Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of the 21st along a pre-existing low level boundary over the western and southern South Plains of west Texas. One of the initial storms produced quarter size hail near Wilson (Lynn County).
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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.
Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of the 21st along a pre-existing low level boundary over the western and southern South Plains of west Texas. One of the initial storms produced quarter size hail near Wilson (Lynn County). Outflow from this storm interacted with the pre-existing boundary and newly developing convection to result in a well-documented non-mesocyclonic tornado near New Home (Lynn County). The most significant impact from the event, however, occurred in northeastern Cochran County during the early evening hours when a pair of thunderstorms produced a swath of large hail that caused major damage to 15,000 acres of cotton crops. Agricultural losses were estimated at $3 million.
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 Jul 21, 2:55 PM CST, 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 355 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 .SHORT TERM... AT 3 PM...THE COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN PERMIAN BASIN HOWEVER A SECONDARY WIND SHIFT BOUNDARY WAS PRESENT ACROSS THE FA ROUGHLY FROM MORTON TO ASPERMONT...WHICH COINCIDED WITH A LINE OF CU. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON/EVENING...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SOME TSTM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THIS BOUNDARY AS IT PROBABLY MOVES SLIGHTLY SOUTHWESTWARD. TEMPERATURES...WHICH WERE SLOW TO RISE TODAY DUE TO THE FRONT/CLOUDINESS...HAVE FINALLY REACHED UP INTO THE LOWER 90S WHICH SHOULD ABOUT ELIMINATE THE CAP...BUT WEAK SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE EXITING SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS ARKANSAS/CENTRAL-EAST TEXAS MAY TEND TO LIMIT DEVELOPMENT. INSTABILITY APPEARS TO BE SUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE A FEW LOCALLY STRONG STORMS IN OUR SW ZONES IF THE WEAK CONVERGENCE ALONG THE BOUNDARY PROVES SUFFICIENT FOR INITIATION...BUT WEAK SHEAR SHOULD KEEP THE SVR THREAT LOW. ATTENTION WILL THEN TURN TO DEVELOPING CONVECTION IN SRN CO/NRN NEW MEXICO ASSOCIATED WITH A SHORTWAVE ROUNDING THE 4-CORNERS AREA. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE TIMING OF THIS WAVE ALONG WITH EASTERLY FLOW BELOW 700MB WILL KEEP BEST TSTM CHANCES MAINLY TO THE WEST BEFORE MIDNIGHT...HENCE HAVE REDUCED POPS IN THIS TIME FRAME STILL KEEPING THE BEST CHANCES ACROSS THE FAR SW PANHANDLE. OVERNIGHT THROUGH WED MORNING...MOST GUIDANCE POINTS TOWARDS THE BEST CHANCES OF RAIN/TSTMS TO REMAIN OUT NEAR THE TX/NM STATE LINE...WITH SUBSTANTIAL UNCERTAINTY HOW FAR EAST THE ACTIVITY WILL EXTEND. A LOT WILL DEPEND UPON THE PATH/DEGREE OF LIFT WITH THE SHORTWAVE...AS THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE MUCH IN THE WAY OF LOW-LVL WAA/DESTABILIZATION WITH 800-850MB HEIGHT RIDGE OVER THE AREA. THE FORECAST FOR WED AFTN...INCLUDING HIGH TEMPS...WILL DEPEND GREATLY ON HOW MUCH ACTIVITY OCCURS DURING THE MORNING HOURS. IN GENERAL...WE ANTICIPATE MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES FOR MUCH OF THE MORNING...FOLLOWED BY A GRADUAL CLEARING TREND FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. THE WIND SHOULD REMAIN GENERALLY FROM THE EAST...RESULTING IN CONTINUED UPSLOPE FLOW AND A CHANCE OF STORMS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE WESTERN COUNTIES. HIGH TEMPS COULD RANGE FROM THE MIDDLE 70S OUT WEST TO NEAR 90 IN THE EAST...DEPENDING OF COURSE ON THE ACTUAL CLOUD COVER. && .LONG TERM... WILL KEEP HIGHER POPS ACROSS THE WEST AND SOUTH INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT TAPERING TO SLIGHT CHANCE THURSDAY. SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND DIFLUENT MID LEVEL FLOW WILL INTERACT WITH UPSLOPE WINDS AND INSTABILITY TO PRODUCE CONVECTION ALONG AND NORTH OF FRONT ACROSS WEST TEXAS. COULD HAVE ONGOING MCS INTO THURSDAY MORNING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SOUTH PLAINS. ECMWF AND GFS VERY SIMILAR WITH FORECAST PRECIPITATION WITH NAM A LITTLE DRIER BUT EVEN THAT MODEL HINTS AT CONVECTION NORTH OF BOUNDARY. DRIER AND WARMER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TOWARD FRIDAY WITH A RAPID WARMUP AS UPPER HIGH EXPANDS EASTWARD...AND N/NE FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS ACROSS WEST TEXAS. MAX TEMPS BACK INTO THE MID TO UPPER 90S INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH A FEW TRIPLE DIGIT READINGS POSSIBLE OFF THE CAPROCK FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. ANOTHER FRONT MAY PUSH SOUTH INTO THE AREA LATE SATURDAY OR SUNDAY AS HEIGHTS FALL ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS AS TROUGH DEEPENS SOUTH OF IMPRESSIVE UPPER LOW ACROSS SOUTHERN ONTARIO. SUNDAY COULD BE A FEW DEGREES COOLER WITH FRONT AND CLOUD COVER. