A cold front swept across west central Texas on the afternoon of the 27th. The worst damage was by far in Sweetwater, where golf ball size hail and winds of 80 mph left no home untouched on the south side of Sweetwater.
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 SJT wrote it up.
A cold front swept across west central Texas on the afternoon of the 27th. The worst damage was by far in Sweetwater, where golf ball size hail and winds of 80 mph left no home untouched on the south side of Sweetwater.
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 27, 12:01 PM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 101 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2004 .SHORT TERM...INTERESTING DRYLINE SET UP THIS AFTERNOON AS THE FEATURE CONTINUES TO MOVE FASTER TO THE NORTH THAN THE SOUTH. AT 1 PM...IT WAS LOCATED SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS WEST TEXAS AND IS ACTUALLY BECOMING MORE OF A WIND SHIFT AS PRECIPITATION TO THE WEST MOISTEN THE LOW LEVELS. SITUATION SEEMS TO BE MORE MURKY FOR TONIGHT THAN IT APPEARED TO BE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. VIGOROUS WAVE CURRENTLY MOVING OUT OF NEW MEXICO WILL CONTINUE TOWARDS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AND CONVECTION CURRENTLY ON THE RADAR SHOULD CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN AS LIFT IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES THIS WAY. CAP HAS WEAKENED SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES AND THIS MAY TEND TO LIMIT THE SEVERE THREAT ACROSS THE NORTH DUE TO COMPETING THUNDERSTORMS...NOW THINKING THAT THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SOUTH AND WEST WHERE CAP IS STRONGER THUS LIMITING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT SOMEWHAT. STILL NOT QUITE CLEAR HOW EVERYTHING WILL EVOLVE BUT MOST AREAS SHOULD SEE SOME RAIN. WINDS WILL GO WESTERLY LATER TONIGHT AND THINGS WILL DRY OUT. THINKING HERE IS THAT DRYLINE WILL GET A GOOD PUSH WITH THIS SYSTEM AND CAUSE WARMING CONDITIONS. WILL HAVE TO WATCH THE DRYLINE THROUGH MONDAY AS IT SLOSHES BACK AND FORTH... AND WILL CONTINUE WITH THE LOW AFTERNOON AND EVENING POPS IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES. && .LONG TERM... DID NOT MAKE MUCH CHANGE TO THE EXTENDED FORECAST. STILL LOOKS LIKE THE FLOW WILL FLATTEN OUT FOR A WHILE BEFORE GOING NORTHWESTERLY LATE IN THE PERIOD RESULTING IN THE POSSIBILITY OF OVERNIGHT THUNDERSTORMS AS WAVES COME DOWN. FOR NOW WILL KEEP THE BEST CHANCE FOR THIS ACTIVITY NORTH AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 65 93 71 93 / 50 10 10 10 SAN ANGELO 65 96 71 96 / 40 10 10 10 JUNCTION 68 94 72 94 / 30 10 10 10 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 27/27
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 224 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2004 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140- 154-155-168>170-281923- BROWN TX-CALLAHAN TX-COKE TX-COLEMAN TX-CONCHO TX-CROCKETT TX- FISHER TX-HASKELL TX-IRION TX-JONES TX-KIMBLE TX-MASON TX- MCCULLOCH TX-MENARD TX-NOLAN TX-RUNNELS TX-SAN SABA TX-SCHLEICHER TX- SHACKELFORD TX-STERLING TX-SUTTON TX-TAYLOR TX-THROCKMORTON TX- TOM GREEN TX- 224 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE... A POTENT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING FROM NEW MEXICO NORTHEAST ACROSS THE PANHANDLE THIS EVENING WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO PRODUCE FAIRLY WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY REACH SEVERE LEVELS THROUGH THIS EVENING...PARTICULARLY NORTHWEST OF A SAN SABA TO JUNCTION LINE. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT...ALTHOUGH THERE IS SUFFICIENT SHEAR TO ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES AS WELL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY. 07
The San Angelo radar (KSJT), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:07 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
An NWS survey team found evidence of tornado damage that extended from near Champion to about 3 miles east of Champion. Several power poles were snapped and a barn was totally destroyed. Irrigation equipment was also thrown about and twisted.
The rear flank downdraft impacted the Champion community with estimated winds at 80 mph. Trees were uprooted and fell into several houses.
A brief tornado track was surveyd just to the south of Roscoe. A shed was destroyed.
Several homes and businesses on the south side of Sweetwater received significant damage due to golf ball size hail in combination with 80 mph winds.
Significant damage was noted in the southern portions of Sweetwater due to 80 mph winds and golf ball size hail.
A weak tornado, possibly a gustnado was observed at the Big Country Truck Stop just east of Merkel. Several eyewitness accounts report seeing the twister move across the far end of the parking lot and then move across Interstate 20. Other than power poles being snapped, no damage was noted.
Strong thunderstorm winds damaged power poles, sheds and tree limbs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2004Warnings in Texas, May 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: 5396894, 5396895, 5396896, 5396897, 5396898, 5396899, 5396900, 5396901, 5398985, 5398986, 5398987, 5398988, 5398989, 5398990.