Texas, 1999

Tornadoes in Texas, May 1, 1999

May 1, 1999 · NWS MAF · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:51 UTC.

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Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Ector

When
May 1, 2:46 PM CST to 2:50 PM CST
Where
Ector County, 7 mi NW of Goldsmith
Rating
F0
Path length
0.7 mi
Path width
100 yd
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
32.050, -102.700

This tornado was spawned out of a small mesocyclone on the leading side of a short multicell line. The tornado had a condensation funnel to the ground, became rain-wrapped within about 2 minutes, and was estimated to have lasted about two additional minutes. The tornado formed about 2-3 miles south of the Andrews County line near FM 181.

Tornado, Martin

When
May 1, 4:36 PM CST
Where
Martin County, 12 mi W of Tarzan
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
80 yd
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.300, -102.170

The cell that had produced the tornado in Ector County, dissipated, but its associated cluster began to favor one cell and by the time the cluster was in Eastern Andrews County it was forming into an HP supercell. Just after crossing into Martin County the storm produced a very brief tornado. The storm had a huge slot of rain that had wrapped around the mesocyclone. The spotter who saw the tornado was in heavy rain to the southeast of the spinup point. Video showed the condensation funnel to the ground, but rotation looked fairly weak. The unfavorable environment quickly destroyed the tornado within about one minute.

What these are

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 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1999Warnings in Texas, May 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: 5697616, 5697617.