An upper level trough moved northeast over the South Plains this afternoon and combined with mid-level moisture and instability to produce extensive virga over the region. Some of this virga produced a severe wind gust to 60 mph in southeast Hale County.
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 LUB wrote it up.
An upper level trough moved northeast over the South Plains this afternoon and combined with mid-level moisture and instability to produce extensive virga over the region. Some of this virga produced a severe wind gust to 60 mph in southeast Hale 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 May 25, 2:52 PM CST, 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 352 PM CDT FRI MAY 25 2012 .SHORT TERM... OVERALL CONDITIONS STILL REMAIN WEAK FOR WIDESPREAD CONVECTION OVER THE ROLLING PLAINS AND EASTERN PANHANDLE. A WEAK SHORT WAVE WAS OBSERVED IN WATER VAPOR IMAGERY THIS AFTERNOON MOVING UP FROM THE BIG BEND. EVEN AS THIS WAVE MOVES ACROSS THE ROLLING PLAINS LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...HEIGHTS WILL RISE AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS OUT TO THE EAST AND EXPANDS. THE RESULT WILL END UP BEING VERY WEAK LIFT WITH THIS WAVE AS IT MOVES ACROSS. THE DRYLINE HAS PUSHED OFF THE CAPROCK ALREADY THIS AFTERNOON AND IS EXPECTED TO FURTHER PUSH INTO THE EASTERN ROLLING PLAINS. DEW POINT DEPRESSIONS WILL STILL BE VERY HIGH ALONG AND JUST EAST OF THE DRYLINE AS TEMPERATURES WARM TO AND ABOVE THE CENTURY MARK. THIS WILL UNDOUBTEDLY LEAD TO VERY HIGH CLOUD BASES WITH UP TO 1000 J/KG OF INSTABILITY. ADDITIONALLY...850MB TEMPERATURES ARE QUITE WARM IN THESE LOCATIONS WITH VALUES AROUND 29C. EVEN THOUGH LOW LEVELS WILL BE DRY AS MIXING INCREASES TO NEAR 600MB...MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL INCREASE IN ASSOCIATION WITH SHORT WAVE. WITH THE SHORT WAVE ENERGY AND MID LEVEL MOISTURE...THERE MAY BE ENOUGH LIFT TO CREATE ADDITIONAL ISOLATED CELLS JUST WEST OF THE DRYLINE. LITTLE RAINFALL WILL BE EXPECTED WITH GUSTY WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM ANY CONVECTION THAT DOES DEVELOP. THE DRYLINE WILL RETREAT THIS EVENING AND THE INCREASED MOISTURE WILL KEEP OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES UP AGAIN. A CLOSED LOW OVER THE GREAT BASIN BY SATURDAY MORNING WILL ALLOW WINDS TO STAY BACKED OVER WEST TEXAS DRAWING MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. EVEN THOUGH BROAD LOW LEVEL SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW WILL BE IN PLACE TOMORROW...DEW POINTS WILL STILL MIX OUT TO THE 40S ON THE CAPROCK. THEREFORE INSTABILITY WILL NOT BE OVERLY IMPRESSIVE. HEIGHTS WILL AGAIN BE RISING SATURDAY AFTERNOON ALTHOUGH THERE IS SOME SLIGHT DIFFLUENCE IN THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW. THIS WILL PROMOTE CONVECTION ON THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR THE STATE LINE. BECAUSE OF HIGHER DEW POINTS ON SATURDAY...THERE WILL BE A GREATER CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION HIGHER THAN A TRACE REACHING THE GROUND. JDV && .LONG TERM... SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW AT THE SURFACE WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY KEEPING THE DRYLINE WEST OF MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA...ALTHOUGH THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS MAY SEE DEWPOINTS MIX DOWN INTO THE 20-30 DEGREE RANGE. MODELS CONTINUE TO BREAK OUT PRECIP ALONG THE DRYLINE ACROSS THE AREA...HOWEVER COVERAGE WILL STILL BE FAIRLY ISOLATED AND CONTINUED ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE REGION. GOOD NEWS IS THAT TEMPERATURES WILL BE A BIT COOLER WITH THE INCREASED SURFACE MOISTURE ACROSS THE REGION. MODELS CONTINUE TO TRY AND BRING A COLD FRONT IN OVERNIGHT SUNDAY INTO MONDAY MORNING...STALLING IT OUT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. BIGGEST QUESTIONS ARE WHERE THE FRONT WILL STALL OUT AND WHETHER THERE WILL BE ENOUGH CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT TO SPARK THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THERE STILL ARE SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE STRENGTH OF THE FRONTAL PUSH WHICH WILL IMPACT WHERE THE FRONT STALLS OUT AND ALSO IMPACT WHERE THE BEST PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE. CURRENT POP STRUCTURE LOOKS GOOD AND WILL HOLD ONTO THINGS FOR NOW. REST OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE WITH CONTINUED INDICATIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEST COAST RIDGE AND TROF OVER THE EAST COAST...PLACING THE FORECAST AREA UNDER NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. A STRONG WAVE WILL DEEPEN INTO A CLOSED LOW ACCORDING TO THE GFS BY LATE NEXT WEEK WHILE THE CANADIAN AND ECMWF ARE MUCH WEAKER WITH THIS WAVE. HOWEVER...ALL THREE EXTENDED-RANGE MODELS DO INDICATE ANOTHER COLD FRONT PUSHING INTO THE AREA LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY WHICH SHOULD HELP TO COOL TEMPERATURES DOWN. UNFORTUNATELY IT STILL LOOKS AS IF DEEP BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE WILL NOT BE IN THE AREA...LIMITING PRECIPITATION CHANCES FOR NOW. JORDAN && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 63 89 62 91 53 / 10 20 20 20 20 TULIA 66 90 65 91 57 / 10 10 10 20 20 PLAINVIEW 68 90 65 92 59 / 10 10 10 20 20 LEVELLAND 67 91 64 89 59 / 10 20 20 20 20 LUBBOCK 71 91 66 90 63 / 10 10 10 20 20 DENVER CITY 66 90 64 89 65 / 10 20 20 20 20 BROWNFIELD 67 90 67 91 64 / 10 10 10 20 20 CHILDRESS 73 95 67 93 69 / 20 10 10 20 20 SPUR 71 94 68 92 67 / 20 10 10 20 20 ASPERMONT 73 97 68 92 69 / 20 10 10 20 20 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 01/14
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1149 AM CDT FRI MAY 25 2012 TXZ021>044-261700- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1149 AM CDT FRI MAY 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT CONVECTIVE THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER THE NORTHERN ROLLING PLAINS. ISOLATED HIGH-BASED THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH. A FEW VERY STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE OVER THE EASTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND SOUTHERN ROLLING PLAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY HIGH-BASED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP SATURDAY ACROSS THE WESTERN SOUTH PLAINS AND EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN PANHANDLE WITH A RISK FOR LOCALLY STRONG WIND GUSTS. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY AND MONDAY WITH A THREAT FOR SOME STORMS TO BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ROLLING PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 423 PM CDT FRI MAY 25 2012 TXZ042-043-252215- GARZA-KENT- 423 PM CDT FRI MAY 25 2012 ...STRONG WIND GUSTS MAY THREATEN LAKE ALAN HENRY THROUGH 500 PM THIS AFTERNOON... AT 423 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED DEVELOPING HIGH-BASED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHWESTERN SCURRY COUNTY...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH. THESE SHOWERS AND ATTENDANT RISK OF STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL CROSS EASTERN GARZA AND WESTERN KENT COUNTIES THROUGH 500 PM THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY AREAS AROUND LAKE ALAN HENRY AND JUSTICEBURG. WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH OR HIGHER...AND OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. GUSTY WINDS MAY CAUSE ROUGH WATER...AND CONTROL OF BOATS COULD BECOME DIFFICULT. THE WIND GUSTS ALSO MAY CAUSE SMALL BRANCHES TO BE BLOWN DOWN...AND LOOSE OBJECTS TO BLOW AROUND. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH OBJECTS OUTDOORS SUCH AS TREES. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THIS STORM HAS PASSED. LAT...LON 3332 10122 3333 10064 3296 10084 3296 10135 TIME...MOT...LOC 2119Z 191DEG 16KT 3294 10107 05
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Virga created a wind gust to 60 mph as measured by a Texas Tech University Mesonet site located 5ENE Abernathy. There were no reports of damage.
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, May 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: 373354.