Strong gradient winds behind a cold front produced blowing dust, and visibilities near zero. This caused numerous accidents on area interstates and state highways during the evening hours of 4/10/01.
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.
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 episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.
Strong gradient winds behind a cold front produced blowing dust, and visibilities near zero. This caused numerous accidents on area interstates and state highways during the evening hours of 4/10/01. One fatality and three injuries were reported. A nine vehicle accident occurred at approximately 5:00 pm CST on 4/10/01 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 20 at mile marker 37.5 (approximately four miles west of Pecos in Reeves county). With zero visibility due to strong winds and blowing dust, the driver of one tractor trailer stopped on the side of the road and was rear-ended by a second tractor trailer. The two tractor trailors became engulfed in fire. There was a chain reaction collision of the remaining seven vehicles. Passerbys were unable to rescue the driver of the second tractor trailer, who expired at the scene. There were two other injuries.Another multiple vehicle accident occurred at approximately 6:00 pm CST on 4/10/01 in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 at mile marker 225 (approximately 17 miles east of Balmorhea near the Pecos/Reeves county line). Four tractor trailers were involved in the accident, which resulted in both the westbound and eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 being closed and one person being injured.Other vehicle collisions occurred across Reeves County in near zero visibilities due to high winds and blowing dust. A truck and a car were involved in a non-injury accident on Interstate 20 at mile marker 38. A school bus and a car also collided on Highway 17, in a non-injury accidient between the communities of Balmorhea and Saragosa. Other effects of the high winds were 27 downed power poles in Pecos and Reeves County, 16 of them along Highway 17 between Saragosa and Verhalen. Over 3000 customers in Toyah, Fort Stockton, and Kermit were without power for part of the evening of April 10 due to damage caused by high winds in excess of 70 mph.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 10, 1:15 PM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 215 PM CDT TUE APR 10 2001 ANOTHER TOUGH FORECAST TODAY. AT LEAST FOR THE MIDLAND CWA... TOUGHEST PART OF THE FORECAST WILL BE FORECASTING THE WIND SPEEDS TONIGHT AND THE ONSET OF THE EVENT. WSM AND JTN WND PRFLS INDICATE 45 TO 60 KT WND SPDS AT H7 LVL. THCK CIRRUS SHIELD PREVENTING GOOD INSOLATION AND SUBSEQUENT MIXING...SO STRONG UPR LVL WNDS HAVING TROUBLE MIXING DOWN TO THE SFC. STRONG UPR LVL WNDS ALSO EVIDENT BY THE FORMATION OF WV CLDS OVR NRN MX. AVN MODEL...WHILE SOMETIMES OVERDONE ON WIND SPEEDS...SEEMS TO BE THE BETTER DEPICTION OF THE WND FIELDS THIS RUN. ALL OTHERS SEEM TO BE A LITTLE TOO SLOW ON WND SPDS. LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING AS UPR LVL SYSTEM APPROACHES WND SPDS SHOULD BEGIN TO INCREASE FROM WEST TO EAST AS AREA GETS INTO SUBSIDENCE REGION BEHIND H5 VORT MAX. AFTER SUNSET WIND PRODUCER WILL SHIFT FROM THE UPR LVL SUPPORT TO STRONG PRESSURE FALLS AND A TIGHTENING SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE PLAINS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND WEST TEXAS. HAVE COORDINATED WITH LBB AND HAVE DECIDED TO MENTION WINDY CONDITIONS...BUT HAVE ALSO DECIDED TO STAY JUST BELOW WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA. COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PUSH THROUGH THE AREA BY 06Z. WILL NOT MAKE ANY DRASTIC CHANGES TO PREVIOUS POPS FORECAST AS IT APPEARS THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LOCATED TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. FOR TOMORROW...LOOKS LIKE FIRST HALF OF DAY WILL BE WINDY AS PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL REMAIN STRONG. ANOTHER SUBSTANTIAL H5 VORT MAX MOVES JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA ON THURSDAY...HOWEVER MOISTURE WILL BE SPARSE AS NOT ENOUGH TIME BETWEEN THE SYSTEM FOR A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. FOR THIS REASON WILL NOT INTRODUCE POPS INTO THE FORECAST FOR THURSDAY. FOR THE EXTENDED...H5 RDG BECOMES MORE AMPLIFIED OVER THE WRN US FOR A RETURN TO A WARM AND DRY TREND. MAF 49/76/46/82 2000 LSA 45/75/42/80 3000 E41 51/77/47/83 2000 6R6 56/80/50/85 1000 MRF 37/70/36/77 0000 CNM 44/75/42/83 0000 .MAF... TX...HIGH WIND WARNING GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS THROUGH 11/0300Z. NM...HIGH WIND WARNING GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS THROUGH 11/0300Z. MARTIN
NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-111030- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 330 PM CDT TUE APR 10 2001 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM OVER EASTERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON WILL TAKE AIM ON WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO TONIGHT. INCREASING GULF MOISTURE AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM AND A DEVELOPING DRYLINE WILL RESULT IN WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF A LINE FROM HOBBS TO FORT STOCKTON TONIGHT...AND A FEW OF THESE MAY BECOME SEVERE. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. .THREATS... THUNDERSTORMS... THERE IS A RISK OF THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT FOR MUCH OF THE PERMIAN BASIN...WESTERN LOW ROLLING PLAINS...AND THE SOUTHERN TRANS PECOS. THE RISK AREA IS FOR THAT PART OF WEST TEXAS EAST OF A HOBBS NEW MEXICO TO FORT STOCKTON TEXAS LINE. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM MIDLAND NORTH AND MIDLAND EAST...AND A MODERATE RISK IN SCURRY COUNTY. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS...ALTHOUGH TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE. AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES TONIGHT. IN ADVANCE OF THIS STORM SYSTEM...GULF MOISTURE HAS INCREASED ACROSS THE PERMIAN BASIN...WESTERN LOW ROLLING PLAINS... AND SOUTHERN TRANS PECOS. A DRYLINE BY MID AFTERNOON EXTENDED FROM ROUGHLY HOBBS NEW MEXICO TO FORT STOCKTON AND SOUTH. THE AIRMASS TO THE EAST OF THE DRYLINE IS MODERATELY UNSTABLE...AND THE COMBINATION OF LIFT PROVIDED BY THE APPROACHING UPPER STORM SYSTEM...A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS...AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE DRYLINE SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO GENERATE ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. A PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL MERGE WITH THE DRYLINE LATER TONIGHT...AND THIS COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF WEST TEXAS...ENDING THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT ACROSS THE AREA. THUNDERSTORM INITIATATION IS EXPECTED ALONG THE DRYLINE AFTER 600 PM CDT /500 PM MDT/. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED LATER THIS EVENING WHEN THE PACIFIC COLD FRONT BEGINS TO PUSH ACROSS THE AREA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS INITIALLY WILL BE ISOLATED...AND MAY ACQUIRE SUPERCELL CHARACTERISTICS. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS FROM THIS ACTIVITY EARLY ON...BUT ONE OR TWO OF THESE STORMS COULD BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. CONSIDERABLE HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS AND THE TURNING OF THE WINDS WITH HEIGHT FAVOR A TRANSITION TO A SQUALL LINE TONIGHT ACROSS THE FAR EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN AND WESTERN LOW ROLLING PLAINS. WITH THIS TRANSITION...THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS WILL INCREASE...WHILE THE THREAT OF LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES SHOULD DECREASE. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS...AND OTHER INTERESTED CONCERNS SHOULD MONITOR THIS SITUATION AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN YOUR AREA. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED ACROSS THE PERMIAN BASIN LATE...WESTERN LOW ROLLING PLAINS...AND SOUTHERN TRANS PECOS THIS EVENING. WIND... SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE OVER THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING...WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. THESE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE THIS EVENING WITH PASSAGE OF THE UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM...AND A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA THROUGH 9 PM MDT. PLEASE REFER TO THIS HIGH WIND WARNING /WWUS74 KMAF/ FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. FIRE WEATHER... THE COMBINATION OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...GUSTY WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS...AND LOW FUEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS SOUTH INTO THE BIG BEND THIS EVENING. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION WITH FIRE THIS EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FIRE WEATHER FORECAST /FNUS54 KMAF/ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong non-convective winds took between a third and a half of the roof off of the Pecos County Civic Center in Fort Stockton. Local law enforcement reported that a DPS building in Fort Stockton also suffered significant damage, and that moderate to heavy damage affected half the buildings in Fort Stockton. The winds also downed numerous powerlines.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Reeves County and Upper Trans Pecos / Reeves / Ne Culberson | 2001-04-10 | 42 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2001
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: 5242439, 5242440.