Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- August 17, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, 7 mi NW of Henrietta
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 33.880, -98.280
Severe winds knocked a tractor trailer over on Highway 287.
Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, August 17, 1997
Summary of events of the afternoon and evening of August 17, 1997:Severe thunderstorms moved along and south of the Red River, producing large hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and two tornadoes in western parts of north Texas. The tornadoes were observed south of Windthorst in Archer County.
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
- 2
- Property damage
- $2.3 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 20
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 OUN wrote it up.
Summary of events of the afternoon and evening of August 17, 1997:Severe thunderstorms moved along and south of the Red River, producing large hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and two tornadoes in western parts of north Texas. The tornadoes were observed south of Windthorst in Archer County. No damage was reported and both were rated at F0. The largest hail was reported near Harrold in Wilbarger County, where hail reached the size of golf balls. The most significant wind damage occurred in Clay County, where severe thunderstorm winds caused major damage to a group of houses and barns and then derailed a freight train near Jolly. Significant wind damage was also reported in the Henrietta area of Clay County and in Iowa park in Wichita County.See preceding individual Storm Data entries for further details and additional reports.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
12 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- August 17, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, Henrietta
- Property damage
- $500
- Coordinates
- 33.820, -98.200
Severe thunderstorm winds blew down power lines and numerous tree limbs.
Hail, Wichita
- When
- August 17, 4:38 PM CST
- Where
- Wichita County, 3 mi W of Burkburnett
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.100, -98.620
Hail, Wichita
- When
- August 17, 4:55 PM CST
- Where
- Wichita County, Iowa Park
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.950, -98.670
Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- August 17, 5:10 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, Henrietta
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 33.820, -98.200
A trailer was blown over by severe thunderstorm winds.
Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- August 17, 5:15 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, 6 mi NW of Henrietta
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 33.880, -98.270
Severe thunderstorm winds destroyed a mobile home.
Hail, Clay
- When
- August 17, 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, 6 mi N of Henrietta
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.900, -98.200
Hail, Wichita
- When
- August 17, 5:32 PM CST
- Where
- Wichita County, Iowa Park
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.950, -98.670
Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- August 17, 5:35 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, 6 mi NNE of Jolly
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 33.950, -98.320
Severe winds blew the porch and roof off a house, knocked the windows out of another house, and caused major shingle and roof damage. Several barns in the area were also destroyed by the winds.
Thunderstorm Wind, Wichita
- When
- August 17, 5:36 PM CST
- Where
- Wichita County, Wichita Falls
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph)
- Coordinates
- 33.900, -98.500
Thunderstorm Wind, Archer
- When
- August 17, 5:40 PM CST
- Where
- Archer County, Lakeside City
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
- Coordinates
- 32.830, -98.530
Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- August 17, 5:40 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County, 5 mi E of Jolly
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.3 million
- Coordinates
- 33.870, -98.270
Severe thunderstorm winds blew a train car off the tracks, which in turn caused the rest of the freight train to derail. In all, 30 cars and 2 engines were derailed. One train car smashed into two automobiles and a tractor trailer that were parked on a parallel highway. The 2 occupants of one of the automobiles were treated for minor injuries. Damage to the train and track was estimated at $2,000,000.
Thunderstorm Wind, Wichita
- When
- August 17, 6:15 PM CST
- Where
- Wichita County, Iowa Park
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 33.950, -98.670
Severe thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a metal barn.
Tornado, Archer
- When
- August 17, 6:45 PM CST to 6:48 PM CST
- Where
- Archer County, 7 mi S of Windthorst
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 75 yd
- Coordinates
- 33.470, -98.450
An F0 tornado touched down in an open field about 1/2 mile west of Highway 16. It was on the ground for about 3 minutes and did no reported damage.
Hail, Wilbarger
- When
- August 17, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wilbarger County, 1 mi E of Harrold
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.080, -99.020
Tornado, Archer
- When
- August 17, 7:15 PM CST
- Where
- Archer County, 11 mi S of Windthorst
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Coordinates
- 33.400, -98.450
An F0 tornado touched down briefly about 1/5 miles west of Highway 16. No damage was reported.
Thunderstorm Wind, Knox
- When
- August 17, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Knox County, 5 mi SE of Vera
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 33.580, -99.500
Thunderstorm Wind, Knox
- When
- August 17, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Knox County, Benjamin
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 33.580, -99.800
Hail, Knox
- When
- August 17, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Knox County, Benjamin
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.580, -99.800
Thunderstorm Wind, Baylor
- When
- August 17, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Baylor County, 1 mi NE of Red Spgs
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 33.630, -99.200
What these are
- 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.
- 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
- Flash Flood and Hail in West Virginia, August 17 to 18, 1997
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, August 17, 1997
- Heat in Missouri, August 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Maryland, August 17, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Ohio, August 17, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Virginia, August 17, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Ohio, August 17 to 20, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, August 17, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 17, 1997
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, August 17, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Kentucky, August 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 17, 1997
More
Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1997Warnings in Texas, August 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: 5622421, 5622422, 5622354, 5622355, 5622356, 5622430, 5622357, 5622358, 5622432, 5622423, 5622424, 5622433, 5622431, 5622434, 5622425, 5622435, 5622429, 5622426, 5622427, 5622428.