Scattered thunderstorms erupted over the Rolling Plains and eastern South Plains on the afternoon of the 26th along a stalled out cold front. These storms were able to blossom in deeper moisture north of the frontal boundary.
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 LUB wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms erupted over the Rolling Plains and eastern South Plains on the afternoon of the 26th along a stalled out cold front. These storms were able to blossom in deeper moisture north of the frontal boundary. A few of these storms became severe over the Rolling Plains, producing hail to the size of golf balls.
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 Apr 26, 12:23 PM CST, 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 123 PM CDT SUN APR 26 2015 .SHORT TERM... LATEST DISCUSSION REMAINS VALID WITH FOCUS TURNING TO SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS ACROSS THE EASTERN ROW OF COUNTIES WHERE A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICT A SHARP MOIST TONGUE SURGING NORTH THROUGH THE BIG COUNTRY THIS MORNING COMPLETE WITH DEEP CONVECTION ALREADY UNDERWAY NEAR A LINE FROM ABI-SWW. CONCERN IS THIS CONVECTION WILL BLOSSOM INTO AN MCS IN THE HOURS AHEAD AS IT STEERS NE AND SENDS OUTFLOW W-NW INTO OUR SRN ROLLING PLAINS. IF THIS HAPPENS...THEN THIS OUTFLOW SHOULD COLLIDE WITH A SHARPENING DRYLINE AND PERHAPS LEAD TO ADDITIONAL CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR SE ZONES PROVIDED THE OUTFLOW IS NOT TOO GREAT IN DEPTH. OTHERWISE...OUR BIGGEST CONCERN FOR SVR TSTORMS INCLUDING A FEW TORNADOES WILL TAKE AIM IN OUR NERN COUNTIES ALONG A SLOW MOVING BACKDOOR FRONT THAT AS OF 1530Z STRETCHED FROM PALO DURO CANYON SE TO QUITAQUE...NORTHFIELD AND SWEARINGEN. THIS FRONT STILL LOOKS ON TRACK TO STALL BY EARLY AFTN. CONTINUED MOISTURE POOLING ALONG AND JUST BEHIND THE FRONT APPEARS SUFFICIENT FOR 1000-2500 J/KG OF CAPE BY MID- AFTERNOON UNDERNEATH STEEP LAPSE RATES. PROGGED 0-3KM HODOGRAPHS JUST NORTH OF THIS FRONT ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE WITH 0-1KM BULK SHEAR VALUES AOA 20 KNOTS BY LATE AFTERNOON. ANY STORMS IN THIS ENVIRONMENT COULD READILY ACQUIRE LL ROTATION AND POSE A DISTINCT THREAT FOR A FEW TORNADOES. OTHERWISE...FORCING FOR ASCENT WILL NOT BE IN SHORT SUPPLY TODAY GIVEN AN IMPRESSIVE UPPER LOW TRENDING NEGATIVE TILT ACROSS NEW SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO LATER TODAY. WE STILL EXPECT SOME HIGH BASED STORMS AND VIRGA WITH MICROBURSTS OVER OUR WESTERN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON AS STRONG HEIGHT FALLS UNFOLD AND SQUEAK OUT AT LEAST A COUPLE HUNDRED J/KG OF CAPE. .LONG TERM... PROBABLY THE MOST SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE IN THE EXTENDED IS THE EFFECTS OF OUR UPPER LEVEL LOW JUST TO OUR WEST TAKING A BIT MORE OF A PAUSE OVER THE AREA MONDAY. GIVEN THE TRACK OF THE LOW...WE STAND A BIT BETTER CHANCE AT SEEING SOME WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE ON THE SYSTEM AS IT SLOWLY TRANSLATES ACROSS SRN OKLAHOMA INTO TUESDAY. AS A RESULT...WILL KEEP THE EXTENDED MENTION OF RAIN INTO TUESDAY. THEREAFTER...NORTHERLY UL FLOW ACROSS THE REGION WILL PERSIST MUCH OF THE UPCOMING WORK WEEK WHICH WILL HELP KEEP TEMPS DOWN. BY FRIDAY...WE COME UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF WEAK RIDGING WITH SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW RETURNING BY NEXT SUNDAY WHICH COULD BE OUR NEXT SHOT AT PRECIPITATION. GIVEN THAT THIS IS DAY 8...IT IS JUST BEYOND OUR VALID FCST TIME BUT NEVERTHELESS IT COULD BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS...SOME POSSIBLY SEVERE...TO THE REGION ESPECIALLY IN THE EAST. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 44 54 38 61 / 30 70 40 10 TULIA 47 55 40 62 / 40 70 50 20 PLAINVIEW 48 55 41 61 / 30 70 50 20 LEVELLAND 46 58 41 61 / 20 60 40 20 LUBBOCK 48 58 41 61 / 20 60 50 20 DENVER CITY 45 63 41 61 / 20 40 20 20 BROWNFIELD 47 63 42 61 / 20 50 30 20 CHILDRESS 55 57 45 64 / 60 70 60 30 SPUR 53 65 45 62 / 30 60 60 30 ASPERMONT 56 68 46 62 / 30 60 60 30 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 93/26
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1112 AM CDT SUN APR 26 2015 TXZ021>044-271615- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1112 AM CDT SUN APR 26 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING SUPERCELLS...ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE ROLLING PLAINS AND FAR SOUTHEAST PANHANDLE EAST OF A DRYLINE. VERY LARGE HAIL TO BASEBALL SIZE...DOWNBURST WINDS TO 70 MPH...A FEW TORNADOES...AND LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS. THE GREATEST TORNADO THREAT APPEARS TO DEVELOP IN THE FAR SOUTHEAST PANHANDLE ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF A STATIONARY FRONT WHERE LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR IS GREATEST...ALTHOUGH MUCH DEEPER INSTABILITY IN THE LOW ROLLING PLAINS MAY ALSO FOSTER A TORNADO THREAT. FARTHER WEST ON THE CAPROCK...HIGH-BASED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON COULD PRODUCE A FEW MICROBURSTS WITH LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND MINOR FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE ON MONDAY IN THE FAR SOUTHEAST PANHANDLE. FARTHER SOUTH...A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY OVER THE SOUTHERN ROLLING PLAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:16 UTC.
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A storm chaser photographed hail around golf ball size. Damage was unknown. Time and location were estimated.
The Paducah Fire Department reported hail up to the size of quarters north of Paducah. No damage was reported.
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: 564189, 563836, 563827.