A strong upper level disturbance interacting with plenty of low level moisture and a frontal boundary triggered supercell thunderstorms. These storms resulted in scattered hail and damaging wind reports across the region.
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.
A strong upper level disturbance interacting with plenty of low level moisture and a frontal boundary triggered supercell thunderstorms. These storms resulted in scattered hail and damaging wind reports across the region.
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 Oct 13, 1:39 PM CST, 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 239 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012 .SHORT TERM... SURFACE TROUGH/DRYLINE EXTENDED JUST EAST OF A FT STOCKTON... MIDLAND... CHILDRESS LINE THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING EAST OF THE DRYLINE...GARDEN CITY TO SNYDER...ROBY TO HASKELL. THUNDERSTORMS AND DRYLINE ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST ALONG A SAN ANGELO... ABILENE... THROCKMORTON LINE AROUND 7 PM. WITH SFC BASED CAPES OF 2000 J/KG...SOME STORMS LIKELY TO BE SEVERE WITH LARGE AND DAMAGING WINDS. BULK SHEARS WERE 50-60 KTS ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY...WHERE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR TORNADOES. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE BIG COUNTRY UNTIL 8 PM THIS EVENING. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...ALSO UNTIL 8 PM. THE SURFACE TROUGH/DRYLINE WILL LIKELY MOVE TO A SONORA TO BROWNWOOD LINE TOWARD MIDNIGHT...WITH A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE REGION AFTER MIDNIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. KEEPING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING...FROM JUNCTION TO SAN SABA. OTHERWISE DRY AND SUNNY ON SUNDAY WITH NORTH WINDS OF 5 TO 15 MPH. .LONG TERM... INTRODUCED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AND TUESDAY...SOUTH AND EAST OF THE CONCHO VALLEY. THIS AS LEVEL MOISTURE RETURNS AND INTERACTS WITH WEAK UPPER DISTURBANCES. A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH WEDNESDAY...BRINGING DRIER AND COOLER AIR. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ABILENE 56 81 53 82 58 / 50 10 5 0 5 SAN ANGELO 55 83 52 82 55 / 50 10 5 5 10 JUNCTION 65 83 53 85 54 / 60 20 10 5 10 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 04
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 201 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-141915- 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- 201 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THERE IS ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES...MAINLY ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
214 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012
TXZ098-131945-
HASKELL TX-
214 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012
...GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL UNTIL 245 PM CDT FOR HASKELL COUNTY...
AT 211 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 7 MILES WEST OF
RULE...OR ABOUT 16 MILES WEST OF HASKELL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40
MPH.
POTENTIAL STORM IMPACTS INCLUDE...
SOME BROKEN TREE BRANCHES AND A FEW WEAK TREES TOPPLED...
SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES LIKELY...
LIGHT LOOSE OBECTS TOPPLED...
DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE BLOWING DUST...
MINOR SHINGLE DAMAGE...
ISOLATED SMALL VEHICLE DENTS...
MINOR INJURY POSSIBLE...
THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
ROCHESTER BY 230 PM CDT
O'BRIEN BY 235 PM CDT
US-277 NEAR THE HASKELL-KNOX COUNTY LINE AND WEINERT BY 245 PM CDT
A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT SATURDAY EVENING
FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.
LAT...LON 3332 9947 3304 9997 3307 10000 3331 10000
3341 9988 3340 9947
TIME...MOT...LOC 1915Z 228DEG 35KT 3320 9997SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
221 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012
TXZ049-131945-
FISHER TX-
221 PM CDT SAT OCT 13 2012
...GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL UNTIL 245 PM CDT FOR FISHER COUNTY...
AT 216 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF HOBBS...OR ABOUT 20 MILES NORTH OF SWEETWATER...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 40 MPH.
POTENTIAL STORM IMPACTS INCLUDE...
SOME BROKEN TREE BRANCHES...
ISOLATED POWER OUTAGES LIKELY...
A FEW LOOSE OBECTS TOPPLED...
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE BLOWING DUST...
DANGEROUS WALKWAYS...
THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
HITSON BY 245 PM CDT
A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT SATURDAY EVENING
FOR WEST CENTRAL TEXAS.
LAT...LON 3294 10015 3286 10014 3288 10014 3265 10048
3278 10062 3297 10040
TIME...MOT...LOC 1921Z 228DEG 35KT 3278 10046The Dyess AFB radar (KDYX), 102 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:44 UTC.
15 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
This large hail was accompanied by thunderstorm wind gusts around 60 mph.
A trained spotter estimated a wind gust of 52 knots.
Strong thunderstorm winds resulted in roof damage to a home. The strong winds moved a large cattle trailer approximately 30 yards.
This hail was accompained by wind gusts to near 50 mph.
Several power poles were knocked down in the View area where U.S. Highway 277 intersects County Road 209 and Farm to Market Road 1235.
This golfball sized hail broke limbs and sky lights on a home.
This report of quarter size hail occurred on the south side of Abilene.
This hail report occurred in the Buffalo Heights subdivision.
This report came from a certified weather observer from Dyess Airforce Base.
This report came from a certified weather observer from Dyess Airforce Base.
The sheriff reported golfball size hail just north of Eldorado.
Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down three power poles along U.S. Highway 277.
This hail fell along U.S. Highway 277 which is approximately 4 miles north of Eldorado.
Quarter size hail was reported at the KOA Campground near Lake Nasworthy.
Strong thunderstorm winds broke four inch diameter tree limbs on the south side of Brady.
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, October 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: 416601, 416620, 416617, 416602, 416603, 416604, 416618, 416605, 416606, 416607, 416608, 416621, 416609, 416610, 416611, 416619, 416612, 416613, 416614, 416615, 416622.