An active round of severe thunderstorm occurred over the west Texas South Plains during the afternoon and evening hours of the 13th. Several storms evolved into supercells, and produced very large hail, destructive winds, and weak tornadoes.
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.
An active round of severe thunderstorm occurred over the west Texas South Plains during the afternoon and evening hours of the 13th. Several storms evolved into supercells, and produced very large hail, destructive winds, and weak tornadoes.
Thunderstorms initiated around 14:00 CST over the central South Plains, and quickly became severe with large hail initially reported in Lubbock (Lubbock County). More intense and organized supercell storms formed over the Rolling Plains by the mid to late afternoon hours, however, and moved southeastward. One particularly organized and long-lived high precipitation supercell impacted the Aspermont vicinity of Stonewall County, where it produced a swath of damaging winds and at least one tornado. A 100 mph wind gust and a corresponding 32 millibar pressure drop was measured when the tornado struck the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site northeast of Aspermont. Although no injuries were reportedly related to the tornado, severe gusts north of Aspermont overturned a tractor trailer truck injuring the driver.
Additional supercells impacted portions of Briscoe and Hale Counties, and very large wind-blown hail caused damages in both counties. Two tornadoes were observed by storm chasers in the Silverton and Quitaque vicinity of southern Briscoe County.
Total economic damages were estimated near $650,000 across the South Plains region.
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 Jun 13, 1:21 PM CST, 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 221 PM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009 .SHORT TERM... STILL FOCUSED ON SEVERE STORM CHANCES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WTM SOUNDING /PERSONAL COMMUNICATION/ AND LATEST SPC MESOANALYSIS PAGE SHOW CIN HAS GREATLY WEAKENED AND THIS IS REFLECTED IN CU BUBBLING UP TO THE EAST OF LUBBOCK. SURFACE FRONT CONTINUES TO PIVOT AND SHIFT WESTWARD AROUND 10 KTS AND WAS LOCATED ROUGHLY FROM A KRESS TO FLOYDADA TO LAKE ALAN HENRY LINE. GIVEN THE VERY STRONG INSTABILITY IN PLACE /ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE BOUNDARY/ AND CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES BEING APPROACHED...STILL EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO ERUPT LATER THIS AFTERNOON. ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE WITH VERY LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. THE BEST TORNADO THREAT WILL LIKELY BE NEAR AND TO THE MOIST SIDE OF THE FRONT WHERE INSTABILITY AND LOW-LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE MAXIMIZED AND LCLS AND LFCS MINIMIZED. ACROSS THE WESTERN ZONES...LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE HAS BEGUN TO MIX OUT...THOUGH DEWPOINTS IN THE 50S WERE STILL PERSISTING THROUGH THE CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS...AND WITH TEMPERATURES CLIMBING THROUGH THE MID/UPPER 90S...COULD ALSO SEE HIGH-BASED STORMS DEVELOP HERE. STORMS COULD ORGANIZE INTO A COMPLEX AS THEY MOVE EASTWARD TONIGHT INTO A STRENGTHENING SOUTHERLY LLJ. STILL...CAN NOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT AN OVERNIGHT STORM ACROSS THE SOUTH PLAINS AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE SLIDES BY TO THE NORTHWEST. STORM CHANCES WILL REINVIGORATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS THE DRYLINE TIGHTENS AND ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. PROGGED INSTABILITY AND SHEAR WILL AGAIN SUPPORT A SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. LOWS TONIGHT WILL BE MILD...WITH ANOTHER TOASTY DAY EXPECT SUNDAY. && .LONG TERM... STILL APPEARS THAT SUNDAY AND MONDAY ARE POTENTIAL DRYLINE CONVECTION DAYS WHILE TUESDAY AND BEYOND WILL FEEL THE EFFECTS OF AN INCREASING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. HOT TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE FCST PERIOD WITH HIGHS IN THE 90S TO 100-105 RANGE. SUNDAY NIGHT CONVECTION APPEARS MORE LIKELY A LITTLE FURTHER EAST THAN CURRENT FCST AND HAVE ADJUSTED GRIDS TO SHOW THIS. MONDAY POPS LOOK FINE AND HAVE LEFT UNCHANGED AND HAVE DROPPED INHERITED SLIGHT CHC POPS DOWN INTO UNMENTIONABLE RANGE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 62 86 60 94 62 / 20 30 20 20 20 TULIA 64 90 66 94 64 / 30 30 30 20 20 PLAINVIEW 65 90 67 96 65 / 30 30 30 20 20 LEVELLAND 67 93 65 97 66 / 20 30 30 20 20 LUBBOCK 67 93 68 97 68 / 30 30 30 20 20 DENVER CITY 69 96 65 98 67 / 20 30 30 20 20 BROWNFIELD 69 95 68 98 67 / 20 30 30 20 20 CHILDRESS 70 93 70 97 70 / 50 30 30 20 20 SPUR 69 96 71 98 70 / 40 30 30 20 20 ASPERMONT 73 100 74 101 73 / 50 20 30 20 20 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 23/07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1132 AM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009 TXZ021>044-141645- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1132 AM CDT SAT JUN 13 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT CONVECTIVE THERE IS A SLIGHT TO MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY ACROSS THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...NORTHEAST SOUTH PLAINS AND SOUTHERN ROLLING PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. A DRYLINE WILL DEVELOP SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY ACROSS THE CENTRAL SOUTH PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. AMPLE MOISTURE AND VERY WARM AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN A HIGHLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS WEST TEXAS. