Thunderstorms initiated by mid-afternoon in western Eddy County. Several severe thunderstorms formed, producing damaging winds and large hail to the size of golf balls.
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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.
Thunderstorms initiated by mid-afternoon in western Eddy County. Several severe thunderstorms formed, producing damaging winds and large hail to the size of golf balls. These storms also produced enough rain to cause flash flooding near Artesia and in Hobbs, New Mexico.
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 Aug 23, 11:16 AM MST, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 116 PM CDT TUE AUG 23 2005 .SHORT TERM... MID LEVEL STR AXIS FROM FAR W TX EWD INTO CENTRAL TX THUS WLY FLOW MAINTAINED ACRS SRN NM MEXICO/W TX MTNS. FARTHER E ACRS PB ATMOS IS CAPPED PER MODIFIED 12Z KMAF SOUNDING WITH SFC DWPNTS REFLECTING A 2-5 DEGREE DECREASE FROM 24HRS PREVIOUS. REMNANT OUTFLOW BOUNDARY IS NEARING FAR NE CWFA BUT IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE SOURCE OF INITIATION. WATER VAPOR SHOWS UPPER LOW PUSHING NW INTO BIG BEND VICINITY. LITTLE IF ANY CONVECTIVE ENHANCEMENT HAS BEEN NOTED WITH FEATURE AS MSTR AXIS IS STILL TOO FAR S (NEAR KBRO). ISOLD STORMS HAVE ALREADY DEVELOPED IN DAVIS/GDP/SACRAMENTO MTNS SIMILAR TO MONDAY AND THUS WILL KEEP POPS CONFINED TO MTNS AND ADJACENT PLAINS. NAM40 FCST SOUNDINGS REFLECT POOR SHEAR WITH STEEP SUBCLOUD LR/S FAVORING HYBRID MICROBURST ENVIRONMENT. MOS GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO BE WAY OFF MARK AND WILL CONTINUE TO UNDERCUT. .LONG TERM... THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE AREA...AND THE REST OF THE SOUTHERN CONUS...SHOWING NO SIGNS OF CHANGING THROUGH WEEK/S END. THIS WILL PORTEND MUCH OF THE SAME FOR WEDNESDAY ONWARD...WHICH IS MAINLY ISOLATED DIURNAL CONVECTION OVER PORTIONS OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO. A TUTT LOW OVER CENTRAL MEXICO WILL CONTINUE SLOWLY WESTWARD AROUND THE UPPER RIDGE...AND PROBABLY REMAIN TOO FAR AWAY TO HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE BIG BEND REGION. SO IT APPEARS CONVECTION WILL AGAIN FIRE UNDER H7 THETAE AXIS DRAPED SOUTHWEST/NORTHEAST OVER THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS AND PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO PLAINS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. THERE IS A WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS THAT IS PROGGED TO MOVE OVER THE BIG BEND REGION WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THIS WAVE MAY BE ENOUGH TO INSTIGATE A FEW SHRA/TSRA FROM THE BIG BEND TO THE DAVIS MOUNTAINS...SO WILL RECONFIGURE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS TO ACCOMODATE THIS. INSTABILITY AND SHEAR LOOK TOO MEAGER FOR SEVERE STORMS IN ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS... BUT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS COULD RESULT IN ISOLATED FLOODING OF ARROYOS...STREAMS...AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS. FROM THURSDAY THROUGH THE REST OF THE EXTENDED...WILL CARRY ONLY ISOLATED POPS...IF ANY AT ALL...OVER THE FAVORED HIGHER TERRAIN DUE TO THE SAME AS ABOVE. HOWEVER...SOME CHANGE MAY BE IN THE OFFING AS A WEAK UPPER TROUGH FRACTURES THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CONUS BY FRIDAY. THE UPPER RIDGE IS THEN FLATTENED AND SHUNTED TO THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST AS WEAK UPPER TROUGHINESS SETS UP OVER THE FOUR CORNERS...LEAVING THE AREA UNDER A DIFFLUENT UPPER PATTERN. WOULD ADD A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN TO THE SUNDAY/MONDAY TIMEFRAME IN LIGHT OF THIS...BUT THIS PATTERN IS A BIT DIFFERENT THAN PREVIOUS RUNS AND AM NOT OVERLY CONFIDENT AT THIS POINT IT WILL COME ABOUT. WILL ALLOW SUBSEQUENT SHIFTS TO ASSESS. MAX/MIN TEMPS APPEAR TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE AS READINGS MORE THAN LIKELY WILL END UP COOLER THAN MOS GUIDANCE. WILL MAKE A FEW TWEAKS HERE AND THERE IF IT APPEARS WARRANTED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BIG SPRING TX 70 94 67 95 / 0 0 10 0 CARLSBAD NM 69 95 67 96 / 20 20 20 10 DRYDEN TX 71 96 69 96 / 0 10 0 10 FORT STOCKTON TX 68 96 68 96 / 0 10 10 10 GUADALUPE PASS TX 66 88 63 89 / 20 20 20 10 HOBBS NM 68 95 66 95 / 20 20 20 10 MARFA TX 59 90 57 90 / 10 10 10 10 MIDLAND INTL AIRPORT TX 69 95 68 95 / 0 0 10 0 ODESSA TX 69 95 68 98 / 0 0 10 0 WINK TX 70 101 69 101 / 10 10 10 0 && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 49/67
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 114 PM CDT TUE AUG 23 2005 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-241815- GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY-GAINES- DAWSON-BORDEN-SCURRY-ANDREWS-MARTIN-HOWARD-MITCHELL- VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS- LOVING-WINKLER-ECTOR-MIDLAND-GLASSCOCK-WARD-CRANE-UPTON-REAGAN- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-MARFA PLATEAU- BIG BEND AREA-TERRELL-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS- 114 PM CDT TUE AUG 23 2005 /1214 PM MDT TUE AUG 23 2005/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PERSIST FROM THE DAVIS MOUNTAINS AND STOCKTON PLATEAU... NORTHWESTWARD THROUGH THE UPPER TRANS PECOS...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS...AND SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO PLAINS INTO THIS EVENING. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL BECOME STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS TO 45 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES... AND STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MIDLAND CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT /LOWER CASE/ HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MIDLAND
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 411 PM CDT TUE AUG 23 2005 NMZ028-232215- EDDY COUNTY PLAINS- 311 PM MDT TUE AUG 23 2005 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT... THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL EDDY COUNTY. A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 9 MILES WEST OF ARTESIA AT 311 PM MDT...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. SMALL HAIL AND WINDS AROUND 55 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. PEOPLE IN NORTH CENTRAL EDDY COUNTY...INCLUDING THE CITY OF ARTESIA...SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR WARNINGS AND REMAIN ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:20 UTC.
2 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Nickel to golfball size hail was reported by a motorist and the Hope postmaster east of Hope on U.S. Highway 82.
Roads crossing Eagle Draw in Artesia had up to two feet of water running across them.
Nickel to quarter size hail was reported by an amateur radio operator northwest of Tatum.
Two inch diameter limbs were broken off trees in a pecan orchard north of Hobbs. In addition, a window was broken at a strip mall near the orchard.
A second storm blew down a power pole and several large light poles on the south side of Hobbs on the evening of the 23rd.
Many streets in Hobbs were affected by flash flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, August 2005
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: 5472505, 5472506, 5472504, 5472502, 5472503, 5472507.