Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 15 to 16, 2003

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 15 to 16, 2003
Start: 2003-05-15T18:15
End: 2003-05-16T01:30
Location: Texas

May 15 to 16, 2003 · NWS SJT · 11 events in 5 counties and zones

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: $64,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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.

A warm front was located near Abilene as strong upper level energy moved in from the west. Several thunderstorms developed along and to the north of the front with two storms becoming supercells and producing most of the severe weather that evening. One supercell moved across Fisher county into Jones county with only reports of hail and funnel clouds. Another supercell formed to the south of the first supercell just to the northwest of Abilene. This supercell became the dominant storm just north of Abilene and continued to intensify as it moved across Shackelford county and continued east to near Ranger. One tornado was reported in extreme southern Jones county just north of Abilene and four more tornadoes were confirmed across southern Shackelford county.

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 15, 5:59 PM CST, 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 5:59 PM CST, 16 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
800 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2003

AFTER COORDINATION WITH SPC...ISSUED TORNADO WATCH WHICH COVERS MOST
OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THROUGH MIDNIGHT. SATELLITE AND WSR-88D
IMAGERY INDICATING STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING TO
OUR WEST AND MOVING INTO OUR WESTERN ZONES. ENVIRONMENT IS RIPE FOR
TORNADOS WITH CAPES EXCEEDING 3000 J/KG AND IMPRESSIVE HELICITY.

.SJT...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR THESE COUNTIES...

BROWN           CALLAHAN        COLEMAN
HASKELL         JONES           MCCULLOCH
SHACKELFORD     TAYLOR          THROCKMORTON
FISHER          NOLAN           SAN SABA
COKE            CONCHO          IRION
RUNNELS         STERLING        TOM GREEN

IN ADDITION...LAKE CAUTION BIG COUNTRY ZONES TONIGHT.

23/HUBER

****  221 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2003 DISCUSSION  ****

SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY ACROSS BIG COUNTRY. PLEASE REFER TO LATEST DAY
1 SPC OUTLOOK FOR DETAILS ON SEVERE DISCUSSION. MODERATE SEVERE RISK
DEPICTED IN THE OUTLOOK (ACROSS BIG COUNTRY) FROM I-20 NORTHWARD.
SOUTHERN EDGE OF HIGH RISK AREA SLIGHTLY TO THE NORTH OF
HASKELL/THROCKMORTON COUNTIES.

STILL A COMPLEX SCENARIO IN PINPOINTING THE TIMING AND PLACEMENT
OF THUNDERSTORMS. WARM FRONT LIFTING NORTH INTO BIG COUNTRY THIS
AFTERNOON. FRONT SHOULD BE LOCATED VICINITY OF NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY
OR NEAR RED RIVER BY LATE AFTERNOON. POSITION OF FRONT WILL
DETERMINE WHERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP THIS EVENING. STORM
DEVELOPMENT OR MOVEMENT INTO BIG COUNTRY MAY HOLD OFF UNTIL LATE
THIS EVENING. DRYLINE NEAR THE TX/NM BORDER TO MIX EASTWARD THIS
AFTERNOON INTO WESTERN TX...STAYING WEST OF OUR COUNTIES. COMPACT
UPPER LOW TO TRACK ACROSS NORTHERN NM THIS AFTERNOON INTO TX
PANHANDLE TONIGHT...CONTINUING INTO CENTRAL OK FRIDAY. DRYLINE TO
BEGIN A WESTWARD RETREAT EARLY TONIGHT BEFORE WEAK PACIFIC FRONT
OVERTAKES IT AND MOVES EAST INTO WEST CENTRAL TX OVERNIGHT. AS UPPER
LOW APPROACHES...STRONG LIFT AND INSTABILITY ALONG WITH VERTICAL
SHEAR OVER BIG COUNTRY INDICATE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SEVERE
EVENT WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES...VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.
STRONG CAP FARTHER SOUTH TO INHIBIT ANY STORM DEVELOPMENT THIS
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. STORMS ALSO EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE
AFTERNOON/EVENING ALONG NORTHERN PART OF DRYLINE TO THE NW OF OUR
COUNTIES. FOR TONIGHT... GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY...
IMPRESSIVE LIFT...AND LOW LEVEL JET SETUP ALONG WITH THETA E
RIDGE...COULD SEE SOUTHWARD DEVELOPMENT AS PACIFIC FRONT OVERTAKES
DRYLINE. COULD HAVE SQUALL LINE MOVE ACROSS BIG COUNTRY...POSSIBLY
EXTENDING OR DEVELOPING FARTHER SOUTH. WILL CARRY THE GOING POPS AND
SEVERE WORDING IN NEXT SCHEDULED ZONE PACKAGE.

