Texas, 2002

Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, July 22, 2002

July 22, 2002 · NWS AMA · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

A line of thunderstorms containing very heavy rainfall moved up from the south across the south central Texas panhandle during the early evening hours. The very heavy rains produced major flooding which resulted in the death of a man.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$95,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

A line of thunderstorms containing very heavy rainfall moved up from the south across the south central Texas panhandle during the early evening hours. The very heavy rains produced major flooding which resulted in the death of a man. Severe thunderstorms containing damaging winds raked across the eastern Texas panhandle a short time later in the evening.

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 Jul 22, 2:15 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 2:15 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
315 PM CDT MON JUL 22 2002

APPEARS BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION WILL LIE ACROSS SOUTHERN
SECTIONS OF THE PANHANDLE IN PROXIMITY TO COLD FRONT.  WILL WAIT
UNTIL LAST MINUTE ...BUT CATEGORICAL POPS WILL BE NECESSARY AND WITH
SLOW MOVEMENT OF STORMS...HEAVY RAINFALL ALSO POSSIBLE. WILL LEAVE
SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR REMAINDER OF REGION TONIGHT AS UPSLOPE
MOISTURE REMAINS ABUNDANT. WITH UPSLOPE FLOW TONIGHT...LOW CLOUDINESS
WILL BE POSSIBLE AS WELL. MODELS IN AGREEMENT WITH FRONT EXPECTED TO
RETURN AS A WEAK WARM FRONT ON TUESDAY. THEREFORE...CURRENT SLIGHT
CHANCES FOR THE FORECAST AREA LOOK GOOD. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO BE IN
GREAT SHAPE SO ONLY MINOR TWEAKS THERE.

FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD...BROAD RIDGE IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE FOR
MUCH OF THE WEAK.  ECMWF HINTS AT A MORE PROGRESSIVE TROUGH BY
SATURDAY...BUT WILL CONTINUE A WARM...DRY FORECAST FOR NOW SINCE
THE MAIN ENERGY WOULD BE WELL WEST OF THE CWA.

FCSTID = 1

AMARILLO    65 89 65 94 /  60 20 20 00
BEAVER      63 89 66 97 /  30 20 20 00
BOISE CITY  60 89 62 93 /  20 20 20 00
BORGER      64 88 64 93 /  20 20 20 00
BOYS RANCH  63 89 63 93 /  60 20 20 00
CANYON      65 89 64 92 /  60 20 20 00
CLARENDON   70 93 69 98 /  60 20 20 00
DALHART     63 88 64 93 /  20 20 20 00
GUYMON      62 88 65 97 /  20 20 20 00
HEREFORD    65 89 65 93 /  60 20 20 00
LIPSCOMB    65 90 66 97 /  30 20 20 00
PAMPA       67 92 67 96 /  60 20 20 00
SHAMROCK    72 94 71 97 /  60 20 20 00
WELLINGTON  72 94 71 98 /  60 20 20 00

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

GARCIA

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 9 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:24 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Potter

When
July 22, 3:25 PM CST
Where
Potter County, 1 mi E of Amarillo
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.200, -101.800

Flash Flood, Potter

When
July 22, 3:58 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Potter County, Amarillo
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.401, -101.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Underpasses in the city of Amarillo were flooded and motorists were stranded. One forty-nine year old adult male was killed during a rescue attempt after the motorist attempted to drive through a flooded underpass. Water continued to rise rapidly to a height of approximately fourteen feet. The victim could not swim.

Thunderstorm Wind, Roberts

When
July 22, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Roberts County, 12 mi W of Miami
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage
$65,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.700, -100.850

Power poles were reported blown down and damage occurred to an irrigation system near the Farm to Market Road 2391 and 282 junction.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flash Flood, Potter2002-07-2249MaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 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: 5307357, 5307358, 5307359.