Isolated, very high-based showers and thunderstorms moved southeast out of eastern New Mexico this evening and tracked into the far northwest South Plains. Due to very dry sub-cloud conditions and storm bases estimated near 10,000 feet above ground level, the development of strong evaporative cooling led to several instances of downburst winds and blowing dust within the path of one of these…
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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.
Isolated, very high-based showers and thunderstorms moved southeast out of eastern New Mexico this evening and tracked into the far northwest South Plains. Due to very dry sub-cloud conditions and storm bases estimated near 10,000 feet above ground level, the development of strong evaporative cooling led to several instances of downburst winds and blowing dust within the path of one of these storms as it roughly paralleled Highway 84 between Muleshoe and Spade. These winds caused damage to three power poles in southeast Lamb County.
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 Apr 24, 5:28 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 628 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012 .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THE NEXT 24 HOURS. JORDAN && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 328 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012/ SHORT TERM... UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE AXIS EDGING SLOWLY EAST BUT SHOULD REMAIN JUST WEST OF THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. MID LEVEL MOISTURE PLUME FROM H500-H600 MB ON THE EAST SIDE OF RIDGE HELPING GENERATE A FEW HIGH BASED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN WITHIN A SURFACE TROUGH FROM THE EXTREME NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST TOWARDS RUIDOSO NEW MEXICO. LIMITED CAPE AND MOISTURE BUT THESE STORMS APPEAR AT LEAST WILL MAKE A BIT OF A RUN TOWARDS OUR NORTHWESTERN ZONES THIS EVENING...MIXED SIGNALS WHETHER THEY WILL SURVIVE LATER THAN THAT ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL TO NORTHEAST ZONES LATER IN THE EVENING AND WILL LEAVE MENTION OUT FOR THAT. OTHERWISE WE HAVE ADDED MENTION FOR ISOLATED HIGH BASED...GUSTY WIND...DRY VARIETY THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE NORTHWEST THIS EVENING. SURFACE TROUGH SHOULD DEEPEN SLIGHTLY TONIGHT KEEPING WINDS UP A NOTCH OR TWO AS WELL AS OVERNIGHT LOWS MORE MILD. WARMER START ON WEDNESDAY WITH BROAD SYNOPTIC DOWNWARD FORCING AND LOW LEVEL WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY WILL PUSH HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY TO UPPER 90S TO NEAR 100 ON THE CAP-ROCK...AND PROBABLY JUST OVER 100 OVER THE ROLLING PLAINS FOR HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR SO FAR. ALSO NEAR RECORD FOR CHILDRESS...WHILE LUBBOCK SHOULD SURPASS AT LEAST ITS DAILY RECORD AND MAY CLOSE IN ON MONTHLY RECORD OF 100 DEGREES FOR APRIL. RMCQUEEN LONG TERM... EXTENDED FORECAST WILL FEATURE WARM...DRY AND BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...FOLLOWED BY A STOUT COLD FRONT SATURDAY AND COOLER TEMPERATURES AND A POTENTIALLY UNSETTLED PERIOD FROM LATE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE THAT WILL PROVIDE THE HOT WEATHER TOMORROW WILL QUICKLY SHIFT EAST IN ADVANCE OF A SHORTWAVE TROUGH RACING INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST ON THURSDAY. ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES WILL COOL A LITTLE BIT FROM WEDNESDAY...HIGHS WILL STILL BE IN THE 90S FOR MOST...WITH EVEN A FEW TRIPLE DIGITS POSSIBLE IN THE ROLLING PLAINS. WINDS SHOULD INITIALLY BE LIGHT THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS...BUT INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL QUICKLY APPROACH THE FA FROM THE WEST AND SPREAD ACROSS THE CAPROCK DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS...GARNERING BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS AND ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER. LIFT WITH THE APPROACHING WAVE WILL SKIRT PAST THURSDAY NIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY...BUT THE STRONGEST FORCING...BEST MOISTURE AND THUS BEST PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL LIKELY REMAIN NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF THE SOUTH PLAINS. IT DOES APPEAR THE STRONGEST WIND FIELDS MAY PASS THURSDAY NIGHT...BUT AT LEAST A MODEST PRESSURE/HEIGHT GRADIENT WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY FRIDAY WHICH WILL HELP TO KEEP THE WINDS UP AND THE FIRE DANGER ELEVATED BEHIND AN EARLY DAY PACIFIC FRONTAL PASSAGE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD COOL ABOUT 5-10 DEGREES FROM THURSDAY...THOUGH STILL REMAINING WELL ON THE WARM SIDE OF NORMAL. CYCLONICALLY CURVED QUASI-ZONAL TO SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL THEN PERSIST