An upper low moved in from the west over a moist southeasterly flow, providing the necessary instability and vertical wind shear for severe weather. A number of severe thunderstorms moved across El Paso and Horizon City overnight producing hail up to golf ball size and flash flooding.
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 EPZ wrote it up.
An upper low moved in from the west over a moist southeasterly flow, providing the necessary instability and vertical wind shear for severe weather. A number of severe thunderstorms moved across El Paso and Horizon City overnight producing hail up to golf ball size and flash flooding.
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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 7, 3:20 PM MST, 8 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 420 PM MDT MON MAY 7 2007 ..SYNOPSIS... MOISTURE IS BEGINNING TO MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE EAST. THIS WILL COMBINE WITH A NEARLY STATIONARY UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM TO BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA ON TUESDAY. THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY. FOR THE END OF THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND WE WILL SEE SUNNY SKIES WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. && .DISCUSSION... CURRENTLY WE HAVE PLENTY OF SUN AND DRY CONDITIONS...BUT CHANGES ARE A COMING. OUR SURFACE WINDS HAVE COME AROUND TO THE EAST AND THAT HAS BEGUN THE TRANSPORT OF MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. AT THE SAME TIME TO OUR WEST A TROUGH HAS CONTINUED TO LINGER OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA AND NORTHERN MEXICO. I AM A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT THE MODELS ARE OVER DOING THE DEW POINTS DUE TO THE FACT THAT TO OUR EAST THE DEW POINTS ARE NOT THAT HIGH. DEW POINTS IN THE BIG BEND AND WEST TEXAS ARE NOT MUCH HIGHER THAN OUR DEW POINTS...THE HIGHER DEW POINTS SIT OVER CENTRAL TEXAS DOWN TOWARD DEL RIO. I DO EXPECT THAT SOME OF THAT HIGHER DEW POINT AIR WILL MAKE ITS WAY INTO OUR AREA. IN ADDITION SEVERAL LARGE THUNDERSTORM CLUSTERS OVER CENTRAL TEXAS MAY BE ABLE TO PUT OUT AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT WILL HASTEN THE DEW POINT PUSH. STARTING TONIGHT...BUT MAINLY TOMORROW INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY WE WILL SEE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS. LOOKING AT TOMORROWS THUNDERSTORMS THREAT. WE WILL HAVE DECENT SHEAR...NEGATIVE LIS AS THE COLD POOL BEGINS TO MOVE OVERHEAD AND WE WILL HAVE ABOVE NORMAL MOISTURE IN THE AREA. THIS ALL ADDS UP TO A THREAT FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON TUESDAY...SO I WILL MENTION THAT IN THE ZONES. THE THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY AS THE UPPER LOW COMES ON ACROSS. BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT THE DRY AIR WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE REGION. BEHIND THE LOW A RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE SOUTHWEST FOR THE END OF THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. SO WE WILL SEE DRIER CONDITIONS WITH PLENTY OF SUN THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES WILL RUN A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WITH THE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. BY THURSDAY WITH THE RIDGE BUILDING IN AND THE SUN RETURNING...WE WILL SEE TEMPERATURES CREEP BACK ABOVE NORMAL AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION... AVIATION...VALID 08/00Z-09/00Z. SCT AFTN AND EVENING TSTMS WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF NEW MEXICO AND EASTERN ARIZONA TODAY AND TUESDAY. THIS WILL AFFECT TWEB ROUTES 195 AND 196. CONDITIONS WILL GENERALLY BE VFR...BUT EXPECT MVFR OR IFR CONDITIONS ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS...POSSIBLE HAIL AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS NEAR ANY TSTMS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... EL PASO 56 77 53 78 55 / 30 30 20 20 0 SIERRA BLANCA TX 55 70 50 71 50 / 40 40 30 30 0 LAS CRUCES 53 76 49 77 51 / 30 30 20 20 0 ALAMOGORDO 51 72 47 73 50 / 30 30 20 20 0 CLOUDCROFT 37 53 34 54 37 / 40 40 30 30 0 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 52 74 46 75 50 / 30 30 20 20 0 SILVER CITY 44 68 42 69 46 / 30 30 30 10 0 DEMING 50 77 48 78 51 / 20 30 20 10 0 LORDSBURG 51 78 48 79 51 / 20 30 20 10 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 15 BRICE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 545 AM MDT MON MAY 7 2007 NMZ022>025-030>032-TXZ055-056-081245- SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS/LOWER GILA REGION-SIERRA COUNTY LAKES REGION- TULAROSA BASIN/SOUTHERN DESERT-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS- SOUTHWEST DESERT/BOOTHEEL-SOUTHWEST DESERT/MIMBRES BASIN- SOUTHERN DESERT-EL PASO-HUDSPETH- 545 AM MDT SUN MAY 7 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. STRONGEST ACTIVITY WILL BE EAST OF THE RIO GRANDE WITH A FEW STORMS PRODUCING HAIL UP TO AN INCH IN DIAMETER ALONG WITH WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS POSSIBLE WITH UP TO A HALF INCH OF RAIN FALLING IN ISOLATED LOCATIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WITH A FEW STORMS PRODUCING HAIL...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY WITH DRY WEATHER AND MOSTLY LIGHT WINDS THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...MAINLY EAST OF THE RIO GRANDE. ROGASH
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX 1018 PM MDT MON MAY 7 2007 NMZ024-032-TXZ055-080500- SOUTHERN DESERT NM-EL PASO TX-TULAROSA BASIN/SOUTHERN DESERT NM- 1024 PM MDT MON MAY 7 2007 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING INTO WESTERN EL PASO AND FAR SOUTHEASTERN DONA ANA COUNTIES... AT 1116 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS UP TO 50 MPH AND SMALL HAIL 14 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SUNLAND PARK. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER AROUND 1030 PM THIS EVENING...AND WILL EFFECT MAINLY WESTERN EL PASO COUNTY. THIS STORM WILL ALSO PRODUCE FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND BRIEF BUT VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN FLOODING IN URBAN AREAS AND AREAS WITH POOR DRAINAGE. LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE VINTON...WESTWAY AND SANTA TERESA. PIEPER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX 1107 PM MDT MON MAY 7 2007 NMZ024-032-TXZ055-080545- SOUTHERN DESERT NM-EL PASO TX-TULAROSA BASIN/SOUTHERN DESERT NM- 1107 PM MDT MON MAY 7 2007 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING OVER PORTIONS OF WESTERN EL PASO COUNTY... AT 1106 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS UP TO 50 MPH AND SMALL HAIL MOVING OVER WEST EL PASO. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. AS SUCH...THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST EL PASO...AS WELL AS CHAPARRAL IN FAR SOUTHEASTERN DONA ANA COUNTY. VERY HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...WITH UP TO 1 INCH OF RAIN PER HOUR POSSIBLE. THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL OF RESULTING IN RISING WATER IN SOME URBAN AND LOW LYING AREAS. PIEPER
The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:24 UTC.
3 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several reports were received of golf ball size hail in Horizon City.
Horizon City got hit a second time overnight with large hail, this time ping pong ball size.
Torrential rains led to flooded roads in many sections of El Paso. A roof collapsed in the northeast part of the city from the weight of accumulated rain water.
The third severe thunderstorm of the night dropped a great amount of quarter to half dollar size hail on far east El Paso. Unfortunately several car dealerships are located in this area and experienced damage to new vehicles. Hail sales were advertised for weeks to follow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2007
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: 36578, 36579, 36588, 36582.