Dry, west winds of 20 MPH or greater were present west of a dryline aiding in minimum relative humidity values from 10 to 15 percent. A Red Flag Warning was in effect for the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 MAF wrote it up.
Dry, west winds of 20 MPH or greater were present west of a dryline aiding in minimum relative humidity values from 10 to 15 percent. A Red Flag Warning was in effect for the area.
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 Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 17, 11:55 PM CST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
1255 AM CDT WED MAY 18 2011
.DISCUSSION...
SEE 06Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW.
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT AREA TAF SITES THROUGH THE NEXT 24
HOURS. A SURFACE TROUGH/DRYLINE IS RETREATING WESTWARD ACROSS THE
PERMIAN BASIN AND TRANS PECOS REGION EARLY THIS MORNING. WINDS
WILL BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY EAST OF THIS BOUNDARY...WITH SOUTHWEST
TO WEST WINDS EXPECTED ELSEWHERE. THE DRYLINE WILL MOVE EASTWARD
LATER THIS MORNING WITH MOST SITES EXPECTED TO SEE A SOUTHWEST OR
WEST WIND BEFORE 18Z. GUSTY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THIS AFTERNOON
WITH BLOWING DUST LIKELY MAINLY AFTER 20Z. WE HAVE KEPT VSBYS
ABOVE THE MVFR THRESHOLD FOR NOW.
&&
.MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NM...RED FLAG WARNING FROM NOON TO 8 PM MDT WEDNESDAY FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES... GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NP/LINCOLN NF/LNZ...
SOUTHEAST PLAINS/BLM ROSWELL/LNZ.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES... GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY.
TX...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM
CDT /8 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...
ANDREWS...BORDEN...CRANE...DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA...
DAWSON...ECTOR...GAINES...GLASSCOCK...GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS...
HOWARD...LOVING...MARFA PLATEAU...MARTIN...MIDLAND...
MITCHELL...PECOS...REAGAN...REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS
PECOS...SCURRY...UPTON...VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR...
WARD...WINKLER.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES... GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS.
&&
06HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 1215 AM CDT WED MAY 18 2011 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-190515- GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY-GAINES- DAWSON-BORDEN-SCURRY-ANDREWS-MARTIN-HOWARD-MITCHELL- VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS- LOVING-WINKLER-ECTOR-MIDLAND-GLASSCOCK-WARD-CRANE-UPTON-REAGAN- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-MARFA PLATEAU- BIG BEND AREA-TERRELL-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS- 1215 AM CDT WED MAY 18 2011 /1115 PM MDT TUE MAY 17 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND WEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EXTREME EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN THIS EVENING...ALONG AND EAST OF A GAIL...BIG SPRING... RANKIN...DRYDEN LINE. ANY STORM THAT CAN DEVELOP WILL BE CAPABLE OF STRENGTHENING TO SEVERE LIMITS WITH STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL POSSIBLE. WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT IN THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL SPREAD EAST WEDNESDAY AND IMPACT SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND MUCH OF WEST TEXAS. A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED OR ALL OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND MOST OF WEST TEXAS WEDNESDAY. HIGH WINDS WILL CONTINUE IN THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE WESTERN LOW ROLLING PLAINS...EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN...AND LOWER TRANS PECOS. HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY ANY OF THE STRONGER STORMS THAT MANAGE TO DEVELOP. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES... AND STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MIDLAND CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT /LOWER CASE/ HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/MIDLAND
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
This fire, known as the Price Fire, burned 3,373 acres in Glasscock County. Fifty pump jacks, twelve or more tank batteries, and one home were threatened and saved. Miles of polypipe and utility poles were burned.
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, May 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: 299363.