Hail, Lamb
- When
- May 8, 2:35 PM CST
- Where
- Lamb County, Olton
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 34.180, -102.130
Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 8, 1998
Thunderstorms developed over the Texas South Plains, the extreme southern Texas Panhandle, and the southern portions of the Rolling Plains during the late afternoon of the 8th. Plainview was hardest hit with over $5 million in property damage due to golfball-sized hail and winds in excess of 90 mph.
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
- $5.7 million
- Crop damage
- $50,000
- Events
- 11
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 LUB wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed over the Texas South Plains, the extreme southern Texas Panhandle, and the southern portions of the Rolling Plains during the late afternoon of the 8th. Plainview was hardest hit with over $5 million in property damage due to golfball-sized hail and winds in excess of 90 mph. Hundreds of homes and vehicles were damaged. Short-lived, weak tornadoes occurred in Lamb County (near Olton) and over the extreme southern Texas Panhandle near the towns of Quitaque and Turkey. Each tornado touched down in open country and caused no apparent damage.
The radar
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:22 UTC.
Event by event
5 hail, 3 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Lamb
- When
- May 8, 2:38 PM CST
- Where
- Lamb County, 4 mi S of Olton
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 34.130, -102.130
Thunderstorm Wind, Hale
- When
- May 8, 2:49 PM CST
- Where
- Hale County, 1 mi S of Plainview
- Measured
- 82 kt (94 mph)
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 34.180, -101.700
Hail, Hale
- When
- May 8, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hale County, 1 mi SW of Plainview
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5.0 million
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 34.180, -101.720
Hail, Lamb
- When
- May 8, 3:01 PM CST
- Where
- Lamb County, 4 mi E of Olton
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 34.180, -102.070
Hail, Floyd
- When
- May 8, 3:20 PM CST
- Where
- Floyd County, 4 mi SSW of Lone Star
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 34.220, -101.450
Tornado, Briscoe
- When
- May 8, 3:42 PM CST
- Where
- Briscoe County, 5 mi E of Quitaque
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 34.370, -100.970
Tornado, Hall
- When
- May 8, 3:58 PM CST
- Where
- Hall County, 5 mi N of Turkey
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 34.470, -100.880
Thunderstorm Wind, Stonewall
- When
- May 8, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Stonewall County, 10 mi SW of Aspermont
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph)
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 33.050, -100.350
Thunderstorm Wind, Stonewall
- When
- May 8, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Stonewall County, Aspermont
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 33.150, -100.230
Hail, Stonewall
- When
- May 8, 4:43 PM CST
- Where
- Stonewall County, Old Glory
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Crop damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 33.130, -100.050
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.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 8 to 9, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 8, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 8, 1998
- Strong Wind in Kansas, May 8, 1998
- Heavy Snow and Hail in Utah, May 8, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 8, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Texas, May 8, 1998
- Flooding and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, May 8 to 16, 1998
- Tornado in South Carolina, May 8, 1998
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Virginia, May 8, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 8, 1998
- Hail in North Carolina, May 8, 1998
More
Every storm in Texas in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1998Warnings in Texas, May 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: 5648153, 5648250, 5648249, 5648155, 5648154, 5648245, 5648251, 5648252, 5648246, 5648248, 5648247.