OVER THE REGION THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH SOME SEMBLANCE OF TROUGHINESS ACROSS THE WEST. LATEST ROUND OF NWP IS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT A STOUT COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE SOUTH PLAINS EARLY SATURDAY. INITIALLY...THIS FROPA MAY BE A DRY ONE GIVEN LITTLE PRE-FRONTAL MOISTURE TO WORK WITH. HOWEVER...GUIDANCE IS ALSO IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE WILL SETUP BEHIND THE FRONT FROM LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. ALTHOUGH MOISTURE INITIALLY MAY BE SOMEWHAT LIMITED...IT APPEARS CLOUDS SHOULD DEVELOP AND BECOME WIDESPREAD BY SUNDAY WITH MOST GUIDANCE PRODUCING AT LEAST LIGHT QPF BY SUNDAY AS ELEVATED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS BECOME AN INCREASING POSSIBILITY. THESE SHOWER/STORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY AND PERHAPS TUESDAY. FOR NOW...HAVE INCREASED POPS SOLIDLY INTO SLIGHT CHANCE CATEGORY FROM SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE MONDAY. ALSO COOLED OFF HIGHS INTO THE 60S FOR SUNDAY...THOUGH IF THE RAW GFS AND ECMWF OUTPUT ARE CORRECT...THIS MAY EVEN BE TOO WARM. A GRADUAL WARM UP WILL THEN FOLLOW EARLY NEXT WEEK AS CLOUDS SCATTER AND SOUTHERLY LOW-LEVEL WINDS RETURN. FIRE WEATHER... ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS TEMPERATURES RISE WELL INTO THE 90S AND HUMIDITIES DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS. IN ADDITION...SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE...FROM WEST TO EAST...DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. IT IS NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR HOW FAST THESE WINDS WILL INCREASE...BUT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE AT LEAST THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH PLAINS AND THE SOUTHWEST PANHANDLE WILL SEE SUSTAINED 20 FT WINDS IN EXCESS OF 20 MPH FOR SEVERAL HOURS. HENCE...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED WITH THIS IN MIND. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL SOMEWHAT BEHIND A PACIFIC FRONT FRIDAY...BUT CONTINUED DRY AND BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL SPELL MORE ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER THEN. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH EARLY IN THE WEEKEND BRINGING COOLER AND MOISTER CONDITIONS...WITH IMPROVING CHANCES OF WETTING RAINS BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 54 98 58 91 51 / 10 0 10 10 10 TULIA 55 99 60 95 54 / 10 0 10 10 10 PLAINVIEW 58 99 60 95 55 / 10 0 10 10 10 LEVELLAND 56 99 61 95 55 / 10 0 0 10 10 LUBBOCK 61 100 62 96 58 / 10 0 10 10 10 DENVER CITY 57 99 61 95 54 / 10 0 0 10 0 BROWNFIELD 58 100 62 97 56 / 10 0 0 10 0 CHILDRESS 62 101 64 99 63 / 10 10 10 10 10 SPUR 63 101 63 100 60 / 0 10 10 10 10 ASPERMONT 66 103 67 101 66 / 0 0 10 10 10 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ021>023-027>029-033>035-039>041. && 99/99/99
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 150 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012 TXZ021>044-251900- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 150 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A FEW HIGH-BASED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP OVER THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE EARLY THIS EVENING. THESE WILL POSE A SMALL RISK FOR STRONG WIND GUSTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY FIRE DANGER MAY BECOME ELEVATED TO CRITICAL ACROSS THE WESTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND AGAIN LATE ON FRIDAY.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX
817 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012
TXZ027-028-250145-
BAILEY-LAMB-
817 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR LAMB AND BAILEY COUNTIES...
AT 818 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
MULESHOE...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.
WINDS UP TO 55 MPH...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
GUSTY WINDS MAY CAUSE SMALL BRANCHES TO BE BLOWN DOWN...AND LOOSE
OBJECTS TO BLOW AROUND. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THIS
STORM HAS PASSED.
LAT...LON 3430 10304 3430 10208 3388 10208 3384 10209
3383 10304
TIME...MOT...LOC 0116Z 290DEG 31KT 3412 10269The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:19 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station measured a wind gust to 60 mph 2SSW Muleshoe.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station located 1NE Amherst measured two severe wind gusts. A 59 mph gust was measured at 1945 CST followed by a gust to 64 mph at 2020 CST.
A meteorologist reported one power pole snapped and two others bent about five miles south of Spade.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2012
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: 369818, 369820, 369817.