An upper speed max along with moist unstable air helped to form a few isolated severe thunderstorms.
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 EWX wrote it up.
An upper speed max along with moist unstable air helped to form a few isolated severe thunderstorms.
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 Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 5, 8:04 PM CST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 904 PM CDT MON MAY 5 2008 .UPDATE... AREA RADARS SHOW ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS WITH ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF MEXICO TO NORTHWEST OF THE BIG BEND OVER FAR WESTERN TEXAS. 18Z MODELS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST THAT THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE OFF THE MOUNTAINS AND MOVE EAST ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS LATE THIS EVENING AND DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS AN MCS. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE GIVEN LOW LEVEL JET AND INFLOW WITH FAVORED TRACK BEING SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 90. HAVE REMOVED THUNDER MENTION ACROSS EASTERN AREAS FOR THIS EVENING DUE TO THE LOSS OF INSTABILITY AND INCREASED CAPPING. TEMPERATURES AND DEWPOINTS ARE RUNNING SLIGHTLY COOLER ACROSS NORTHEASTERN AREAS THAN EARLIER GRIDS INDICATED AND HAVE GONE A LITTLE COOLER FOR TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING THERE. OTHERWISE, REMAINDER OF FORECAST ON TRACK AS 18Z MODELS MAINTAINED PREVIOUS REASONING. && .FIRE WEATHER... CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY BE MET WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE WESTERN HILL COUNTRY TO RIO GRANDE PLAINS. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OF 10 TO 20 PERCENT AND WESTERLY WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED. HOWEVER, RAIN FALLING TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT MAY LESSEN THIS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 628 PM CDT MON MAY 5 2008/ AVIATION... VARYING CEILINGS FROM MVFR TO VFR WILL BECOME UNIFORM AT MVFR LEVELS BY 05Z. ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL STREAM NORTH ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS WHILE A BROKEN LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER MEXICO MOVES EAST...REACHING KDRT AROUND 02Z. SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL BE ON THE INCREASE OVERNIGHT RESULTING IN IFR CEILINGS BY 07Z WITH MVFR VSBY IN RAIN SHOWERS AND FOG. CEILINGS WILL LIFT TO MVFR LEVELS BY 16Z, THEN VFR LEVEL BY 21Z. WINDS WILL REMAIN SELY AT 10 TO 15 KTS OVERNIGHT, BECOMING GUSTY TO 25 KTS AFTER 20Z. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 333 PM CDT MON MAY 5 2008/ DISCUSSION... SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS ARE SLOWLY BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ALONG THE COASTAL PLAINS AND ARE POPPING UP ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. THIS ACTIVITY WILL INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY DURING THE EVENING AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. GFS AND ECMWF GUIDANCE ARE STILL INDICATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN MCS OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS. WHILE AVERAGE ACCUMULATIONS WILL GENERALLY BE ABOUT ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF OF AN INCH...SOME AREAS WILL SEE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...WITH AMOUNTS OF 1-3 INCHES POSSIBLE BEFORE SUNRISE. RAIN CHANCES WILL DROP OFF DRAMATICALLY TUESDAY MORNING AS DRIER AIR PUSHES INTO THE REGION. THE UPPER LOW TO THE WEST IS NOW EXPECTED TO TRACK A LITTLE FURTHER TO THE SOUTH THAN PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED. CURRENT GUIDANCE PUSHES THE LOW ACROSS WEST TEXAS AND INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY ON WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT TUESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY AS THE DRYLINE CREEPS IN FROM THE WEST AHEAD OF THE LOW. MODERATE SE FLOW IN THE BL ON TUESDAY WILL AID IN SOME MOISTURE RECOVERY. THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN WILL BE ACROSS THE WESTERN HILL COUNTRY AND ALONG THE EDWARDS PLATEAU LATE TUESDAY...THEN SHIFTING TO THE NORTHEASTERN COUNTIES BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. SOME OF THE STORMS WHICH DEVELOP LATE TUESDAY/EARLY WEDNESDAY COULD BECOME SEVERE. SLIGHT CHANCES FOR RAIN WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS EASTERN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AS THE UPPER LOW PROGRESSES INTO THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS. WARM CONDITIONS ARE IN STORE FOR THE END OF THE WORKWEEK AS WINDS SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST LATE WEDNESDAY AND INTO THURSDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE PASSAGE OF THE LOW. THE WARM AND VERY DRY AIR WILL EASILY PUSH TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID-90S ACROSS THE METRO AREAS AND UPWARDS OF THE CENTURY MARK ALONG THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS AND IN THE VALLEY. WINDS WILL RETURN TO THE SOUTHEAST LATE THURSDAY...BUT GULF MOISTURE WILL BE TOO LIMITED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS. ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES (BOTH MAX AND MIN) ABOUT 10 DEGREES ABOVE MID-MAY NORMALS THROUGH THE WEEKEND...BUT NO NEW RECORDS ARE EXPECTED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AUSTIN CAMP MABRY 68 84 69 83 64 / 40 20 30 40 10 AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTL AIRPORT 67 85 69 84 64 / 40 20 30 40 10 DEL RIO INTL AIRPORT 72 90 69 96 66 / 50 10 40 - - SAN ANTONIO INTL AIRPORT 68 84 70 86 65 / 50 20 30 20 - && .EWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 04/06
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 549 AM CDT MON MAY 5 2008 TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-061100- LLANO-BURNET-WILLIAMSON-VAL VERDE-EDWARDS-REAL-KERR-BANDERA- GILLESPIE-KENDALL-BLANCO-HAYS-TRAVIS-BASTROP-LEE-KINNEY-UVALDE- MEDINA-BEXAR-COMAL-GUADALUPE-CALDWELL-FAYETTE-MAVERICK-ZAVALA- FRIO-ATASCOSA-WILSON-KARNES-GONZALES-DE WITT-LAVACA-DIMMIT- 549 AM CDT MON MAY 5 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO THREE INCHES ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE GREATEST TONIGHT ALONG THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND OVER THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS VAL VERDE COUNTY. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL EXPAND EAST AND SOUTH TUESDAY EVENING INTO THE WESTERN HILL COUNTRY... INCLUDING KINNEY AND UVALDE COUNTIES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED...ESPECIALLY LATE TUESDAY WITH THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON THE RISE.
The Laughlin AFB radar (KDFX), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:04 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The forman at the Rockhouse Ranch along FM 140 reported large tree branches down and a tree snapped in half.
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: 102082.