A thunderstorm near Hereford briefly strengthened to severe levels producing high winds near Hereford. Instability, wind shear, and lift were insufficient to support additional severe thunderstorms this day.
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The episode as NWS AMA wrote it up.
A thunderstorm near Hereford briefly strengthened to severe levels producing high winds near Hereford. Instability, wind shear, and lift were insufficient to support additional severe thunderstorms this day.
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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 20, 5:43 PM CST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 643 PM CDT MON APR 20 2015 .UPDATE... UPDATED GRAPHICAL FORECASTS TO INCLUDE ISOLATED THUNDER THIS EVENING. LIGHTNING STRIKES CURRENTLY BEING OBSERVED IN NORTHWEST PART OF FORECAST AREA AND IN EASTERN NEW MEXICO. WITH STRENGTH OF SHORTWAVE TROF MOVING IN FROM THE WEST AT THIS TIME...BELIEVE THAT ADDITIONAL THUNDER CAN BE EXPECTED. UPDATED TEXT PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED. COCKRELL && .AVIATION... SHORTWAVE TROF WILL CAUSE SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. EXPECTING VFR OVERCAST AND MAINLY SHOWERS TO IMPACT ALL TERMINALS. PRECIPITATION EXPECTED TO END BY 09Z TUESDAY WITH CONTINUED VFR CONDTIONS THEREAFTER. COCKRELL && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 250 PM CDT MON APR 20 2015/ SHORT TERM... (TONIGHT) THE SURFACE HIGH WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE EAST ALLOWING FOR SOUTHERLY FLOW TO BRING GULF MOISTURE INTO THE AREA AND BRINGING UPSLOPING WINDS. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OFF TO THE WEST IS ALSO MOVING EASTWARD AND BRINGING A VORT LOBE THROUGH THE AREA. THESE TWO LIFTING MECHANISMS WILL CREATE CHANCES FOR RAIN SHOWERS OVER THE CENTRAL TO SOUTHERN TX PANHANDLE BETWEEN 6PM THROUGH 1AM. PREFERRED THE GFS MODEL OVER NAM AS IT CAPTURED QPF LOCATIONS BETTER AS IT AGREED WITH TEXAS TECH WRF AND HRRR MODELS. THUS WENT WITH MAV GUIDANCE ON WINDS AND DEW POINTS. TONIGHT SHOULD BE WARMER THAN LAST NIGHT DUE TO INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND THE SOUTHERLY FLOW CREATING LOWS IN THE UPPER 30S TO MID 40S OVERNIGHT. MB/CLK LONG TERM... (TOMORROW THROUGH SUNDAY) THERE IS A VERY LOW PROBABILITY OF RESIDUAL CONVECTION IN THE FAR EAST TOMORROW MORNING AS SUBTLE MID-LEVEL WAVE EXITS THE AREA. LATER IN THE DAY WEAK HEIGHT FALLS OCCUR JUST TO OUR WEST AS CLOSED LOW IN THE SOUTHWEST CONUS DEEPENS. ALTHOUGH SUBTLE (AND DESPITE STILL RELATIVELY WEAK MEAN WESTERLY-NORTHWESTERLY FLOW) THIS SHOULD STILL BE SUFFICIENT TO FORCE LEE SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS AND START THE NORTHWESTWARD MOVEMENT OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BACK INTO THE AREA. CURRENT SURFACE OBSERVATION SHOW OFF SHORE FLOW WITH RICH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE LIMITED TO COASTAL AREAS AND DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. SHORT RANGE GUIDANCE GENERALLY SHOWS THE EQUATORWARD PUSH OF THE COLD FRONT HAS STOPPED AS SURFACE FLOW VEERING IN RESPONSE TO STRENGTHENING/SOUTHEASTWARD MOVING SURFACE HIGH IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. TIMING OF RELATIVELY RICH LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE IS SOMEWHAT IN QUESTION GIVEN EVAPOTRANSPIRATIVE PARAMETRIZATION POSSIBLY EXAGGERATING QUALITY OF MOISTURE RETURN INITIALLY. AM CONCERNED THAT GOOD QUALITY MOISTURE RETURN MAY BE TOO RAPID THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. SOME CONVECTION COULD FORM BY LATE AFTERNOON BUT COVERAGE OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE LIMITED NECESSITATING ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE PROBABILITIES THROUGH EARLY EVENING. 0-2KM THETA-E VALUES TREND UPWARD NOTABLY AFTER DARK AND WITH INCREASING LARGE SCALE FORCING PRECIPITATION PROBABILITIES SHOULD BE MARKEDLY HIGHER DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT PERIOD...