The last of a three day active severe weather period occurred across much of west Texas. The dryline retreated overnight and once again became active in regards to thunderstorm development.
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 MAF wrote it up.
The last of a three day active severe weather period occurred across much of west Texas. The dryline retreated overnight and once again became active in regards to thunderstorm development. Enhancement to storms occurred as an upper level disturbance tracked across the area during the time of peak thunderstorm development. One of the primarily driving factors to storm severity was the presence of high instability. Increased shear also aided in the development of tornadic supercells. Resulting thunderstorms produced large hail and a few tornadoes across the area.
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 May 27, 1:33 PM CST, 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 233 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 2008 .DISCUSSION... CONVECTION A CONCERN AGAIN TODAY THOUGH NOT QUITE AS MUCH AS HAS BEEN THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. CU SEEN DEVELOPING OVER THE DAVIS MTS AT THE MOMENT THANKS TO A NICE PLUME OF MID LEVEL MOISTURE ADVECTING NORTH OUT OF MEXICO. NAM SHOWS DECENT SHEAR VALUES FOR THIS AFTERNOON IN THIS AREA BUT STABILITY QUICKLY INCREASES EAST AND TSTMS WILL HAVE TROUBLE SURVIVING LONG OFF THE MOUNTAINS. PERHAPS THE MOST FAVORABLE AREA FOR INITIATION TODAY WILL BE IN THE NORTHWESTERN PERMIAN BASIN WHERE THE CAP IS WEAK...INSTABILITY AND SHEAR IS BETTER...AND THERE WILL BE A DRYLINE/FRONT INTERACTION FOR CONVERGENCE. THE DRYLINE ITSELF IS NOT AS CRISP AS RECENT DAYS SO DO NOT SEE A LOT OF CONVERGENCE ALONG IT. CONVECTION ALONG THE DRYLINE WILL NEED UPPER SUPPORT TO HELP IT ALONG WHICH CURRENTLY IS NOT OBVIOUS ON WV IMAGERY THOUGH IT APPEARS A WEAK S/W MAY BE ABOUT TO ENTER WEST TEXAS FROM MEXICO. AFTER TODAY...LOOK FOR THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO REMAIN ALONG THE MOUNTAINS AS SOUTHEASTERL LOW LEVEL FLOW KEEPS THE DRYLINE BACKED UP TO THE WEST. LEFT SLT CHC POPS IN THROUGH THURSDAY BUT AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH BECOMES ESTABLISHED OVER THE AREA BY THE WEEKEND LEAVING US HIGH AND DRY OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. HIGH PRESSURE WILL KEEP WINDS DOWN SO THERE SHOULD NOT BE MUCH FIRE WEATHER WORRIES THROUGH THE PERIOD DESPITE CONTINUING DRY AIR AT THE SURFACE. HENNIG && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BIG SPRING TX 70 93 68 95 / 30 10 10 0 CARLSBAD NM 64 94 64 91 / 10 20 20 20 DRYDEN TX 70 93 69 92 / 20 10 10 0 FORT STOCKTON TX 69 97 68 96 / 20 10 10 0 GUADALUPE PASS TX 64 86 64 87 / 10 20 20 20 HOBBS NM 66 95 66 93 / 20 20 20 10 MARFA TX 58 90 54 88 / 20 20 10 10 MIDLAND INTL AIRPORT TX 71 93 66 95 / 30 10 10 0 ODESSA TX 72 94 67 94 / 30 10 10 0 WINK TX 73 100 71 100 / 20 20 10 10 && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 10
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 110 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 2008 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-281815- 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- 110 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 2008 /1210 PM MDT TUE MAY 27 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND WEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND EAST OF A TATUM TO MARFA LINE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND THE PRIMARY THREATS. THE GREATEST CHANCE FOR STORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PERMIAN BASIN. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A SEMINOLE TO FORT DAVIS LINE. SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD STAY INFORMED ON DEVELOPING WEATHER AND BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION. 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
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
1124 AM CDT TUE MAY 27 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0915 PM HAIL 24 SSW BAKERSFIELD 30.58N 102.50W
05/26/2008 E1.00 INCH PECOS TX TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
JGUDMESTSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 302 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 2008 TXZ074-272030- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA- 302 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT... THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL BREWSTER COUNTY. AN INTENSIFYING THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 4 MILES EAST OF ALPINE AT 302 PM CDT...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 11 MPH. THIS STORM IS OVER U.S.90 EAST OF ALPINE. AS THIS THUNDERSTORM INCREASES...SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY. GUSTY WINDS... SMALL HAIL... HEAVY RAIN... AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE.
The Midland/Odessa radar (KMAF), 221 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:23 UTC.
11 hail, 3 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Brewster County emergency manager reported baseball sized hail at Hilltop Ranch.
A brief tornado was reported by a local storm chaser. Estimated loction of the vortex was 2.5 miles west of the intersection of Texas State Highways 349 and 137. No damage was reported.
A second tornado was produced by a strong thunderstorm. The tornado lifted after about 30 seconds. No damage was reported.
Texas DPS reported a brief tornado eight miles west-southwest of Friendship. No damage was reported.
Winds up to 60 mph were estimated by a trained storm spotter. No damage was reported.
West Texas Mesonet recorded a 62 mph thunderstorm wind gust. No damage was reported.
Lamesa Police reported one foot of water across many streets in Lamesa. In addition, water up to three feet flowed through low water crossings.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2008Warnings 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: 91917, 91918, 91919, 91921, 91920, 91927, 91922, 91923, 91933, 91928, 91924, 91925, 91929, 91930, 91926, 91931, 91916.