Texas, 2002

Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, August 30, 2002

August 30, 2002 · NWS AMA · 19 events in 5 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms produced large hail and high winds along with very heavy rainfall which resulted in flash flooding across the central and southwestern Texas panhandle during the evening hours. but no damage or injuries were reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
$80,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
19

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 produced large hail and high winds along with very heavy rainfall which resulted in flash flooding across the central and southwestern Texas panhandle during the evening hours. One severe thunderstorm did produce an isolated tornado over the extreme southwestern Texas panhandle...but no damage or injuries were reported.

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 Aug 30, 1:46 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 30, 1:46 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
246 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2002

MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE IS SPINNING THROUGH WESTERN KANSAS THIS
AFTERNOON.  SOME UPPER LEVEL CAPPING WAS FOUND ON THE 12Z AMA
SOUNDING THIS MORNING. MOISTURE STILL LINGERS IN THE LOW LEVELS
AROUND THE PANHANDLES. HOWEVER...SURFACE DEW POINTS ARE DRYING
OUT ACROSS EASTERN NEW MEXICO BEHIND SURFACE TROUGH. 20 PERCENT
POPS STILL LOOK GOOD FOR TONIGHT. SHORT WAVE WILL ADD SOME LIFT
TO THE ATMOSPHERE AND THIS COULD GENERATE A FEW STORMS ACROSS THE
CWA.

FOG MAY ALSO MAKE A RETURN EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.  MODELS SHOW
THAT THE MOISTURE MAY BE LESS THAN THIS MORNING.  BUT DO NOT
REALLY SEE ANYTHING THAT WOULD DRY OUT THE LOW LAYERS.  WE WILL
MENTION SOME PATCHY FOR FOR SATURDAY MORNING WITH THIS IN MIND.

SOME UPPER LEVEL JET ENERGY MOVES ACROSS COLORADO SATURDAY NIGHT
AND ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TRACKS ACROSS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND
SOUTHWEST KANSAS...SO DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND ADD 20 PERCENTS TO
THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE.

UPPER HIGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST AND EXPAND ACROSS MUCH
OF THE EASTERN U.S. BY MID WEEK.  IF THE HIGH DOES MOVE FAR
ENOUGH EAST...THEN THIS COULD OPEN THE DOOR FOR SOME SUBTROPICAL
MOISTURE TO BE BROUGHT UP THROUGH THE ROCKIES AND ADJACENT
PLAINS.  THE ECMWF HOLDS HIGHER HEIGHTS BACK ACROSS THE
PANHANDLES AND THE MRF AND UKMET TRY TO KNOCK DOWN THE RIDGE
WITH A NEW UPPER TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHWEST U.S. WE WILL
LEAN WITH THE SLOWER ECMWF MODEL AND KEEP THINGS DRY THROUGH
LATE NEXT WEEK.

A FEW NUMBERS TO PONDER:

AMARILLO    62 85 63 90 /  20 00 00 00
BEAVER      62 90 65 90 /  20 00 20 00
BOISE CITY  60 86 62 87 /  20 00 20 00
BORGER      61 88 63 89 /  20 00 00 00
BOYS RANCH  61 87 62 89 /  20 00 00 00
CANYON      62 85 62 90 /  20 00 00 00
CLARENDON   65 91 68 91 /  20 00 00 00
DALHART     60 87 62 88 /  20 00 00 00
GUYMON      61 90 64 90 /  20 00 20 00
HEREFORD    61 87 61 90 /  20 00 00 00
LIPSCOMB    63 90 66 90 /  20 00 00 00
PAMPA       65 90 67 90 /  20 00 00 00
SHAMROCK    66 91 68 93 /  20 00 00 00
WELLINGTON  66 91 68 93 /  20 00 00 00

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

GOEHRING

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:46 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 hail, 8 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Hutchinson

When
August 30, 4:49 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson County, Sanford
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.733, -101.483

Hail, Hutchinson

When
August 30, 4:52 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson County, Sanford
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.733, -101.483

Hail, Oldham

When
August 30, 5:20 PM CST
Where
Oldham County, 5 mi S of Adrian
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.200, -102.683

Tornado, Deaf Smith

When
August 30, 6:07 PM CST to 6:11 PM CST
Where
Deaf Smith County, 20 mi NW of Hereford
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
35.017, -102.650

The tornado remained over open country and caused no damage. The path length and width were estimated.

Hail, Oldham

When
August 30, 6:10 PM CST
Where
Oldham County, 3 mi S of Boys Ranch
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.483, -102.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Oldham

When
August 30, 6:10 PM CST
Where
Oldham County, 3 mi S of Boys Ranch
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.483, -102.250

Hail, Potter

When
August 30, 6:25 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 3 mi SE of Ady
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
35.467, -102.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Potter

When
August 30, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 3 mi SE of Ady
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
35.467, -102.083

Hail, Potter

When
August 30, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 3 mi SE of Ady
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.467, -102.083

Hail, Deaf Smith

When
August 30, 7:01 PM CST
Where
Deaf Smith County, 23 mi W of Hereford
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
34.817, -102.800

Hail, Deaf Smith

When
August 30, 7:12 PM CST
Where
Deaf Smith County, 25 mi W of Hereford
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
34.817, -102.833

Flash Flood, Potter

When
August 30, 8:43 PM CST to 9:45 PM CST
Where
Potter County, Amarillo
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interstate 40 was reported closed at Bell Street due to flooding.

Flash Flood, Potter

When
August 30, 8:44 PM CST to 9:45 PM CST
Where
Potter County, Amarillo
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Major street flooding was reported over south Amarillo.

Flash Flood, Potter

When
August 30, 8:45 PM CST to 9:45 PM CST
Where
Potter County, Amarillo
Property damage
$80,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Vehicles were reported floating at Bell Street and Fulton Avenue.

Flash Flood, Randall

When
August 30, 8:45 PM CST to 9:45 PM CST
Where
Randall County, Amarillo
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
34.966, -101.897 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Major street flooding was reported at Interstate 27 and Hollywood Road (Loop 335).

Flash Flood, Randall

When
August 30, 9:11 PM CST to 10:15 PM CST
Where
Randall County, 5 mi S of Amarillo
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
34.966, -101.897 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe street flooding at Bell Street and Scotty Drive.

Flash Flood, Potter

When
August 30, 9:11 PM CST to 10:15 PM CST
Where
Potter County, Amarillo
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe street flooding at Western and 51st Street.

Flash Flood, Randall

When
August 30, 10:04 PM CST to 11:15 PM CST
Where
Randall County, Amarillo
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
34.966, -101.897 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe street flooding around Bell Street and Western Street.

Flash Flood, Potter

When
August 30, 10:04 PM CST to 11:15 PM CST
Where
Potter County, Amarillo
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe street flooding between Bell Street and Hillside Road.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2002Warnings in Texas, August 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: 5312694, 5312695, 5312769, 5312696, 5312697, 5312698, 5312699, 5312700, 5312758, 5312759, 5312760, 5312761, 5312762, 5312763, 5312764, 5312765, 5312766, 5312767, 5312768.