Texas, 2003

Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Texas, April 29, 2003

April 29, 2003 · NWS SJT · 26 events in 8 counties and zones

20 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
26

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 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 Apr 29, 2:22 PM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 2:22 PM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
322 PM CDT TUE APR 29 2003

INSTABILITY CONTINUES TO INCREASE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THIS
AFTERNOON...WITH LAPS CAPE VALUES STARTING TO PUSH 4000 J/KG ACROSS
THE WESTERN BIG COUNTRY. HELICITY AND SHEAR VALUES PRETTY NOT
IMPRESSIVE
...SO TORNADO THREAT APPEARS RELATIVELY SMALL.

FOR TONIGHT...WHATEVER CONVECTION DEVELOPS WILL NOT GET MUCH UPPER
SUPPORT...SO EXPECT MOST OF THE ACTIVITY TO DISSIPATE BY AROUND
MIDNIGHT AND EFFECT MAINLY MY NORTHWEST COUNTIES. SIMILAR SITUATION
POSSIBLE FOR WEDNESDAY...ALTHOUGH MAY BE A LITTLE FARTHER EAST AND
SHOULD HAVE THE SUPPORT OF AN APPROACHING SHORTWAVE. MODELS
UNDERESTIMATED THE MOISTURE DEPTH ACROSS THE WESTERN COUNTIES THIS
MORNING...AND WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THEY DID IT AGAIN ON
WEDNESDAY. WITH A SLIGHTLY SLOWER DRYLINE EXPECTED ...WILL KEEP A
MENTION OF ISOLATED STORMS FOR EVEN THE WESTERN COUNTIES AND
INCREASE TO CHANCE POPS FOR THE EAST.

WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY TRIES TO DROP INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS BY
FRIDAY. HARD TO COUNT ON FRONTAL PASSAGES THIS TIME OF YEAR...BUT
WILL GO AHEAD AND KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF STORMS IN SOME OF THE
EASTERN COUNTIES.

NEXT TROUGH MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS SUNDAY...WITH A DRYLINE
AND COLD FRONT PUSHING THROUGH SUNDAY. WITH THE SYSTEM EXPECTED TO
BE OFF TO THE EAST...HAVE PULLED THE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR MONDAY
AND TUESDAY.

CCF PRELIMS..

ABI 061/088/061/089 321
SJT 063/089/062/091 321
JCT 065/085/063/089 222

.SJT...NONE.

07
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 29, 2:12 PM CST, 2 hours 48 minutes before
TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140-
154-155-168>170-302015-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
312 PM CDT TUE APR 29 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...

AS THE DRYLINE PUSHES INTO WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...SCATTERED SEVERE
STORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH LATE EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

WITH THE DRYLINE CONTINUING TO REMAIN NEAR OR ACROSS THE AREA...
ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE
WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS EVENING FOR MUCH OF WEST
CENTRAL TEXAS.

24

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Champion
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.367, -100.617

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 5:30 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Champion
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.750, -99.950

Hail from a second severe thunderstorm feel for 30 minutes.

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 3 mi N of Maryneal
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.267, -100.450

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Maryneal
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.783, -100.933

Hail, Runnels

When
April 29, 6:22 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, Ballinger
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.083, -100.317

Hail, Sterling

When
April 29, 6:40 PM CST
Where
Sterling County, 4 mi WNW of Broome
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
31.967, -99.950

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 6:50 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Blackwell
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
32.083, -100.317

Hail, Runnels

When
April 29, 6:52 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, Winters
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.083, -100.317

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 6:53 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Blackwell
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.083, -100.333

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 6:57 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, Blackwell
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.067, -100.317

Tornado, Nolan

When
April 29, 7:04 PM CST to 7:06 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 1 mi W of Blackwell
Rating
F0
Path length
0.8 mi
Path width
20 yd
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.967, -99.950

Amateur radio spotter reported a brief tornado west of Blackwell.

Tornado, Coke

When
April 29, 7:15 PM CST to 7:17 PM CST
Where
Coke County, 1 mi S of Blackwell
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
20 yd
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
32.217, -99.800

Blackwell fire department reported a brief tornado just south of Blackwell.

Hail, Runnels

When
April 29, 7:22 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, Winters
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.831, -99.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Taylor

When
April 29, 7:25 PM CST
Where
Taylor County, Tuscola
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.850, -99.950

Flash Flood, Runnels

When
April 29, 7:36 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, 1 mi S of Winters
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.950, -99.950

Water over the intersections of highway 153 and 83.

Hail, Runnels

When
April 29, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, Hatchel
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.833, -99.950

Hail, Runnels

When
April 29, 7:47 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, 1 mi S of Winters
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
31.917, -100.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Runnels

When
April 29, 7:47 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, 1 mi S of Hatchel
Measured
57 kt (66 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.167, -100.100

Strong winds blew windows out of a home.

Hail, Runnels

When
April 29, 7:53 PM CST
Where
Runnels County, 6 mi NW of Hatchel
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.233, -100.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor

When
April 29, 7:56 PM CST
Where
Taylor County, 13 mi WNW of Bradshaw
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
32.133, -99.167

Hail, Nolan

When
April 29, 8:19 PM CST
Where
Nolan County, 4 mi SW of Maryneal
Measured
2 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.733, -99.717

Hail, Callahan

When
April 29, 8:27 PM CST
Where
Callahan County, Cross Plains
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.150, -99.567

Hail, Coleman

When
April 29, 8:27 PM CST
Where
Coleman County, 2 mi S of Talpa
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.033, -99.133

Hail, Callahan

When
April 29, 8:53 PM CST
Where
Callahan County, Oplin
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
31.817, -98.783

Hail, Brown

When
April 29, 9:20 PM CST
Where
Brown County, Cross Cut
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.367, -100.617

Thunderstorm Wind, Brown

When
April 29, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Brown County, Blanket
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
32.317, -100.450

Several large objects blown away and numerous tree limbs downed.

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.
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 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2003Warnings in Texas, April 2003

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: 5358926, 5358928, 5358927, 5358929, 5358930, 5358931, 5358932, 5358933, 5358934, 5358935, 5358936, 5358937, 5358938, 5358939, 5358940, 5358941, 5358942, 5358943, 5358944, 5358945, 5358946, 5358947, 5358948, 5358949, 5358193, 5358259.