Several severe thunderstorms affected the northern parts of Lea County during the late afternoon and early evening of the 8th. These storms developed along a dryline that stretched across the eastern New Mexico Plains.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.
Several severe thunderstorms affected the northern parts of Lea County during the late afternoon and early evening of the 8th. These storms developed along a dryline that stretched across the eastern New Mexico Plains. The most significant damage occurred in Tatum, where large hail resulted in widespread damage to vehicles.
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 Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 8, 1:52 PM MST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 351 PM CDT THU APR 8 2004 .DISCUSSION... NO TIME FOR DISCUSSION OWING TO ONGOING SEVERE WX. PLEASE SEE HPC AND SPC DISCUSSIONS FOR INFO. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BIG SPRING TX 57 79 48 53 / 60 10 20 30 CARLSBAD NM 52 81 48 57 / 30 0 10 50 DRYDEN TX 59 85 54 71 / 40 10 10 40 FORT STOCKTON TX 56 84 49 62 / 40 0 10 40 GUADALUPE PASS TX 51 75 43 54 / 20 0 10 40 HOBBS NM 52 81 47 53 / 50 0 20 40 MARFA TX 45 75 45 60 / 30 0 10 40 MIDLAND INTL AIRPORT TX 56 81 47 55 / 50 10 20 40 ODESSA TX 56 82 48 55 / 50 0 20 40 WINK TX 55 88 53 60 / 40 0 10 40 && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. NM...NONE. && 06/70
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 259 PM CDT THU APR 8 2004 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-090900- ANDREWS-BIG BEND AREA-BORDEN-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-CRANE- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-DAWSON-ECTOR-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS-GAINES- GLASSCOCK-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY- HOWARD-LOVING-MARFA PLATEAU-MARTIN-MIDLAND-MITCHELL- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-REAGAN- REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS-SCURRY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY- TERRELL-UPTON-VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-WARD-WINKLER- 259 PM CDT (159 PM MDT) THU APR 8 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE PERMIAN BASIN AND PORTIONS OF THE LOWER TRANS PECOS OF WEST TEXAS AND THE PLAINS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THIS WOULD INCLUDE LOCATIONS GENERALLY NORTHEAST OF A CARLSBAD...PECOS...FORT STOCKTON...TO SANDERSON LINE. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. IN ADDITION...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE IN ANY THUNDERSTORM. LOCALIZED RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE RESULTING IN AREAS OF HIGH WATER IN LOW WATER CROSSINGS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO PLAINS AND THE PERMIAN BASIN WILL BE REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING. 06
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 150 PM CDT THU APR 8 2004 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045-046-050-051-090100- ANDREWS TX-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY NM-DAWSON TX-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS NM- GAINES TX-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY NM-MARTIN TX- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY NM-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY NM- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ANDREWS...ARTESIA...CARLSBAD...HOBBS... LAMESA...LOVINGTON...SEMINOLE...STANTON AND TATUM 150 PM CDT THU APR 8 2004 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #55 UNTIL 800 PM CDT (700 PM MDT) FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN WEST TEXAS...ANDREWS...DAWSON...GAINES AND MARTIN. IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO...EDDY AND LEA. THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ANDREWS... ARTESIA...CARLSBAD...HOBBS...LAMESA...LOVINGTON...SEMINOLE...STANTON AND TATUM. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL 3/4 OF AN INCH OR GREATER AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR TO THE WATCH AREA...CHECK PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS...KEEP INFORMED...AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF A WARNING IS ISSUED OR SEVERE WEATHER IS OBSERVED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail ranging in size from pennies to golfballs was reported in the city of Tatum. Hail accumulated on the ground up to four inches deep. Snowplows were used to the clear the hail from the city streets. Numerous reports of damage to vehicles were received.
Penny size hail was reported in Caprock. This was the second severe storm to affect that community within an hour.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2004
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: 5392567, 5392568, 5392655.