Damaging Winds in Texas, April 29 to 30, 2000

An upper level disturbance moved into northwestern New Mexico during the day on the 29th resulting in a deepening area of low pressure over the western Oklahoma Panhandle. A dryline stretching along the Texas/New Mexico border mixed slowly eastward during the afternoon into the western Texas Panhandle and western South Plains. A moist and very unstable air mass was in place east of the dry line and by late afternoon the cap was weakened enough by heating to allow thunderstorms to develop along and ahead of the dryline. Storms that developed before sunset tended to be multicellular and produced large hail across the South Plains and southern Rolling Plains. The approach of a strong upper level jet and the development of a nocturnal low level jet effectively increased wind shear such that the environment supported the development of supercell thunderstorms after sunset. One of these storms moved from northeastern Crosby County across Motley County and into Cottle County while three other supercells affected portions of Dickens, Kent, King, and Stonewall Counties. Giant hail up to 3.50 inches in diameter fell across these counties.