Numerous thunderstorms developed across north Texas in a weak shear zone between two upper level lows. Due to the slow moving nature of these storms, some flash flooding was observed in Rockdale.
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 FWD wrote it up.
Numerous thunderstorms developed across north Texas in a weak shear zone between two upper level lows. Due to the slow moving nature of these storms, some flash flooding was observed in Rockdale.
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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 24, 10:09 AM CST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1109 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009 .UPDATE... NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK SURFACE LOW SHOULD CONTINUE OVER THE SOUTHWEST ZONES THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTH TEXAS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AS TEMPERATURES WARM INTO THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. FOR THIS UPDATE WILL BUMP POPS UP IN THE SOUTHWEST AND MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. ONLY OTHER CHANGES WILL BE TO ADJUST HOURLY TEMPS/DEW POINTS BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS. 79 && .AVIATION... A TROPICAL-LIKE AIRMASS REMAINS IN PLACE THIS MORNING AND EXPECT CEILINGS TO LOWER INTO MVFR CATEGORY BY 14Z AT THE METROPLEX SITES. KACT WILL REMAIN IN MVFR FOR MOST OF THE MORNING HOURS. CLOUDS MAY BEGIN TO LIFT BETWEEN 15-16Z BUT SHOULD BE VFR BY 17Z. NORTH TEXAS IS CURRENTLY WEDGED BETWEEN TWO UPPER LEVEL SYSTEMS...ONE MOVING INTO SOUTHERN ARKANSAS AND THE OTHER OVER CENTRAL TEXAS. WITH PLENTIFUL MOISTURE STILL IN PLACE AND WEAKNESS ALOFT...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS CONVECTION WILL REDEVELOP AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL AGAIN BE HIT-OR-MISS AND WILL CARRY VCTS THROUGH 25/02Z BUT ISOLATED CONVECTION MAY AFFECT ANY OF THE AREA AIRPORTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LAST ISSUE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR MVFR CIGS AGAIN MONDAY MORNING BUT WILL NOT INCLUDE AT THIS TIME. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT FROM THE NORTH...BECOMING WESTERLY MONDAY MORNING. 82/JLD && .PREV UPDATE... .UPDATE... HAVE TWEAKED UP POPS IN MORNING HOURS ACROSS S/SW COUNTIES FROM COLORADO TO BRAZOS RIVER VALLEY...INCLUDING WACO/TEMPLE/KILLEEN AREAS WITH SHORTWAVE SEEN EMBEDDED IN WEAK MID LVL FLOW BETWEEN SAN ANGELO AND JUNCTION. MID LVL DEFORMATION/LIFT ZONE SEEN ACROSS THIS REGION BETWEEN THIS DISTURBANCE AND LOW DRIFTING NWWD INTO SE AR/NE LA. INCREASING/SCATTERED CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY NOTED PAST HR OR SO WITHIN DEFORMATION ZONE. OTHERWISE...FCST ON TRACK. 05/ && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 216 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009/ NORTH TX REMAINS SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO MID LVL LOWS...ONE OVER FOUR-CORNERS REGION OF ROCKIES AND OUR SUB-TROPICAL SYSTEM CURRENTLY MOVING NW ACROSS THE LOWER MS VALLEY AND INTO SE ARKANSAS. MEANWHILE TROPICAL-LIKE MOISTURE WITH PWAT VALUES >1.5 INCHES REMAINS ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE REGION. WITHOUT ANY LARGE-SCALE/MESOSCALE SFC FOCUS LIKE A FRONT AROUND...WILL GO BELOW MOS POPS MORE IN THE CHANCE CATEGORY OVER LIKELY AS ACTIVITY WILL BE HIT N MISS ONCE AGAIN...MAINLY AFTERNOON/EVENING HOURS. MEMORIAL DAY LOOKS WARMER AND RELATIVELY DRIER WITH BEST CHANCES ACROSS RED RIVER VALLEY... WHILE AFTERNOON/EVENING ISOLATED CONVECTION WILL BE POSSIBLE ELSEWHERE. AGAIN...HARD-TO-DEFINE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WILL LIKELY BE INITIATION POINTS ONCE AFTERNOON HEATING BEGINS MAXIMIZING DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. AS WE HEAD INTO MID WEEK...BOTH MID LVL DISTURBANCES GET ABSORBED INTO STRONGER WESTERLIES ACROSS CENTRAL/NRN PLAINS WITH FLAT RIDGING ALOFT ACROSS TX. A WEAK FRONT ARRIVES WED/WED NIGHT AND MAY BE A BETTER FOCUS FOR SCATTERED SHOWER/STORMS DURING THIS PERIOD. BY THURSDAY ...FRONT WASHES OUT OVER CENTRAL TX AND WILL LINGER CONVECTIVE CHANCES S OF I-20...PARTICULARLY THE CENTRAL/LOWER BRAZOS VALLEY. A DRY AND SEASONABLY WARM END OF THE WEEK INTO NEXT WEEKEND IS IN STORE...AS RIDGING ALOFT INTENSIFIES AND CAPS A GRADUALLY DRYING ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN...MORE TYPICAL OF THE START OF SUMMER. THOUGH AN ISOLATED AFTERNOON/EVENING STORM COULD OCCUR THIS PERIOD...RIDGE ALOFT AND LACK OF LIFTING MECHANISMS HAS US OPTING FOR A DRY FORECAST FOR NOW. 05/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 85 68 88 70 90 / 50 30 20 10 20 WACO, TX 83 65 90 69 93 / 50 30 20 10 20 PARIS, TX 80 66 84 66 85 / 40 40 50 30 30 DENTON, TX 82 63 89 67 89 / 50 30 20 20 20 MCKINNEY, TX 81 64 87 66 89 / 40 30 30 20 20 DALLAS, TX 84 69 89 72 91 / 40 30 20 10 20 TERRELL, TX 82 66 88 69 89 / 40 30 30 10 20 CORSICANA, TX 81 66 87 69 90 / 50 30 20 10 20 TEMPLE, TX 80 65 91 69 92 / 60 30 20 5 20 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 91/79
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 258 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-251200- MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN- HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS- ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL- JOHNSON-ELLIS-HENDERSON-COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-NAVARRO- FREESTONE-ANDERSON-LAMPASAS-CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-LIMESTONE- LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON- 258 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AGAIN TODAY WITH THE HIGHEST AREAL COVERAGE OCCURRING IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. HEAVY RAINFALL AND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS WITH THESE STORMS BUT LOCALIZED NUISANCE FLOODING MAY OCCUR WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH TEXAS DURING THE UPCOMING WEEK. MOST OF THE ACTIVITY WILL OCCUR DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM WILL BE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 82/JLD
The Ft Hood radar (KGRK), 34 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:59 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Rockdale PD reported that several streets in the city had to be closed due to water covering the streets.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 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: 169219.