Strong southwesterly winds and blowing dust overspread the far southwest Texas Panhandle late this afternoon behind a dryline. Winds gusted to 58 mph twice near Friona before subsiding by sunset.
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.
Strong southwesterly winds and blowing dust overspread the far southwest Texas Panhandle late this afternoon behind a dryline. Winds gusted to 58 mph twice near Friona before subsiding by sunset. By mid-evening, increasingly moist southeast winds ahead of the dryline aided in scattered strong and severe thunderstorm development in the far southern Texas Panhandle. The southernmost of these storms affected portions of Turkey and Hall Counties where hailstones grew to the size of quarters at times.
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 Feb 9, 3:04 PM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 304 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 .SHORT TERM... A BUSY AFTERNOON IS IN STORE FOR THE CWA... WITH BOTH HIGH WINDS IN THE WEST AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR STORMS IN THE EAST. AS EXPECTED... A POTENT TROUGH IS CURRENTLY ADVANCING ON WEST TEXAS... WITH A 500MB KT MAX OF OVER 100KT CURRENTLY SITUATED OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO. HIGH CLOUDS HAVE CLEARED OVER MOST OF THE NW PORTION OF THE CWA AND NEW MEXICO...ALLOWING FOR DEEP MIXING AND VERY STRONG WINDS ACROSS MOST OF EASTERN NEW MEXICO. WINDS HAVE BEEN SLOW TO VEER IN WEST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON...ALLOWING DEWPOINTS TO CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 30S AND NEAR 40 ACROSS MOST OF THE CAPROCK AS OF 18Z. HOWEVER... SURFACE OBS AND RADAR TRENDS ARE INDICATING THAT WINDS ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO VEER SLIGHTLY IN THE WEST... WHICH HAS RESULTED IN RAPID DRYING AND INCREASING WIND SPEEDS JUST EAST OF THE TEXAS NEW MEXICO BORDER. GIVEN THESE TRENDS... HAVE OPTED TO UPGRADE PARMER...CASTRO AND BAILEY COUNTIES TO A HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH 02Z. FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS ARE STILL MINIMAL... ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED DEWPOINTS ACROSS THE WEST AND MOIST FUEL CONDITIONS... HOWEVER ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SOME RED FLAG MINUTES WILL BE PRESENT NEAR THE TX/NM BORDER THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING WHERE THE AIR WILL BE DRIEST AND WINDS STRONGEST. FURTHER EAST... THE FORECAST STILL APPEARS TO BE LARGELY ON TRACK AS MOISTURE CONTINUES TO RETURN ACROSS THE EAST. RADAR AND SURFACES OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THE BEGINNINGS OF A DRYLINE FORMING JUST TO THE EAST OF THE TX/NM STATE LINE...AND APPEARS TO BE SLOWLY ADVANCING EAST. IN ADDITION... VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY IS SHOWING AN INCREASE IN CUMULIFORM CLOUDS JUST TO THE DRY SIDE OF THIS DEVELOPING DRYLINE. DEWPOINTS AS OF 20Z HAVE REACHED THE UPPER 40S ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST...TO NEAR 40 IN THE NORTHERN ROLLING PLAINS...WHICH IS A BIT LOWER THAN YOU WOULD LIKE FOR STORM DEVELOPMENT. AS SUCH... INSTABILITY IS STILL VERY WEAK ACROSS THE AREA...WITH MAXIMUM VALUES OF NEAR 500 J/KG RESTRICTED TO THE SOUTHEAST. THERE STILL REMAINS SOME TIME FOR MOISTURE TO INCREASE...AND IT STILL SEEMS WITHIN REASON THAT DEWPOINTS WILL REACH THE UPPER 40S TO LOW 50S WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. LOCAL HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS...INCLUDING THE TTUWRF AND TO A LESSER EXTENT THE HRRR... SEEM TO BE SUGGESTING THAT INITIATION MAY HOLD OFF UNTIL 00Z... HOWEVER THE RUC IS STILL FIRING AROUND 22Z. GIVEN CURRENT TRENDS... IT SEEMS THAT THE LATER INITIATION SOLUTIONS SEEM MORE PLAUSIBLE. GIVEN THE VERY STRONGLY SHEARED WIND FIELDS... ANY STORMS THAT CAN MANAGE TO INITIATE EARLY WILL VERY LIKELY BE SUPERCELLULAR... AND COULD POSE A VERY ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT IF MOISTURE CAN CONTINUE TO RISE. HOWEVER...THIS THREAT APPEARS TO BE VERY MARGINAL AT THIS TIME... AND A MORE LIKELY THREAT WILL BE MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL TO 1" AND DAMAGING WINDS TO 70 MPH. THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR INITIATION STILL APPEARS TO BE NORTH OF LBB AND EASTWARD TOWARDS THE CHILDRESS AREA. LATER IN THE EVENING...A PACIFIC FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH THE AREA...AND LIKELY INITIATE MORE STORMS WITH A MORE LINEAR MODE. STORMS WILL LIKELY EXIT THE AREA TO THE EAST BY 06Z. FOR TOMORROW...BREEZY WESTERLY WINDS BETWEEN 20-30 MPH WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON...WHICH WHEN COMBINED WITH LOW DEWPOINTS WILL RESULT IN ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS....ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE ROLLING PLAINS WHERE WARMER TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN LOWER RH VALUES... && .LONG TERM... BY SUNDAY EVENING...FLOW ACROSS THE REGION WILL BE ZONAL TO SLIGHTLY WEST SOUTHWESTERLY AS TODAY/S WIND MAKER EJECTS INTO THE GREAT LAKES. TROUGH OUT WEST CONTINUES TO DEEPEN AND APPROACH LATE MONDAY NIGHT. FLOW BECOMES NORTHWESTERLY BY WEDNESDAY WITH AN EMBEDDED TROUGH DUE IN ON THURSDAY AND ANOTHER TROUGH DIGGING INTO THE SOUTHWEST BY FRIDAY THOUGH MORE LATITUDINALLY ORIENTED THAN THE EARLY WEEK SYSTEM. RIDGING BUILDS OUT WEST WITH STRONG NNW FLOW WITH DECENT COLD AIR ADVECTION. COLD FRONT SHOULD FINALLY MAKE IT INTO THE AREA SUNDAY EVENING WITH WINDS BECOMING MORE OR LESS EASTERLY AND REMAINING IN FAVORABLE UPSLOPE REGIME FOR MOISTURE ADVECTION. NAM/GFS/ECM HAVE COME INTO GOOD AGREEMENT WITH SOME FAIRLY SUBSTANTIVE MOISTURE ADVECTION MONDAY EVENING PERHAPS MAKING IT A BIT FURTHER WEST THAN EARLIER THOUGHT. NEVERTHELESS...GENERAL TRENDS IN THE FORECAST REMAIN INSOFAR AS MOISTURE GOES...BUT...WITH THE GREATER MOISTURE...PRECIPITATION PHASE IS A BIT LESS CERTAIN WITH PHASE REMAINING LIQUID UNTIL WRAP AROUND ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW...WITH LOWER TEMPS. GIVEN THIS FAIRLY RADICAL CHANGE THIS RUN...WILL HOLD OFF ON MAKING MAJOR CHANGES TO ONGOING FORECAST FOR NOW. INTO WEDNESDAY...DRIER AIR WILL CONTINUE TO FILTER INTO THE REGION AND START A WARMING TREND AFTER BOTTOMING OUT ON TUESDAY. THOUGH WINDS BACK TO SOUTHWESTERLY ON WEDNESDAY...COLD FRONT IN WEDNESDAY NIGHT/THURSDAY MORNING WILL USHER IN BREEZY NORTHERLY WINDS ONCE AGAIN WITH YET COOLER AIR SURGING SOUTHWARD INTO FRIDAY WITH DRY WEATHER TO PREVAIL. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 25 53 20 50 24 / 0 0 0 10 40 TULIA 28 57 26 51 26 / 20 0 0 10 40 PLAINVIEW 29 58 24 54 26 / 20 0 0 0 40 LEVELLAND 29 59 24 57 24 / 0 0 0 0 20 LUBBOCK 31 59 24 57 27 / 20 0 0 0 20 DENVER CITY 25 59 29 58 30 / 0 0 0 0 20 BROWNFIELD 29 60 24 59 28 / 10 0 0 0 20 CHILDRESS 36 65 26 56 27 / 60 0 0 0 40 SPUR 36 64 29 59 31 / 40 0 0 0 20 ASPERMONT 40 66 30 62 36 / 50 0 0 0 20 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ023-028-029-033>035-039-040. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 8 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: TXZ021-022-027. && 16/26
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 446 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 TXZ021>044-102300- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 446 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT CONVECTIVE A FEW STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHEAST TEXAS PANHANDLE AND ROLLING PLAINS THIS EVENING UNTIL AROUND MIDNIGHT. FIRE WEATHER VERY STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES TO CREATE ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS MUCH OF THE CAPROCK THROUGH EARLY EVENING. THE WORST CONDITIONS WILL BE FOUND WEST OF HIGHWAY 385. NON PRECIPITATION STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE AND WESTERN SOUTH PLAINS. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM FOR PARMER...CASTRO AND BAILEY COUNTIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE BOTH SUNDAY AND MONDAY. ON TUESDAY...LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE MAINLY ACROSS THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE TEXAS SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:31 UTC.
2 hail, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two separate wind gusts of 58 mph were measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet located 2NE Friona.
The fire department in Turkey reported quarter size hail. No damage was reported.
The public reported numerous pea sized hail stones with a few stones up to one inch in diameter. No damage was reported.
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, February 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: 423411, 423412, 423413.