Texas, 2002

Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 26, 2002

May 26, 2002 · NWS SJT · 8 events in 2 counties and zones

Isolated severe thunderstorms moved through the western portions of the Big Country. There were two reports of tornadoes.

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
$2,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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 SJT wrote it up.

Isolated severe thunderstorms moved through the western portions of the Big Country. There were two reports of tornadoes.

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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 26, 2:23 PM CST, 5 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 2:23 PM CST, 5 hours 31 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
323 PM CDT SUN MAY 26 2002

LARGE COMPLEX OF STORMS LAST NIGHT PRODUCED ENOUGH MIXING TO KEEP LOW
CLOUDS FROM DEVELOPING TODAY. WITH GOOD HEATING ALREADY REACHING
CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURE AT 19Z...AROUND 90 DEGREES. CAP WAS NEAR ZERO.
SATELLITE DERIVED CAPES WERE RUNNING AGAIN 3000 TO 5500 J/KG IN EASTERN
SECTIONS OF THE CWA...SO THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXIST AGAIN TODAY
JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE IN THE CWA.

TRIGGER AND FOCUS OF STORMS TODAY WILL BE LEFT OVER BOUNDARIES FROM
STORMS LAST NIGHT...AND STORMS DEVELOPING OFF HIGHER TERRAIN IN THE
SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...THAT MOVE NORTHEAST INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. 700
MB WINDS STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY...EXCEPT FOR OVER NORTHWEST HILL
COUNTRY WHERE THEY ARE LIGHT...SO STORMS SHOULD MOVE FASTER AND REDUCE
THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAINFALL. PUT PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES IN ZONES...HOWEVER
IF ENOUGH CONVECTION DEVELOPS TO THE WEST MAY HAVE SOME CIRRUS OVERCAST
THIS EVENING.

AVN AND ETA MODELS SHOW A WEAK UPPER LOW IN THE 4 CORNERS AREA TONIGHT
MOVING INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE MONDAY NIGHT. THIS LOW THEN SLOWLY MOVES
OVER SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHCENTRAL TEXAS WEDNESDAY...THEN INTO CENTRAL
TEXAS THURSDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE A CONTINUING CHANCE OF STORMS THIS
WEEK. UPPER RIDGING GAINS CONTROL BY SATURDAY...SO KEPT SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY DRY.

PRELIMS...

ABI 066/088/067/088/068  2333
SJT 067/089/067/091/067  2222
JCT 067/088/067/090/068  2111

.SJT...NONE.

04

04

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Nolan

When
May 26, 7:54 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 3 mi N of Champion
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
32.417, -100.617

High winds destroyed a pivot irrigation system.

Tornado, Nolan

When
May 26, 8:17 PM CST to 8:20 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 5 mi NW of Maryneal
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
20 yd
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.317, -100.517

Spotters reported a brief tornado.

Hail, Nolan

When
May 26, 8:19 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Roscoe
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.433, -100.533

Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor

When
May 26, 8:29 PM CST
Where
Taylor County, View
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.350, -99.883

Hail, Nolan

When
May 26, 9:30 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 12 mi S of Roscoe
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.267, -100.533

Hail, Nolan

When
May 26, 9:40 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 1 mi N of Sweetwater
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.483, -100.400

Tornado, Nolan

When
May 26, 9:48 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 8 mi E of Blackwell
Rating
F0
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
30 yd
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.083, -100.183

Law enforcement reported a brief tornado.

Hail, Nolan

When
May 26, 11:05 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Nolan
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
32.267, -100.250

What these are

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.
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.
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

More

Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2002Warnings in Texas, May 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: 5294672, 5294673, 5294674, 5294675, 5294676, 5294677, 5294678, 5294679.