Strong to occasionally severe gradient winds were associated with the passage of a strong storm system over the Texas Panhandle on the 20th. Westerly winds were generally sustained in the 30 MPH range with gusts approaching 55 MPH over a large part of the South Plains region.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 LUB wrote it up.
Strong to occasionally severe gradient winds were associated with the passage of a strong storm system over the Texas Panhandle on the 20th. Westerly winds were generally sustained in the 30 MPH range with gusts approaching 55 MPH over a large part of the South Plains region. Winds were enhanced, however, over the central sections of the South Plains where three severe gusts were recorded by the Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet. These severe gusts were immediately south of an advancing cold front. Weak and very high based cumulus clouds with virga were observed in advance of the front, but it is unclear through radar analysis and observations if the wind gusts were convectively enhanced.Damage that resulted in one death and nine injuries was associated with the winds at 12th Street and Slide Road in Lubbock. A local restaurant, The Little Panda, was destroyed during the noon lunch hour when a wind gust blew down a sign mounted to the structure's roof and caused the establishment to fail in a collapse. Nearly thirty people were trapped under the rubble when rescue teams arrived. Minor roof damage to several homes also was reported throughout the city.Several utility poles also were blown down north of Post in Garza County. A list of severe wind gusts follow:Anton (Hockley County)................60 MPHReese Center (Lubbock County).....61 MPHGraham (Garza County).................63 MPH
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 Lubbock, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 11:05 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1105 AM CST MON MAR 20 2006 .UPDATE... FIRST PERIOD CONTINUES TO BE A VERY DYNAMIC. HAVE UPDATED FORECAST TO PUSH WIND GUSTS TODAY UP TO 55 MPH...APPROACHING HIGH WIND WARNING. THIS WILL MORE CLOSELY MATCH WORDING IN THE WIND ADVISORY CURRENTLY OUT. WRAP AROUND MOISTURE WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN PANHANDLE THIS AFTERNOON...BUT JUST HOW FAR SOUTH IS A DIFFICULT QUESTION. SHOULD BE PRETTY SHARP CUTOFF ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF PRECIP SHIELD. WILL UP POPS TO SHOW SLIGHT CHANCE...BUT NOT GO AS HIGH AS AMA. SPRINKLES OR FLURRIES ARE DEFINITELY NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. LIPE && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BAILEY...BRISCOE...CASTRO...CHILDRESS...COCHRAN...COTTLE... CROSBY...DICKENS...FLOYD...GARZA...HALE...HALL...HOCKLEY... KENT...KING...LAMB...LUBBOCK...LYNN...MOTLEY...PARMER... STONEWALL...SWISHER...TERRY...AND YOAKUM. && 04/99
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 530 AM CST MON MAR 20 2006 TXZ021>044-211130- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 530 AM CST MON MAR 20 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NON PRECIPITATION STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY AS A STRONG SURFACE LOW MOVES ACROSS THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. EXPECT WINDS AROUND 25 TO 35 MPH WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Lubbock | 2006-03-20 | 23 | Female | Business | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2006
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: 5496365, 5496425, 5496426.