Name: High Wind in Texas, April 2, 2012
Start: 2012-04-02T09:51
End: 2012-04-02T15:51
Location: Texas

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.

Strong mid level winds associated with the approach of a strong upper trough resulted in high winds in the Guadalupe Mountains.

What forecasters said that day

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 Apr 2, 2:54 AM MST, 6 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 2:54 AM MST, 6 hours 57 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
454 AM CDT MON APR 2 2012

.DISCUSSION...

SEE AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW.

&&

.AVIATION...

MAIN CONCERNS THIS FCST WILL BE BLDU...AS AN UPPER TROUGH OVER
AZ/UT APPROACHES SE NM/WEST TEXAS. WINDS SHOULD BEGIN INCREASING
OUT OF THE WEST BY LATE MORNING AND...W/DRY SOILS...EXPECT BLDU TO
BEGIN AFFECTING ALL TERMINALS BY LATE AFTERNOON. FOR NOW...WE/LL
KEEP VSBYS TO MVFR...AND UPDATE AS NECESSARY.

&&

.MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NM...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM MDT THIS
     EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS
     NP/LINCOLN NF/LNZ...SOUTHEAST PLAINS/BLM ROSWELL/LNZ.

     HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
     ZONES... GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY.

     WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING
     FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... CENTRAL LEA COUNTY...EDDY COUNTY
     PLAINS...NORTHERN LEA COUNTY...SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY.

TX...RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM CDT /10 AM MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 7 PM
     CDT /6 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 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING
     ZONES... GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS.

     WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING
     FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... ANDREWS...DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS
     AREA...DAWSON...GAINES...LOVING...MARFA PLATEAU...REEVES
     COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS...VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54
     CORRIDOR...WARD...WINKLER.

&&

44

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 2, 12:26 AM MST, 9 hours 25 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
226 AM CDT MON APR 2 2012

NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075-
079>082-258-030730-
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-
226 AM CDT MON APR 2 2012 /126 AM MDT MON APR 2 2012/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW
MEXICO...SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND WEST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

VERY DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA.  A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN
EFFECT.

HIGH WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS.  WEST
WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 70 MPH ARE ANTICIPATED.  A HIGH
WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND MUCH OF WEST TEXAS.  A WIND ADVISORY
IS IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

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

44

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County

When: April 2, 9:51 AM MST to 3:51 PM MST
Where: Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS

High Wind, Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County

When: April 2, 10:00 AM MST to 2:00 PM MST
Where: Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS

High Wind, Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County

When: April 2, 11:00 AM MST to 2:00 PM MST
Where: Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS

High Wind, Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County

When: April 2, 1:04 PM MST to 3:10 PM MST
Where: Guadalupe Mountains of Culberson County forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, April 2012

Sources

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: 370584, 370581, 370582, 370587.