Texas, 1998

Tornado and Hail in Texas, April 26, 1998

April 26, 1998 · NWS SJT · 8 events in 3 counties and zones

One line of storms moved across mainly the northern half of the area during the mid to late afternoon. This line produced high winds, up to golf ball size hail, and several short-lived tornadoes across the central and eastern sections of the Big country.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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 SJT wrote it up.

One line of storms moved across mainly the northern half of the area during the mid to late afternoon. This line produced high winds, up to golf ball size hail, and several short-lived tornadoes across the central and eastern sections of the Big country. One young girl was injured by falling glass at the Mall of Abilene when high winds shattered a skylight. A supercell then developed behind the line, producing a tornado and up to baseball size hail across Haskell County.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Haskell

When
April 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 8 mi NW of Haskell
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
33.250, -99.850

Hail, Haskell

When
April 26, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 1 mi NE of Haskell
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
33.180, -99.730

Hail, Haskell

When
April 26, 4:17 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 2 mi W of Haskell
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.170, -99.780

Hail, Haskell

When
April 26, 4:20 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 2 mi W of Haskell
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
33.170, -99.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Haskell

When
April 26, 4:29 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, Haskell
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
33.170, -99.750

Tornado, Haskell

When
April 26, 4:29 PM CST
Where
Haskell County, 3 mi S of Haskell
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
33.120, -99.750

Hail, San Saba

When
April 26, 5:30 PM CST
Where
San Saba County, San Saba
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
31.200, -98.730

Hail, Shackelford

When
April 26, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Shackelford County, 4 mi N of Albany
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
32.780, -99.300

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.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1998Warnings in Texas, April 1998

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: 5637061, 5637062, 5637063, 5637064, 5637065, 5637066, 5637068, 5637067.