Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 24, 1999

A line of storms that formed in eastern New Mexico and the Texas Transpecos moved into the Permian Basin with gusty outflow winds. A cell formed ahead of the line in Gaines County that produced golf ball size hail. Farther south developments along the leading edge of the line in Midland County caused rains to last longer, eventually flooding many roadway in northern Midland County.Individual cells initially developed in the western areas and eventually merged into a line that stretched north to south along the Texas/New Mexico state line then south-southwest into Pecos County. After the line formed the intensity of the cells dropped dramatically, with the exception of the storm on the end of the line. This southern-most storm produced the largest hail and the longest sustained rotation on radar of all storms for the evening. This supercell also caused the only reported wind damage.The upper low was still anchored in the Desert Southwest supplying a southwesterly upper level flow aloft. In the late afternoon, surface temperatures were in the upper 80s with dew points in the mid to upper 50s. Mean low-level CAPE values were near 1600 J/kg with an LI near -6 degrees.