Texas, 2001

Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 17, 2001

May 17, 2001 · NWS AMA · 23 events in 10 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms with high winds and large hail moved from the central and southern Texas panhandle into the eastern and southeastern Texas panhandle during the evening hours.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
23

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 AMA wrote it up.

Severe thunderstorms with high winds and large hail moved from the central and southern Texas panhandle into the eastern and southeastern Texas panhandle during the evening hours.

What forecasters said that day

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 17, 2:15 PM CST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 2:15 PM CST, 5 hours 50 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
315 PM CDT THU MAY 17 2001

TEMPS IN MID 70S TO MID 80S DEG F ACRS PNHDLS HAVE ALLOWED AMS TO
BCM VERY UNSTABLE.  AMA 12Z SOUNDING ADJUSTED FOR MID 80S YEILDS LI
OF -11.  CDFNT LIES ACRS SERN AND SRN ZNS.  DIFFUSE OUTFLOW BNDRY
LIES ACRS NRN ZNS.  ELY COMPONENT TO SFC AND LOW-LVL WNDS ON N SIDE
OF CDFNT WL PVL THIS EVE AND TNGT...ASSISTING IN DVLPMT OF TSTMS.  H5
VOT MAX AND JET STREAK WL MOV INTO AREA FM W THIS EVE AND TNGT...
WHICH WL HELP INSTBY BE RELEASED.  WL MENTION PSBL SVR AND LOCALLY
HVY RNFL PSBL ALL SXNS TNGT.  SFC WNDS BCM SELY ON FRI OVR WRN ZNS
...AND WITH CNVGNC ALG RETREATING FNT OVR THIS AREA WILL KEEP HIST
CHC POPS FRI AND FRI NGT OVR WRN AND CNTRL ZNS.  SAME SITUATION FOR
SAT...I.E. AXIS OF INSTBY ALG CNVGNC ZONE OVR WRN AND SRN ZNS.  AVN
BRINGS CDFNT INTO NRN ZNS SAT EVE.  THUS...CHC POPS SAT NGT AS
WELL.  STGR CDFNT TO ARRIVE LATE SUN/ERY MON...SO WL KEEP CHC/SLGT
CHC TSTMS IN THIS TIME FRAME AS WELL.  WITH CONSIDERABLE
UNCERTAINTY IN LATER PDS...WL LEAVE SLGT CHC POPS IN FOR WED...WITH
GRDL WMG TREND TUE THRU THU.  03

.AMA...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE0.

COCKRELL

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 17, 7:58 PM CST, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
858 PM CDT THU MAY 17 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0813 PM    GOODWELL                  OK   .88 INCH HAIL
05/17/01   TEXAS                          REPORTED BY TEXAS EOC.

0655 PM    3E-15NW GUYMON            OK   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/17/01   TEXAS                          REPORTED BY CO-OP OBSERVER

0844 PM    HARDESTY                  OK   55 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/17/01   TEXAS                          REPORTED BY PD

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:07 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

19 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Oldham

When
May 17, 8:05 PM CST
Where
Oldham County, Boys Ranch
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.533, -102.250

Hail, Hutchinson

When
May 17, 8:34 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson County, 1 mi S of Fritch
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.617, -101.600

Hail, Hutchinson

When
May 17, 8:35 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson County, 5 mi N of Borger
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.733, -101.383

Hail, Hutchinson

When
May 17, 8:42 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson County, Fritch
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.633, -101.600

Hail, Potter

When
May 17, 8:50 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 4 mi N of Amarillo
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.250, -101.817

Hail, Potter

When
May 17, 8:50 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 7 mi N of Amarillo
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.300, -101.817

Hail, Potter

When
May 17, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 6 mi NE of Amarillo
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.267, -101.733

Hail, Potter

When
May 17, 9:15 PM CST
Where
Potter County, (Ama)amarillo Intl A
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates
35.217, -101.717

Hail, Carson

When
May 17, 9:29 PM CST
Where
Carson County, Panhandle
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.350, -101.383

Hail, Carson

When
May 17, 9:39 PM CST
Where
Carson County, Pantex
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
35.333, -101.567

Hail, Oldham

When
May 17, 9:41 PM CST
Where
Oldham County, Wildorado
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.200, -102.200

Hail, Gray

When
May 17, 9:45 PM CST
Where
Gray County, Pampa
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.533, -100.967

Hail, Carson

When
May 17, 9:48 PM CST
Where
Carson County, Conway
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.200, -101.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Carson

When
May 17, 9:48 PM CST
Where
Carson County, Conway
Measured
69 kt (79 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.200, -101.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Armstrong

When
May 17, 9:52 PM CST
Where
Armstrong County, Claude
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.117, -101.367

Thunderstorm Wind, Gray

When
May 17, 10:02 PM CST
Where
Gray County, Pampa
Measured
69 kt (79 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.533, -100.967

Hail, Carson

When
May 17, 10:03 PM CST
Where
Carson County, 9 mi W of Groom
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.200, -101.267

Hail, Deaf Smith

When
May 17, 10:13 PM CST
Where
Deaf Smith County, 19 mi N of Hereford
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.100, -102.400

Hail, Wheeler

When
May 17, 10:24 PM CST
Where
Wheeler County, Briscoe
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.583, -100.283

Hail, Randall

When
May 17, 10:30 PM CST
Where
Randall County, 2 mi N of Canyon
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.017, -101.917

Hail, Donley

When
May 17, 10:35 PM CST
Where
Donley County, 5 mi NE of Clarendon
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.983, -100.833

Hail, Carson

When
May 17, 10:52 PM CST
Where
Carson County, 4 mi E of Conway
Measured
2 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.200, -101.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Donley

When
May 17, 11:02 PM CST
Where
Donley County, 6 mi S of Clarendon
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.850, -100.900

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2001

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: 5247661, 5247662, 5247663, 5247664, 5247665, 5247666, 5247667, 5247668, 5247669, 5247672, 5247670, 5247671, 5247673, 5247674, 5247675, 5247676, 5247677, 5247678, 5247679, 5247680, 5247681, 5247682, 5247683.