Scattered thunderstorms developed over the eastern South Plains and the Rolling Plains of west Texas during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 18th. A few storms intensified to severe levels, and produced large hail up to the size of golfballs and wind gusts up to 60 mph.
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 LUB wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms developed over the eastern South Plains and the Rolling Plains of west Texas during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 18th. A few storms intensified to severe levels, and produced large hail up to the size of golfballs and wind gusts up to 60 mph. No damage was reported.
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 Aug 18, 2:39 PM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 339 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 .SHORT TERM... A RATHER COMPLEX FORECAST PRESENTS CHALLENGES THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. A MID/UPPER LEVEL LOW REMAINS OVER THE OKLAHOMA AND NORTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLES. THIS FEATURE IS PROGGED TO PROPAGATE SLOWLY SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARD THE RED RIVER VALLEY BY TUESDAY EVENING. SEVERAL LOW LEVEL BOUNDARIES ARE DETECTED IN SATELLITE/RADAR IMAGERY ATTM. ONE FEATURE IS LOCATED OVER THE NORTHERN BASIN...AND A SECOND NOTABLE BOUNDARY IS PUSHING SOUTHWARD OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE/NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS. CONVECTION IS INCREASING ALONG THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY AS TODAY/S PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES HAVE COMBINED WITH INCREASED FORCING AND THE APPROACHING MID LEVEL COLD POOL TO STRENGTHEN INSTABILITY AND ASCENT. MODEL SOLUTIONS SUGGEST THAT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION WILL EVOLVE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING WITHIN THIS REGIME...FAVORING THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FA IN CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO SAID UA FEATURE. MANY LOCALS IN THE NORTHERN FA HAVE BENEFITED FROM RECENT HEAVY RAINFALL...AND ADDITIONAL SHOWERS/STORMS THERE WITHIN A VERY MOIST AIRMASS WILL PROLONG A THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING. THUS HAVE EXPANDED/EXTENDED THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TONIGHT...AND WILL INCLUDE AREAS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN PANHANDLES...WHERE UP TO 1.74 INCHES OF RAIN WAS MEASURED AT THE MEMPHIS WTM SITE SINCE MIDNIGHT. LOW/MID TROPOSPHERIC LAPSE RATES HAVE STEEPENED THIS AFTERNOON WITHIN STRONG INSOLATION OVER THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS. THIS COULD CONTRIBUTE TO AN ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WITH THE STRONGEST UPDRAFTS...ESPECIALLY NEAR SURFACE BOUNDARIES. RAIN/STORM CHANCES WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE FROM WEST TO EAST TUESDAY AS THE UA TROUGH AXIS SLOWLY SHIFTS EASTWARD. YET RELATIVELY MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW MAY STILL PERMIT A FEW SHOWERS/STORMS... ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON BENEATH LINGERING STEEP LAPSE RATES...BUT RAINFALL EFFICIENCY SHOULD BE REDUCED. && .LONG TERM... UPPER LOW TO PULL AWAY FROM THE SOUTH PLAINS BY THURSDAY BUT NOT BEFORE AT LEAST A FEW MORE ISOLATED-SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN SECTIONS ON WEDNESDAY. SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE OF THE LOW WILL LIKELY LEAD TO A GRADUAL SCOURING OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND TEMPERATURES REBOUNDING INTO THE 80S ON WEDNESDAY AND PERHAPS THE 90S BY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO BUILD IN FROM THE WEST AND ANCHOR OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION. THIS PATTERN WOULD PLACE THE SOUTH PLAINS IN A WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AND A CHANCE FOR A WEAK COLD FRONT TO APPROACH ON SATURDAY. APART FROM THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS/STORMS...NOT MUCH CHANGE TO SENSIBLE WEATHER IS EXPECTED WITH THE BOUNDARY...IN FACT IT COULD MIX BACK TO THE NORTH AND KEEP TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S OVER THE WEEKEND. WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS DEPICTED IN THE LONG RANGE GFS FOR THE START OF NEXT WEEK. KW && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 59 78 58 85 62 / 50 20 20 10 10 TULIA 61 78 60 83 62 / 60 30 20 10 10 PLAINVIEW 62 78 61 84 62 / 50 30 20 10 10 LEVELLAND 61 79 62 85 64 / 50 20 20 10 10 LUBBOCK 62 79 62 85 65 / 50 30 20 10 10 DENVER CITY 63 81 62 87 65 / 40 20 20 10 10 BROWNFIELD 62 79 63 85 64 / 40 30 20 10 10 CHILDRESS 66 81 64 84 66 / 60 40 20 20 10 SPUR 64 80 64 85 65 / 50 30 20 20 10 ASPERMONT 66 80 65 86 66 / 50 40 20 20 10 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ021>032. && 20/17
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 256 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 TXZ021>044-192000- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 256 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FLOODING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING...ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. RECENT RAINS HAVE SATURATED SOIL CONDITIONS... AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN DANGEROUS FLASH FLOODING CONDITIONS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN PANHANDLE...THE NORTHERN SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. CONVECTIVE WIDESPREAD OR ORGANIZED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT A FEW STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER AND DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 438 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 TXZ024-182245- BRISCOE TX- 438 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACROSS BRISCOE COUNTY... AT 436 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 11 MILES NORTH OF SILVERTON...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 16 MPH. SMALL HAIL...INTENSE LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF...STRONG WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THIS THUNDERSTORM. MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. ALSO...HEAVY RAINFALL MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. AVOID NORMAL FLOOD-PRONE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THEY MAY BE WASHED OUT. STORM INTENSITY IS INCREASING AND SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 443 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 TXZ023-182245- SWISHER TX- 443 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACROSS SWISHER COUNTY... AT 440 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 16 MILES NORTH OF CLAYTONVILLE...OR ABOUT 15 MILES EAST OF TULIA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN NORTHEAST SWISHER COUNTY...NEAR THE SWISHER AND ARMSTRONG COUNTY LINE. SMALL HAIL AND BRIEF...STRONG WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STORM INTENSITY IS INCREASING AND SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 546 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 TXZ030-182345- FLOYD TX- 546 PM CDT MON AUG 18 2008 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACROSS FLOYD COUNTY... AT 544 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF FLOYDADA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EXTREME NORTHWEST FLOYD COUNTY ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF LOCKNEY...ALSO MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. SMALL HAIL...CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND...BRIEF...STRONG WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THESE THUNDERSTORMS. MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. ALSO...HEAVY RAINFALL MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. AVOID NORMAL FLOOD-PRONE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THEY MAY BE WASHED OUT. STORM INTENSITY MAY INCREASE AND SEVERE WEATHER COULD DEVELOP RAPIDLY. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:48 UTC.
1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Dickens County law enforcement officials reported golfball size hail in McAdoo. No damage was reported.
The public estimated thunderstorm wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph in Spur at 18:52 CST. A nearby Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site recorded a peak gust of 50 mph at 18:55 CST. No damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, August 2008
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: 120824, 120827.