During the afternoon and evening hours of the fifth, isolated thunderstorms developed across the South Plains. One of these thunderstorms significantly weakened near Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB).
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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.
During the afternoon and evening hours of the fifth, isolated thunderstorms developed across the South Plains. One of these thunderstorms significantly weakened near Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB). A few minutes after the last reported lightning strike, the Automated Surface and Observation Station (ASOS) at KLBB reported a severe wind gust to 62 mph.
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 Aug 6, 5:28 PM CST, 5 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 628 PM CDT TUE AUG 6 2013 .AVIATION... ASIDE FROM SOME SCT SHOWER ACTIVITY /WITH ISOLATED THUNDER THREAT/ AT KLBB...TRANQUIL CONDITIONS EXPECTED AT BOTH TERMINALS THIS EVENING. SCATTERED STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT BOTH TERMINALS. CHECK DENSITY ALTITUDE. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 549 PM CDT TUE AUG 6 2013/ UPDATE... GIVEN RECENT RADAR TRENDS...HAVE UPDATED TO EXPAND THE ISOLATED THUNDER MENTION TO ENCOMPASS MUCH OF THE SOUTHERN SOUTH PLAINS BEFORE 00Z. ALSO DECIDED TO EXPAND THE ISOLATED STORM MENTION SLIGHTLY EASTWARD OVER THE ENTIRE CAPROCK AFTER 00Z GIVEN THE RECENT SATELLITE/RADAR TRENDS AND LATEST SHORT-RANGE NWP. REGARDLESS...GUSTY WINDS AND MINIMAL RAINFALL WILL BE THE GENERAL RULE WITH THE HIGH-BASED ACTIVITY GIVEN THE INVERTED-V TYPE SOUNDINGS AND LOW INSTABILITY/SHEAR ENVIRONMENT. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 334 PM CDT TUE AUG 6 2013/ SHORT TERM... A HOT DAY IS IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION WITH ALMOST ALL OF THE ROLLING PLAINS AND PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH PLAINS AT OR JUST ABOVE 100 DEGREES. HOWEVER...A WEAK SURFACE LOW HAD DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTHWESTERN SOUTH PLAINS ALONG WITH A DIFFUSE DRYLINE RUNNING FROM NEAR MULESHOE DOWN TO BETWEEN BROWNFIELD AND TAHOKA. DEEP BOUNDARY LAYER MIXING HAS RESULTED IN AN INVERTED-V TYPE SOUNDING AND WEAK ELEVATED INSTABILITY HAS ALLOWED ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP IN VARIOUS SPOTS ACROSS THE REGION. IT REMAINS PRETTY DIFFICULT TO TELL HOW FAR EAST THE ACTIVITY WILL PUSH AS MODELS HAVE LITTLE CONSISTENCY IN THE COVERAGE AND LOCATION OF SHOWER/STORM DEVELOPMENT. WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY A MENTION OF ISOLATED STORMS FOR THE WESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA DUE TO THE DEEP MIXING AND MEAGER CAPE VALUES ABOVE THE MIXED LAYER. ANYTHING THAT DOES MANAGE TO DEVELOP WILL BE RELATIVELY SHORT-LIVED HOWEVER AND DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE APPRECIABLE RAINFALL AMOUNTS. AFTER ANOTHER MILD NIGHT TONIGHT...TEMPERATURES WILL NOT BE QUITE AS HOT AS TODAY AS THE RIDGE CONTINUES TO SLOWLY BREAK DOWN. THERE MAY ONCE AGAIN BE ISOLATED SHOWERS/STORMS LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AS ANOTHER DAY OF DEEP MIXING DEVELOPS AND THERE CONTINUES TO BE SOME WEAK INSTABILITY ALOFT THAT MAY ONCE AGAIN RESULT IN ISOLATED SHOWER/STORM DEVELOPMENT LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. MODELS HAVE HELD UP THE FRONT ACROSS THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE FOR TOMORROW AFTERNOON SO HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN SUSPECT UNTIL WE SEE HOW FAR SOUTH THE FRONT WILL MAKE IT. A BIT FARTHER SOUTH THAN WHAT THE MODELS HAVE AND WE COULD SEE HIGH TEMPERATURES HIGHER THAN THE FORECAST DUE TO COMPRESSIONAL WARMING. JORDAN LONG TERM... THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN AT THE START OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD WILL BE COMPRISED OF AN UA RIDGE LOCATED ACROSS SE TEXAS THUS PROMOTING SW FLOW ALOFT...WHILST AN UA TROUGH NEARS THE