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 62 81 60 90 66 / 50 50 30 20 20 TULIA 64 80 60 89 64 / 40 40 30 20 20 PLAINVIEW 63 80 62 88 66 / 40 40 30 20 20 LEVELLAND 63 81 63 88 67 / 50 50 40 20 20 LUBBOCK 66 81 66 89 68 / 40 50 40 20 10 DENVER CITY 65 82 64 88 66 / 50 50 50 20 20 BROWNFIELD 64 81 64 88 66 / 40 50 50 20 10 CHILDRESS 69 86 67 92 68 / 20 30 20 10 10 SPUR 64 84 67 90 69 / 30 40 40 20 10 ASPERMONT 69 87 69 90 69 / 20 40 40 20 10 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 33/06
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 442 AM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 TXZ021>044-220945- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 442 AM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT CONVECTIVE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AS A COLD FRONT PUSHES SOUTHWARD OVER THE REGION. A RELATIVELY LOW POSSIBILITY OF HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THIS ACTIVITY. A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE NEW MEXICO MOUNTAINS...AND WILL OVERSPREAD THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS DURING THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. THESE STORMS WILL ADDITIONALLY HAVE SOME POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER...AND HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ON WEDNESDAY...A STORM COMPLEX IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... GIVEN THE LIMITED NATURE OF SEVERE WEATHER THREATS TODAY AND TONIGHT...STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 351 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 TXZ034-212115- HOCKLEY TX- 351 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACROSS WESTERN HOCKLEY COUNTY... AT 350 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF LEVELLAND...MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH. THIS STORM WILL LIKELY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS TO 445 MPH. STORM INTENSITY IS INCREASING AND SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. LAT...LON 3339 10259 3372 10260 3371 10241 3354 10228 TIME...MOT...LOC 2050Z 087DEG 9KT 3364 10243
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 354 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 TXZ041-212130- LYNN TX- 354 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACROSS LYNN COUNTY... AT 353 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES NORTH OF TAHOKA...MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH. HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STORM INTENSITY IS INCREASING AND SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. LAT...LON 3301 10192 3339 10206 3338 10174 3323 10161 TIME...MOT...LOC 2054Z 072DEG 8KT 3331 10176
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:09 UTC.
2 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
The public reported quarter size hail along Farm to Market Road 211 west of Slide around 16:00 CST.
Local law enforcement officials and the public observed a non-mesocyclonic tornado which persisted for two minutes in open fields northwest of New Home. The tornado developed as thunderstorm outflow interacted with new convective development along a pre-existing northwest to southeast oriented low level boundary. The tornado was photographed by a number of observers. Preliminary reports placed the tornado near Slide in southern Lubbock County, however, a detailed report from a resident revealed that the tornado actually occurred four miles west of the intersection of Farm to Market Road 1730 and Lynn County Road 121. The tornado resulted in no damages.
A pair of slow moving and short-lived thunderstorms resulted in significant damage to cotton crops in northeastern Cochran County during the 17:00 CST hour of the 21st. Local newspaper reports and agricultural officials indicate that up to 15,000 acres of cotton were damaged or destroyed. Although reports did not specify hail size, estimates indicated here are based on damage and radar depictions of well-defined reflectivity three-body scatter artifacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2009Warnings in Texas, July 2009
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: 186572, 186593, 186603.