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY LATE AFTERNOON NEAR THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WITH MORE ISOLATED STORMS EXPECTED ALONG THE DRYLINE. THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME MORE NUMEROUS THIS EVENING...WHEN THE FRONT MAY BE DRIVEN SOUTHWEST DUE TO THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOW WINDS. DUE TO A HIGHLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND INCREASING WIND SHEAR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. THESE SEVERE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS UP TO 80 MPH. A FEW TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...PARTICULARLY ALONG AND NORTHEAST OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST PANHANDLE...NORTHEAST SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE OVER MUCH OF THE REGION SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH MORE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY POSSIBLE MONDAY AND TUESDAY. A FEW STORMS DURING THIS PERIOD WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. JW
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 17 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:21 UTC.
11 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
The broadcast media and trained storm spotters reported penny to quarter size hail in west Lubbock.
The Matador Fire Department reported golfball size hail in Roaring Springs. No damage was reported.
Numerous reports of large hail were received from the Quitaque and Caprock Canyons State Park areas of Briscoe County shortly after 15:00 CST. Initial reports indicated that golfball size hail, and occasionally larger hail stones, combined with damaging thunderstorm winds to knock out many windows in Quitaque. Combined damages from wind and hail were estimated to approach $200,000. No injuries were reported.
The public and local fire department officials reported that predominately golfball size hail was mixed with intermittent hail stones as large as softballs in Quitaque. The hail reportedly combined with damaging thunderstorm winds to knock out many windows in Quitaque. Combined damages from wind and hail were estimated to approach $200,000. No injuries were reported.
Numerous reports of wind-blown hail were received from the Quitaque vicinity. Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated near 60 mph blew golfball to softball size hail through many windows in the town. Combined damages from wind and hail were estimated to approach $200,000. No injuries were reported.
The broadcast media relayed reports of tennis ball size hail in Caprock Canyons State Park. No damage was reported.
A National Weather Service cooperative observer reported quarter size hail along U.S. Highway 82 west of Guthrie.
The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site southwest of Guthrie recorded a thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph. No damage was reported.
Multiple reports of large hail were received from near Tulia to Vigo Park. Reports indicated that quarter to golfball size hail damaged several vehicles in Tulia between 16:10 CST and 16:25 CST. By 16:37 CST penny size hail was reported in Vigo Park.
The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site near Jayton initially recorded a thunderstorm wind gust of 64 mph at 16:50 CST. By 17:15 CST, a 58 mph gust was additionally recorded by the same mesonet site. Local law enforcement officials reported that several utility lines and poles were blown down in the Jayton vicinity. Authorities reported that a number of residents were without power throughout much of the night.
A massive high precipitation supercell storm tracked southeastward over Stonewall County during the 17:00 CST hour on the 13th. The storm produced a large swath of damaging winds as it impacted areas near Aspermont. A Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site northeast of the city sustained a direct hit from a weak tornado which was embedded within the parent mesocyclone.
Skywarn storm spotters and storm chasers initially reported thunderstorm winds estimated between 70 mph and 80 mph along U.S. Highway 83 north of Aspermont at 17:22 CST. At approximately the same time, the onset of severe 60 mph gusts occurred at the Aspermont mesonet station. Severe gusts persisted for thirty minutes at the mesonet site, and local law enforcement officials reported that a tractor-trailer was blown over near the intersection of U.S. Highways 83 and 380 northeast of Aspermont at 17:34 CST. The driver of the truck was treated for minor injuries and released. The passage of a tornado at the site was well-corroborated by detailed pressure analyses, storm chaser accounts, and post-storm surveys at 17:30 CST. Although the highest wind speeds measured by the mesonet station during the event were tornadic in nature, a peak non-tornadic wind gust of 76 mph was recorded at 17:45 CST, ten minutes after the tornado had passed.
