An upper level storm system located along the Rocky Mountains began to deepen as it quickly moved eastward. In advance of this feature, a surface low pressure system draped across west Texas strengthened.
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.
An upper level storm system located along the Rocky Mountains began to deepen as it quickly moved eastward. In advance of this feature, a surface low pressure system draped across west Texas strengthened. The combination of the tightening pressure gradient across southeastern New Mexico and the Texas panhandle and increasing mid-level winds resulted in strong surface winds in the Guadalupe Mountains.
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 Apr 30, 10:36 PM MST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
1236 AM CDT THU MAY 1 2008
.AVIATION...
WILL INCLUDE A LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR GROUP IN THE MIDLAND TAF UNTIL
ABOUT 01/09Z WHEN WINDS BEGIN TO VEER AND WEAKEN AROUND 1500 FEET
AGL. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL AGAIN INCREASE AREAWIDE BY LATE
MORNING...WITH WIND SPEEDS SURPASSING 30KT AT CARLSBAD AND HOBBS...
AND POSSIBLY PECOS AND WINK. GUSTS NEAR 50KT WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE
AT THESE SITES. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 30KT WILL LIKELY PREVAIL
FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AT THE REST OF THE TAF SITES. OTHERWISE...VFR
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT ALL TAF SITES THROUGH THE NEXT 24
HOURS...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF POSSIBLE MVFR VISIBILITIES DUE TO
BLOWING DUST. THE LOWER VISIBILITIES WILL BE MOST APT TO OCCUR AT
CARLSBAD AND HOBBS THIS AFTERNOON WHERE THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL
OCCUR...AND TO A LESSER EXTENT AT PECOS AND WINK. A COLD FRONT WILL
MOVE INTO THE AREA AFTER 02/06Z. WINDS WILL VEER TO THE NORTHWEST
BEHIND THE FRONT.
&&
.MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NM...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 9 AM TO 9 PM MDT THURSDAY FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NP/LINCOLN NF/LNZ...
SOUTHEAST PLAINS/BLM ROSWELL/LNZ.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT MDT
TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF
EDDY COUNTY.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 6 AM THURSDAY TO MIDNIGHT MDT THURSDAY
NIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY
COUNTY.
RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 3 AM MDT THURSDAY
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NP/LINCOLN
NF/LNZ...SOUTHEAST PLAINS/BLM ROSWELL/LNZ.
TX...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM CDT /9 AM MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 10 PM
CDT /9 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...
ANDREWS...BORDEN...CRANE...DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA...
DAWSON...ECTOR...GAINES...GLASSCOCK...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS...
HOWARD...LOVING...MARFA PLATEAU...MARTIN...MIDLAND...
MITCHELL...PECOS...REAGAN...REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS
PECOS...SCURRY...UPTON...VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR...
WARD...WINKLER.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT MDT
TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 6 AM THURSDAY TO MIDNIGHT MDT THURSDAY
NIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS.
RED FLAG WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT CDT /11 PM MDT/ TO 4 AM CDT /3 AM
MDT/ EARLY THIS MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...
DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS.
&&
67HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 1048 PM CDT WED APR 30 2008 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-020400- 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- 1048 PM CDT WED APR 30 2008 /948 PM MDT WED APR 30 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND WEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS NEAR 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT THURSDAY MDT. VERY HIGH TO EXTREME FIRE DANGER WILL AFFECT THE GUADALUPE AND DAVIS MOUNTAINS...ALL OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND THE UPPER TRANS PECOS TODAY. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL COMBINE WITH SINGLE DIGIT RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND CREATE VERY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT WILL PROMOTE RAPID FIRE GROWTH AND SPREAD. A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM CDT THURSDAY MORNING. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL ALSO AFFECT MOST OF THE REST OF WEST TEXAS TODAY...WHERE FIRE GROWTH AND SPREAD WILL ALSO BE A PROBLEM DUE TO LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS. A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR THESE AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS AGAIN THURSDAY. A HIGH WIND WATCH CONTINUES FOR THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY. IN ADDITION...SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH COULD AFFECT THE SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO PLAINS...SOUTH THROUGH THE DAVIS MOUNTAINS...AND EASTWARD INTO THE PERMIAN BASIN THURSDAY AFTERNOON. FIRE CONCERNS WILL BE JUST AS GREAT THURSDAY...IF NOT MORE SO DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONGER WINDS AREAWIDE...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND DRY FUELS. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH CONTINUES THURSDAY FOR ALL BUT THE BIG BEND REGION AND LOWER TRANS PECOS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 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://WEATHER.GOV/MIDLAND
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong winds continued from the previous day and gusts reached to just above 80 mph across the Guadalupe Mountains around sunrise.
The Davis Mountains experience winds up to 63 mph throughout the day.
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, May 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: 107823, 107825.