High Wind, Howard
- When
- July 5, 10:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
- Where
- Howard forecast zone
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Coordinates
- 32.306, -101.435 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Texas, July 5, 1997
Thunderstorms fired in the central New Mexico mountains and were taken into Texas in a northwesterly flow aloft. As the storms travelled through the Texas South Plains a strong meso-high formed and sent an outflow boundary accelerating ahead of the storms.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- $40,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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.
Thunderstorms fired in the central New Mexico mountains and were taken into Texas in a northwesterly flow aloft. As the storms travelled through the Texas South Plains a strong meso-high formed and sent an outflow boundary accelerating ahead of the storms. The boundary arched in such a fashion that the cities of Big Spring, Midland, Odessa, and Kermit were being hit simultaneously just after 11pm CDT. This event is being recorded as a "high wind" meso-high event rather than a "thunderstorm wind" event because the storms were so far to the north, away from where the damage occurred. No thunder was reported in these locations.North of Odessa the wood and sheet metal roof of a church was blown off by the strong winds. Winds at nearby Schlemeyer Airport were clocked at 54 mph. In the city of Odessa a few trees and utility lines were downed as well. Seven miles southeast of Midland winds estimated at 70 mph broke 4-inch diameter tree limbs. Two roofs were blown off trailers near the Fairview community of Howard County and a 77 mph gust was recorded east of Stanton in Martin County.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Martin
- When
- July 5, 10:10 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
- Where
- Martin forecast zone
- Measured
- 67 kt (77 mph)
- Coordinates
- 32.306, -101.951 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Ector
- When
- July 5, 10:15 PM CST to 10:35 PM CST
- Where
- Ector forecast zone
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 31.869, -102.543 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Midland
- When
- July 5, 10:20 PM CST to 10:45 PM CST
- Where
- Midland forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 31.869, -102.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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 Florida, July 5, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Kansas, July 5 to 21, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 5, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Texas, July 5, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Washington, July 5 to 21, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 5 to 16, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, July 5, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Nebraska, July 5, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in North Carolina, July 5, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Washington, July 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, July 5, 1997
More
Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 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: 5610995, 5610996, 5610998, 5610997.