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. A COLD FRONT FORCED BY A NORTHERN STREAM WAVE WILL REACH OUR AREA BY WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH UNCERTAINTY INCREASING SOMEWHAT BY THIS TIME. THE BOUNDARY WILL PROBABLY PROGRESS SLOWLY SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE AREA BY EVENING WITH WEAK ISENTROPIC LIFT ATOP SHALLOW COOL LAYER RESULTING IN CONVECTION. HAVE DIMINISHED PROBABILITIES OVERNIGHT AS MOIST UPGLIDE OVER THE BOUNDARY WEAKENS AND MID LEVEL HEIGHTS RISE SOME. CONFIDENCE IS A LITTLE HIGHER IN THE EXTENDED GIVEN BETTER AGREEMENT OF MEDIUM RANGE DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE AND LESS SPREAD IN THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS. BY THURSDAY A MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT MID-UPPER TROUGH IN THE SOUTHWEST APPROACHES CAUSING A FAIRLY DRAMATIC SURFACE RESPONSE THROUGH FRIDAY. STRENGTHENING LEE TROUGH/LOW WILL RESULT IN INCREASED LOW-LEVEL MOIST FLOW AGAIN AND WITH MIXING BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON THE DRYLINE WILL SHARPEN ACROSS THE AREA. THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR PRECIPITATION WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AHEAD OF SHARPENING DRYLINE WHICH SEEMS MOST LIKELY TO BE POSITIONED NORTH-SOUTH ACROSS THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE PANHANDLES. GIVEN THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF THIS SYSTEM A PERIOD OF POST-DRYLINE DEEP MIXING MAY OCCUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH CONCERNS FOR FIRE WEATHER POSSIBLY DEVELOPING THEN. BY THE WEEKEND IN THE WAKE OF THIS WAVE A QUASI-ZONAL UPPER FLOW PATTERN EVOLVES WITH SOME FAIRLY SIZABLE PERTURBATIONS SHOWING UP IN MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE...PARTICULARLY AROUND SUNDAY. ALTHOUGH TIMING IS UNCERTAIN AT THIS POINT IN TIME...DID MAINTAIN LOW PRECIPITATION PROBABILITIES ON SUNDAY. BRB && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AMARILLO TX 43 76 49 73 51 / 40 20 30 20 20 BEAVER OK 43 76 48 63 48 / 30 10 30 40 20 BOISE CITY OK 39 73 45 63 47 / 30 10 30 30 20 BORGER TX 46 77 53 72 52 / 50 20 30 30 20 BOYS RANCH TX 43 78 47 74 50 / 40 20 20 20 20 CANYON TX 43 77 47 75 50 / 20 20 20 20 20 CLARENDON TX 46 76 50 74 52 / 20 20 30 30 20 DALHART TX 41 75 44 70 47 / 50 10 30 30 20 GUYMON OK 41 76 46 64 48 / 30 10 30 40 20 HEREFORD TX 43 78 43 80 49 / 20 10 20 20 20 LIPSCOMB TX 45 75 52 65 50 / 30 20 40 40 20 PAMPA TX 44 74 49 69 50 / 50 20 40 30 20 SHAMROCK TX 47 75 52 70 53 / 30 20 40 40 30 WELLINGTON TX 47 77 55 74 54 / 20 20 40 40 20 && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...NONE. OK...NONE. && 03/15
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX 558 PM CDT MON APR 20 2015 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-211100- CIMARRON-TEXAS-BEAVER-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HANSFORD-OCHILTREE-LIPSCOMB- HARTLEY-MOORE-HUTCHINSON-ROBERTS-HEMPHILL-OLDHAM-POTTER-CARSON- GRAY-WHEELER-DEAF SMITH-RANDALL-ARMSTRONG-DONLEY-COLLINGSWORTH- 558 PM CDT MON APR 20 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE PANHANDLES. NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL EXIST ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT ACROSS MAINLY THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT IF THUNDERSTORMS STRENGTHEN TO SEVERE LEVELS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. COCKRELL
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:55 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust of 63 mph was measured at the West Texas University Mesonet site located 2 miles west-northwest of Hereford.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2015
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: 574272.