102.480
The first tornado of this supercell formed just south of U.S. Highway 180 and moved to the ENE for much of its life, then veered sharply to the north as it roped-out crossing the highway. Two telephone poles were downed along the highway--one holding a transformer.
Tornado, Gaines
- When
- April 10, 4:33 PM CST to 4:43 PM CST
- Where
- Gaines County, 14 mi E of Seminole
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 2.6 mi
- Path width
- 250 yd
- Property damage
- $80,000
- Coordinates
- 32.720, -102.420
This second tornado was spawned about two miles east of were tornado #1 dissipated. This tornado tracked to the northeast and overturned two center-pivot irrigation systems. The second system looked as if a couple of sections had become airborne from the resulting damage which snapped off a large wheel.
Hail, Dawson
- When
- April 10, 5:18 PM CST to 5:23 PM CST
- Where
- Dawson County, Welch
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Property damage
- $300,000
- Coordinates
- 32.920, -102.130
Tornado, Dawson
- When
- April 10, 5:43 PM CST to 5:45 PM CST
- Where
- Dawson County, 5 mi NE of Welch
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 80 yd
- Coordinates
- 32.970, -102.070
This third tornado formed in open country northeast of Welch and was very short-lived. The storm then entered southwestern Lynn County (see Lubbock synopsis).
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- 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.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Texas, April 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Missouri, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Frost and Freeze in Virginia, April 10, 1997
- Winter Weather in Kansas, April 10, 1997
- Frost and Freeze in West Virginia, April 10, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Frost and Freeze in Maryland, April 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, April 10 to 11, 1997
- Cold in Virginia, April 10, 1997
More
Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1997Warnings in Texas, April 1997
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: 5601363, 5601364, 5601365, 5601366, 5601367.