Texas, 2000

Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Texas, March 22 to 23, 2000

March 22 to 23, 2000 · NWS MAF · 8 events in 4 counties and zones

This long lasting supercell thunderstorm produced a small tornado in Upton county, flash flooding in Midland county, a tornado, and hail up to two inches in diameter in Glasscock county. The remainder of this storm went on to produce golfball size hail in Mitchell county.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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 long lasting supercell thunderstorm produced a small tornado in Upton county, flash flooding in Midland county, a tornado, and hail up to two inches in diameter in Glasscock county. The remainder of this storm went on to produce golfball size hail in Mitchell county.

The radar

The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:38 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 tornado, 3 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Upton

When
March 22, 3:40 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where
Upton County, 5 mi NW of Rankin
Rating
F0
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
100 yd
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.267, -101.967

The very next storm to move north of Rankin produced another tornado in the same area. No damage path was found.

Flash Flood, Midland

When
March 22, 5:50 PM CST to March 23, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Midland County, Countywide
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.869, -102.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Most roads and highways east and south of Midland were closed due to high water. A man and his son were rescued by a DPS helicopter crew after being washed off County Road 1160, 14 miles SSE of Midland. The two were treated for hypothermia at the hospital.

Funnel Cloud, Glasscock

When
March 22, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Glasscock County, 4 mi SW of Garden City
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.870, -101.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Glasscock

When
March 22, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Glasscock County, Garden City
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.867, -101.500

Hail reported on west side of town.

Tornado, Glasscock

When
March 22, 6:45 PM CST to 6:55 PM CST
Where
Glasscock County, 14 mi NE of Garden City
Rating
F0
Path length
2 mi
Path width
200 yd
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.017, -101.333

The tornado crossed US 87 two miles west of the Glasscock/Sterling county line. This storm continued through the northwest corner of Sterling County and into southwest Mitchell County where another tornado formed.

Hail, Glasscock

When
March 22, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Glasscock County, 14 mi NE of Garden City
Measured
2 in hail
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.017, -101.333

Hail broke car windows.

Tornado, Mitchell

When
March 22, 7:05 PM CST to 7:12 PM CST
Where
Mitchell County, 18 mi SSW of Westbrook
Rating
F0
Path length
2 mi
Path width
200 yd
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
32.117, -101.133

The Glasscock county tornadic storm occluded, then formed another mesocyclone in the southwest corner of Mitchell County.

Hail, Mitchell

When
March 22, 7:40 PM CST
Where
Mitchell County, 5 mi SW of Colorado City
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
32.350, -100.917

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.
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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2000Warnings in Texas, March 2000

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: 5140183, 5140184, 5140185, 5140186, 5140187, 5140188, 5138898, 5138897.