WILL RETAIN POPS IN OUR EASTERN COUNTIES FRIDAY. FRONT TO MOVE INTO
THAT AREA LATE MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON. DRY AND A LITTLE COOLER
SATURDAY AS UPPER LOW MOVES AWAY FROM OUR REGION. UPPER RIDGE TO
BUILD INTO SOUTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS OVER WEEKEND INTO MONDAY BEFORE
FLATTENING TUESDAY. DRY WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING TO WELL ABOVE
NORMAL AGAIN DURING THIS TIME FRAME.

AN UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO MOVE FROM NORTHERN PLAINS INTO UPPER
MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. TRAILING PORTION OF
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PROGGED TO DROP SOUTH ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TX
BY TUESDAY. LATEST GFS IS STRONGER WITH THIS FRONT. GFS ALSO HAS
WEAK SHORTWAVES MOVING INTO REGION..SUGGESTS ISENTROPIC LIFT AND
GENERATES PRECIPITATION INTO NORTHERN HALF OF OUR COUNTIES TUESDAY
INTO WEDNESDAY. WILL LOWER TEMPERATURES MIDWEEK AND CARRY MORE CLOUD
COVER...BUT PREFER TO HOLD OFF POPS AND AWAIT ANOTHER MODEL RUN TO
CHECK FOR CONSISTENCY.

PRELIMINARY CCF
ABI 068/092/059/086/062 51000
SJT 071/095/060/088/062 30000
JCT 072/092/062/089/061 32000

.SJT...CAUTION ADVISED ON AREA LAKES BIG COUNTRY ZONES TONIGHT

19

Hazardous weather outlook, May 15, 1:30 PM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140-
154-155-168>170-161930-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
230 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...

A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE BIG
COUNTRY...WITH ONLY A SLIGHT RISK FOR THE REST OF THE AREA. THE
FURTHER NORTH THE BETTER THE CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER. VERY LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE
STORMS. EXPECT AN AREA OF STORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE PANHANDLE TO
NEAR MIDLAND LATE THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE SLIDING EAST THROUGH THE BIG
COUNTRY THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ISOLATED STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO LINGER INTO FRIDAY MORNING IN THE
EAST...WITH A FEW OF THOSE POSSIBLY SEVERE. OTHERWISE...NO OTHER
SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY FOR THE BIG COUNTRY AND MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR THE REST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS TONIGHT.

24

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 tornado, 5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Fisher

When: May 15, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Fisher County, 1 mi S of Rotan
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 32.833, -100.467

Hail, Jones

When: May 15, 7:18 PM CST
Where: Jones County, Anson
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 32.750, -99.883

Tornado, Jones

When: May 15, 7:42 PM CST to 7:45 PM CST
Where: Jones County, 1 mi N of Abilene
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 32.567, -99.717

A trained spotter reported a brief tornado touchdown just north of Abilene near the city landfill. The twister overturned a fireworks stand.

Tornado, Shackelford

When: May 15, 7:59 PM CST to 8:07 PM CST
Where: Shackelford County, 17 mi SW of Albany
Rating: F1
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 32.567, -99.500

This tornado ripped roofs off of barns, destroyed part of a barn, and snapped a few trees.

Tornado, Shackelford

When: May 15, 8:25 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where: Shackelford County, 11 mi WSW of Moran
Rating: F2
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 32.500, -99.333

Two tornadoes paralleled one another. This tornado was the southern tornado track and destroyed oil storage tanks, oil equipment, a small building, and a couple of recreational vehicles. A trained spotter reported that this tornado was multiple vortex. The survey team noted separate damage areas south and southwest of the main track.

Tornado, Shackelford

When: May 15, 8:25 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where: Shackelford County, 8 mi W of Moran
Rating: F2
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 450 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 32.550, -99.300

This was the northern tornado track of the two that paralleled one another. This tornado snapped and stripped large trees and ripped up some T post fence along it's path. It seems that the tree damage was more severe on this track.

Tornado, Shackelford

When: May 15, 9:10 PM CST to 9:15 PM CST
Where: Shackelford County, 2 mi SE of Moran
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 32.533, -99.150

This tornado knocked down a few trees.

Tornado, Shackelford

When: May 15, 9:12 PM CST to 9:27 PM CST
Where: Shackelford County, 2 mi E of Moran
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 32.550, -99.133

This tornado snapped large trees along it's path.

Hail, Haskell

When: May 15, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Haskell County, 4 mi N of Rochester
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.367, -99.867

Hail, Haskell

When: May 16, 12:45 AM CST
Where: Haskell County, Haskell
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.167, -99.750

Hail, Throckmorton

When: May 16, 1:30 AM CST
Where: Throckmorton County, Throckmorton
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.183, -99.183

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Texas, 2003 Warnings in Texas, May 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: 5358479, 5358811, 5358812, 5358813, 5358814, 5358815, 5358816, 5358817, 5358818, 5358819, 5358820.