A post-storm survey by Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet meteorologists revealed that utility poles were snapped along a three mile swath northeast of Aspermont. Minor damages to light weight structures and trailers was additionally common, along with wind damage to native mesquite trees and one center irrigation pivot system was destroyed. The most significant structural damage occurred three miles east of Aspermont just south of U.S. Highway 380, where a the roof was blown off of a well-constructed farm house and a large horse bard was substantially damaged. This damage was deemed to have most likely resulted from outflow winds given that all debris from the structures was blown downwind toward the southeast.
A tornado tracked southeast through rural areas near Aspermont between 17:25 CST and 17:35 CST. This tornado was obscured by precipitation and blowing dust within a massive high precipitation supercell. Although storm chasers observed suspicious storm features and small debris fallout that led them to believe a tornado was lurking within the bear's cage, visual observations of the tornado were virtually non-existent. The tornado, however, struck a Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site three miles northeast of Aspermont at 17:30 CST. Both meteorological data from the mesonet and a post-storm survey confirmed the occurrence of this tornado.
The tornado developed near the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 3431 and 1263 two and a half miles north of Aspermont. Texas Department of Transportation signs were blown in multiple directions near the intersection, and a 200 yard path in broken utility poles displayed distinctly different fall patterns than the many additional downed poles along the broader swath of ambient thunderstorm winds.
Two homes along Farm to Market Road 3431 were damaged east of the intersection. The most significant damage included a partially removed roof and the destruction of two barns. Multiple stock trailers were rolled, with one apparently displaced some distance and unaccounted for. A resident witnessed the event and described strong northwesterly winds, then a period of relatively light winds. During the calm, three white funnels were seen approaching the property; followed by the onset of a loud roar and an intense wind that caused the structure's roof to lift.
The damage path remained visible in native mesquite tree damage and damage to fences and utilities southeastward to the mesonet site located three miles northeast of Aspermont. At 17:30 CST the automated station recorded a peak gust of 100 mph and a corresponding brief surface pressure drop of 32 millibars. A guy wire to the station was broken, but significant operational damage did not occur.
The end of the tornado's path was difficult to discern, but it is believed the tornado dissipated before it reached U.S. Highway 380 east of Aspermont. Although evidence of additional tornadoes was not found in Stonewall County, the supercell cycled again and produced a significant tornado in adjacent parts of Haskell County.
Tornado related damages are estimated at $100,000, with approximately $350,000 in total losses attributed to both wind and tornado activity in the Aspermont vicinity on the 13th. No injuries were reported.
A second severe storm impacted the Tulia area around 17:30 CST. Penny size hail was reported just northeast of the city by an off-duty National Weather Service meteorologist.
Local law enforcement officials and storm spotters reported golfball size hail in Silverton. Deputies observed a brief tornado southwest of the city near the onset of the hail fall. No significant damages were reported.
Multiple storm chasers, including off-duty National Weather Service meteorologists, and local law enforcement officials reported witnessing a brief tornado southwest of Silverton shortly after 17:30 CST. The tornado reportedly appeared as a narrow rope condensation funnel which extended more than half way to the surface with a brief dust whirl noted at the ground. The tornado remained in open country and no damage was reported.
The National Severe Storms Laboratory SHAVE Project reported quarter size hail, occasionally larger, in the Seth Ward vicinity between 17:45 and 18:15. The hail was preceded by damaging thunderstorm winds immediately southwest of Seth Ward.
Thunderstorm winds blew siding off of a barn just southwest of Seth Ward at 17:40 CST. By 17:45 CST, large hail began to fall at the damage site.
Two inch diameter hail was reported by the The National Severe Storms Laboratory SHAVE Project east of Seth Ward. These very large hail stones briefly mixed with smaller quarter size hail. No significant damage was reported as a result of the hail.
The previously tornadic supercell near Silverton continued to move east and produced a second tornado southeast of the city shortly before 18:00 CST. Storm chasers witnessed the rope-shaped tornado for approximately one minute as it emerged from precipitation. The tornado occurred in open country and no damage was reported.
The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site east of Silverton recorded a peak thunderstorm gust of 65 mph at 18:05 CST. No damage was reported.
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, June 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: 170614, 170615, 170640, 170641, 170645, 170643, 170646, 170647, 170648, 170649, 170786, 170830, 170688, 170691, 170693, 170698, 170702, 170699, 170706, 170697.