PANHANDLES. MODEL INCONSISTENCIES ARE SHOWN WITH REGARD TO WHETHER THE BEST LARGE SCALE ASCENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE UA TROUGH WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS /PER THE NAM/...OR IF SOME ENERGY MANAGES TO MOVE ACROSS THE FA /PER THE GFS/. THIS LIFT COMBINED WITH AN EASTWARD MOVING SFC TROUGH IS SHOWN TO BE A SOURCE OF PRECIP VIA THE GFS...WHEREAS THE NAM HAS LITTLE TO NO PRECIP SIGNAL DESPITE A NOTABLE SFC TROUGH. ANOTHER FEATURE MODELS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH IS THE TIMING OF A COLD FRONT...AS IT IS DEPICTED EITHER THURSDAY MORNING OR LATE THURSDAY NIGHT/EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. WHAT IS AGREED UPON IS PRECIP DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT AS WINDS VEER TO AN UPSLOPE COMPONENT AND PWATS INCREASE /1.10-1.60 INCHES/. FURTHERMORE...FORECAST SOLUTIONS DISPLAY PRECIP CHANCES EXTENDING INTO FRIDAY AS EASTERLY SFC WINDS AND HENCE MOIST LOW LEVELS ENSUE. WILL THEREFORE HOLD ON TO MENTIONABLE POPS THURSDAY-FRIDAY AS THAT SEEMS REASONABLE. BY THE WEEKEND...THE UA RIDGE IS ANTICIPATED TO RETROGRADE BACK ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WHICH WILL LIKELY PROMOTE RATHER SLIM/NIL CHANCES FOR PRECIP. HOWEVER IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT WHILE THE UA RIDGE PROPAGATES BACK TOWARDS THE REGION...SW FLOW ALOFT IS STILL PREVALENT ACROSS E NM AND THE FAR NW ZONES. THE GFS IN PARTICULAR HINTS AT AN EMBEDDED IMPULSE MOVING ACROSS THE AFOREMENTIONED AREAS ON SUNDAY...WHICH COULD LEAD TO A FEW STORMS BRUSHING ACROSS THE NWRN ZONES /ESPECIALLY WITH PROGGED ADEQUATE SWRLY STEERING FLOW/. THIS PRECIP DEPICTION COULD BE OVERDONE AS OTHER LONG TERM SOLUTIONS ARE MUCH LESS OPTIMISTIC. EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE UA RIDGE WILL CONTINUE ITS WESTWARD TRANSLATION TO ACROSS SE NM/NRN OLD MEXICO HENCE PROMOTING NW FLOW ALOFT. THIS FLOW IS OF COURSE CONDUCIVE FOR PRECIP ACTIVITY ACROSS THE HIGHER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN...TO MAKE IT ACROSS THE REGION. SILENT POPS PREVAILS BEYOND FRIDAY ATTM...BUT WILL NEED TO SEE IF QPF SIGNALS ACROSS THE NWRN ZONES FOR THE WEEKEND /WITH REGARD TO SW FLOW ALOFT/...AND ACROSS THE NRN ZONES EARLY NEXT WEEK /WITH REGARD TO NW FLOW ALOFT/ PERSISTS IN FUTURE MODEL RUNS. IF SO...MENTIONABLE POPS MAY NEED TO BE INSERTED. TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY ON THURSDAY...AS IT WILL DEPENDENT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE COLD FRONT. WILL DO A BLEND OF SOLUTIONS AND MAINTAIN TEMPS IN THE 90S TO LOWER TRIPLE DIGITS FOR NOW...BUT THESE TEMPS COULD BE TOO WARM IF THE FRONT IS AS FAST AS EXPECTED PER THE NAM. WITH RAIN CHANCES PERSISTING INTO FRIDAY...BELOW NORM TEMPS WILL PREVAIL /80S AND 90S/ FOLLOWED BY A SLOW WARMUP INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK /MID TO UPPER 90S/. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 68 94 66 92 64 / 20 20 30 20 20 TULIA 69 98 68 94 66 / 20 20 30 20 20 PLAINVIEW 68 99 69 95 67 / 20 20 20 20 20 LEVELLAND 71 99 70 95 67 / 20 20 20 20 20 LUBBOCK 74 100 71 95 69 / 20 20 20 20 20 DENVER CITY 71 99 72 98 68 / 20 20 20 20 20 BROWNFIELD 72 102 71 98 69 / 20 20 20 20 20 CHILDRESS 75 103 73 99 70 / 10 20 20 20 20 SPUR 76 103 74 100 71 / 10 20 20 20 20 ASPERMONT 78 106 76 100 75 / 10 20 20 20 20 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 99/99/26
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 526 AM CDT TUE AUG 6 2013 TXZ021>044-071030- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 526 AM CDT TUE AUG 6 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 2 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:28 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The ASOS site at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport reported a gust to 62 mph under a decaying thunderstorm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, August 2013
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: 458569.