Texas, 1999

Tornado and Flash Flood in Texas, April 13, 1999

April 13, 1999 · NWS MAF · 11 events in 3 counties and zones

This convection developed along the dryline near the Ector/Crane County Line and slowly evolved at first, but suddenly intensified as it approached the city of Midland. The storm's updraft passed south of Midland, so the city only received hail on the extreme south side of town.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$11 million
Crop damage
None recorded
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 MAF wrote it up.

This convection developed along the dryline near the Ector/Crane County Line and slowly evolved at first, but suddenly intensified as it approached the city of Midland. The storm's updraft passed south of Midland, so the city only received hail on the extreme south side of town. The storm then spun up rotation while south of the city and became a classic supercell.As the storm approached State Highway 349 damaging winds and hail combined with battering effects. A two mile wide area of wind-driven hail pounded residences and farm equipment for about a 5 mile stretch at least as far as State Highway 158. Hail grew up to about golfball size and winds peaked at approximately 80 mph. The wind-driven hail broke windows in houses and blasted paint off the wooden siding. The strong winds took roofs off several mobile homes and at least one single-family house. Utility crews stated that a total of 27 poles were downed by the winds.The American Red Cross determined that 324 units were affected with 18 mobile homes 4 houses destroyed. About 50-60 families were at least temporarily displaced. Only about 10% of the property was insured. Of the 6 injuries, one person was admitted to the hospital with a broken arm.This wind-driven hail area was on the north side of the mesocyclone with a brief tornado causing damage south of this area. The tornado formation was near the intersection of FM 1213 and County Road 160.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Midland

When
April 13, 4:15 PM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where
Midland County, 4 mi W of Midland
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
32.000, -102.150

Hail, Midland

When
April 13, 4:30 PM CST to 4:40 PM CST
Where
Midland County, Midland
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.000, -102.080

Hail, Midland

When
April 13, 4:40 PM CST to 4:50 PM CST
Where
Midland County, 6 mi S of Midland
Measured
1.75 in hail
Property damage
$8.0 million
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.920, -102.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Midland

When
April 13, 4:40 PM CST
Where
Midland County, 6 mi S of Midland
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage
$3.0 million
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.920, -102.080

Tornado, Midland

When
April 13, 4:45 PM CST to 4:47 PM CST
Where
Midland County, 8 mi SE of Midland
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
150 yd
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
31.920, -102.000

Eyewitness account of this tornado. Although many people in the area considered all the damage to have been from a tornado, actually most of the damage was from the wind-driven hail (north of the tornado path). In the tornado path winds were more intense than in the hail area as demonstrated by the total demolition of one trailer that was spread into the field. All trailers in the hail area were still standing.

Flash Flood, Howard

When
April 13, 4:45 PM CST to 5:45 PM CST
Where
Howard County, East Portion
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
32.306, -101.435 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flooding on FM 821 south of I-20 required its closing.

Hail, Midland

When
April 13, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Midland County, Greenwood
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.000, -101.920

Hail, Midland

When
April 13, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Midland County, 8 mi E of Greenwood
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
32.000, -101.780

Hail, Glasscock

When
April 13, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Glasscock County, 18 mi W of Lees
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
32.080, -101.780

Hail, Howard

When
April 13, 5:38 PM CST
Where
Howard County, 7 mi S of Big Spring
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.150, -101.470

Hail, Howard

When
April 13, 6:25 PM CST
Where
Howard County, Coahoma
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.300, -101.300

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.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1999Warnings in Texas, April 1999

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: 5694231, 5694232, 5694233, 5694234, 5694238, 5694241, 5694235, 5694239, 5694240, 5694236, 5694237.