Hail in Texas, April 6, 2002

Name: Hail in Texas, April 6, 2002
Start: 2002-04-06T18:15
End: 2002-04-06T22:40
Location: Texas

April 6, 2002 · NWS AMA · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms developed during the evening hours from the southwest Texas panhandle and moved up into the northeastern Texas panhandle by late evening producing hail.

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: 6

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 developed during the evening hours from the southwest Texas panhandle and moved up into the northeastern Texas panhandle by late evening producing hail.

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 Apr 6, 2:30 PM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 2:30 PM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
230 PM CST SAT APR 6 2002

CLOUD COVER WILL CONTINUE TO HAMPER SURFACE HEATING AND INSTABILITY
ACROSS THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON. SATELLITE SHOWS THICK CLOUD LAYER
WELL TO THE WEST OF THE AREA...BUT A LARGE BREAK SHOWING UP IN EAST
CENTRAL NM. WILL HAVE TO WATCH THE WESTERN EDGE OF CWA
THROUGH LATE THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT...MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS SHOULD
START TO COME TOGETHER AS THE TROUGH MAKES ITS WAY OVER THE MTNS
NEARS THE AREA TOWARD DAYBREAK SUNDAY. FEWER CLOUDS SUNDAY WILL ALLOW
SURFACE HEATING AND SHOULD BRING DRIER AIR EASTWARD. THUNDERSTORMS
CAN BE EXPECTED OVER A WIDE AREA WITH SOME SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE...
ESPECIALLY IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN SECTIONS. SUNDAY NIGHT...
NORTHWEST FLOW SHOULD SPREAD OVER THE CWA AS THE TROUGH MOVES
FURTHER EASTWARD.

DRIER AIR BUILDS OVER THE AREA EARLY NEXT WEEK AND ALLOW SOME
WARMING THROUGH MIDWEEK. ANOTHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE PLAINS
THURSDAY BUT NOW APPEARS TO MOVE NORTH OF THE AREA. SOME COOL AIR
APPEARS TO AFFECT TEMPERATURES...BUT MOISTURE APPEARS WEAK AT THIS
POINT.  WILL LOWER TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY FOR FRIDAY BUT WILL NOT
CHANGE PRECIP CHANCES AT THIS TIME.

AMA BB 048/065 042/065 043 652
DHT BB 047/070 040/062 042 432
BGD BB 048/065 041/064 063 552
GUY BB 046/068 039/061 044 443

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

WYNNE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 6, 1:10 PM CST, 5 hours 5 minutes before

OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-070500-

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
110 PM CST SAT APR 06 2002

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND
TONIGHT ACROSS THE WESTERN AND EXTREME SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE
TEXAS PANHANDLE. THE SLIGHT RISK AREA IS SOUTH AND WEST OF A LINE
EXTENDING FROM TEXLINE TO AMARILLO TO CLARENDON.

A SURFACE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY OVER
EASTERN NEW MEXICO THROUGH TONIGHT. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO
TRANSPORT MOISTURE NORTHWARD INTO MUCH OF EASTERN NEW MEXICO...WEST
TEXAS...AND THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES. MEANWHILE...AN UPPER
LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA IS
FORECAST TO MOVE EAST INTO NEW MEXICO LATE TONIGHT. THIS WILL RESULT
IN INCREASING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA
...MAINLY THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FIRST DEVELOP LATE THIS
AFTERNOON OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO WHERE THE SURFACE TROUGH IS
LOCATED...THEN SPREAD NORTHEAST INTO THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. IF SUFFICIENT DAYTIME HEATING
CAN BE REALIZED OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO AND THE WESTERN TEXAS
PANHANDLE...THEN THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE TO
ALLOW SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH FORM TO BECOME SEVERE...WITH
THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

HOWEVER...IF THE EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER REMAINS OVER MUCH OF EASTERN
NEW MEXICO AND WEST TEXAS...THEN THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DECREASE MARKEDLY.

SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ACROSS THE WESTERN AND
EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND BE READY
FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT.

THE NEXT THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 6 AM SUNDAY
MORNING.

ANDRADE

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:04 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Deaf Smith

When: April 6, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Deaf Smith County, 9 mi N of Dawn
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 35.050, -102.200

Hail, Potter

When: April 6, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Potter County, 8 mi NW of Amarillo
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 35.283, -101.917

Hail, Hutchinson

When: April 6, 7:47 PM CST to 8:15 PM CST
Where: Hutchinson County, 7 mi W of Borger
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.667, -101.500

Hail, Hutchinson

When: April 6, 8:17 PM CST
Where: Hutchinson County, 3 mi SE of Stinnett
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.783, -101.417

Hail, Hemphill

When: April 6, 10:15 PM CST
Where: Hemphill County, Canadian
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.900, -100.383

Hail, Lipscomb

When: April 6, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Lipscomb County, 1 mi W of Higgins
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.117, -100.033

What these are

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

Every storm in Texas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, April 2002

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: 5292255, 5292256, 5292257, 5292258, 5292259, 5292260.