As a cold front stalled across West Central Texas, isolated showers and thunderstorms developed along the boundary. An unstable atmosphere resulted in a few of these storms becoming strong to severe.
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 SJT wrote it up.
As a cold front stalled across West Central Texas, isolated showers and thunderstorms developed along the boundary. An unstable atmosphere resulted in a few of these storms becoming strong to severe. Hail was the main hazard.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 18, 5:45 PM CST, 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 645 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 .DISCUSSION... SEE AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW... && .AVIATION... ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED JUST NORTH OF A COLD FRONT THAT STRETCHED FROM STERLING CITY...TO BLACKWELL...TO BRADSHAW. INCLUDED A CB MENTION AT ABILENE...BUT WILL HAVE TO MONITOR THE THUNDERSTORMS AS THEY MOVE NORTHEAST TOWARD TAYLOR COUNTY. ANY THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD REMAIN NORTH OF THE OTHER TAF SITES THIS EVENING. LOW CLOUD DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED AT ALL TAF SITES BETWEEN 06Z AND 09Z...WITH CEILINGS BEING REDUCED TO MVFR CATEGORY. STRATUS SHOULD BEGIN TO DISSIPATE BY 15Z WITH SOUTH WINDS INCREASING TO 12 TO 18 KNOTS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 235 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011/ SHORT TERM... A WEAK SURFACE FRONT CURRENTLY IS PUSHING INTO OUR NORTHERN BIG COUNTRY. SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...SURFACE WINDS ARE SOUTHERLY IN THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE. ELSEWHERE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...WINDS ARE SOUTHERLY AROUND 10 MPH. LATEST MODEL DATA BRING THE FRONT SLIGHTLY FARTHER SOUTH THAN THE LAST FEW RUNS. EXACTLY WHERE THIS BOUNDARY WILL STALL REMAINS UNCERTAIN. SO...I DECIDED TO CONTINUE SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS FOR THE 00Z TO 06Z PERIOD TONIGHT UNCHANGED FROM OUR LAST FORECAST PACKAGE. IF ANY THUNDERSTORMS DO DEVELOP THIS EVENING...A FEW MAY BECOME STRONG. HOWEVER...I DO NOT ANTICIPATE ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. AS FOR OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT...NUMBERS JUST ABOVE MEX MOS GUIDANCE LOOK GOOD BASED ON PAST MEX MOS PERFORMANCE WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS. FOR TOMORROW...MODELS INDICATE THE SURFACE FRONT WILL RETREAT NORTH OF OUR COUNTIES DURING THE AFTERNOON. SURFACE WINDS MAINLY FROM THE SOUTH AND STRONGER THAN TODAY WILL HASTEN THIS RETREAT. WITH CLOUDS CLEARING TOMORROW AFTERNOON...HIGHS CLOSE TO MEX MOS GUIDANCE LOOK ON TRACK. HUBER LONG TERM... NO CHANGES SUNDAY INTO NEXT WEEK...WITH DRY FORECAST CONTINUING. SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT BECOMES WESTERLY MIDWEEK...WITH UPPER SYSTEMS STAYING WELL NORTH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. WEAK SURFACE TROUGH WEDNESDAY...AND WEAK COLD FRONT WEDNESDAY NIGHT TEMPORARILY BRINGS IN DRIER SURFACE AIR. SURFACE TROUGH AND FRONT HAS BECOME WEAKER IN LATER RUNS. SOUTHERLY RETURN OF GULF MOISTURE RESUMES THURSDAY. 04 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 55 81 57 81 59 / 20 10 10 10 10 SAN ANGELO 58 83 60 84 60 / 10 10 0 10 10 JUNCTION 59 79 61 80 61 / 10 10 0 10 0 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DANIELS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 314 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-192015- FISHER-NOLAN-STERLING-COKE-RUNNELS-IRION-TOM GREEN-CONCHO- CROCKETT-SCHLEICHER-SUTTON-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD- TAYLOR-CALLAHAN-COLEMAN-BROWN-MCCULLOCH-SAN SABA-MENARD-KIMBLE- MASON- 314 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING...MAINLY ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN CONCHO VALLEY. IF THUNDERSTORMS DO DEVELOP...A FEW MAY BE STRONG. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DEADLY LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS WHICH COULD BRIEFLY CAUSE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. HUBER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 603 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 TXZ054-065-190000- NOLAN TX-COKE TX- 603 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR NOLAN AND COKE COUNTIES... AT 601 PM CDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS INDICATED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHAMPION TO 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MARYNEAL...OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF COLORADO CITY TO 13 MILES WEST OF BLACKWELL...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. * STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR... CHAMPION BY 615 PM CDT THE INTERSECTION OF RANCH ROAD 608 AND HIGHWAY 147 AND MARYNEAL BY 640 PM CDT BLACKWELL BY 650 PM CDT DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS... ESPECIALLY THOSE IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR THE SITUATION CLOSELY AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE THE PROPER ACTIONS SHOULD A WARNING BE ISSUED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 736 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 TXZ066-127-190100- TAYLOR TX-RUNNELS TX- 736 PM CDT FRI MAR 18 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR TAYLOR AND RUNNELS COUNTIES... AT 730 PM CDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS INDICATED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF HAPPY VALLEY TO 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF NORTON....MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. * STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR... NORTON AND WILMETH BY 745 PM CDT WINGATE AND HAPPY VALLEY BY 750 PM CDT PUMPHREY...DRASCO...HATCHEL AND WINTERS BY 800 PM CDT DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS... ESPECIALLY THOSE IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR THE SITUATION CLOSELY AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE THE PROPER ACTIONS SHOULD A WARNING BE ISSUED.
The San Angelo radar (KSJT), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:39 UTC.
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Large hail lasted for approximately five minutes followed by a downpour of smaller hail.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2011
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: 291437, 291438.