S. There were upslope winds and instability across the higher terrain of West Texas.
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 MAF wrote it up.
There was an upper ridge over the western U.S. There were upslope winds and instability across the higher terrain of West Texas. These conditions resulted in storms developing across this area.
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 Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 1:45 PM CST, 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 245 PM CDT SUN AUG 16 2015 .DISCUSSION... WV imagery shows the upper ridge has migrated a little further west over the past 24 hrs, and is now centered over SoCal/SW AZ. As a result, West Texas and Southeast New Mexico remain under NE flow aloft. Convection that developed over eastern NM last night developed SW around the ridge and into SE NM, w/isolated activity ongoing. Further south, a few cells have developed in the Davis Mtns, but are struggling. Sfc flow has veering from E to SE over the past 24 hrs, and return/upslope flow will continue to promote development over the higher wrn terrain, where richer theta-e remains. This scenario looks likely to persist again tomorrow. Although the ridge is forecast to move a little further west over the next 24 hours, and off the CA coast by 12Z Tuesday in response to a trough digging into the upper Midwest, thicknesses are still on tap to increase slightly over the next couple of days, approaching or exceeding triple digits again most areas by Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday, the upper trough mentioned above is forecast to drop a cold front into the region. Latest models slide a pre-frontal trough thru KMAF ahead of the front at around 16Z, followed by fropa later that afternoon around 22Z. Diurnal heating could very well slow this progression, as it is apt to do w/late-summer fronts, but assuming it doesn't, temps Wednesday afternoon should top out right around normal. Best chances of rain this forecast look to accompany fropa, NW-SE thru Thursday. Unfortunately, this shot of cooler air will be brief, w/temps quickly rebounding into the weekend as the upper ridge begins developing back into Texas, w/triple digits possible again by Saturday or so. Messy, zonal flow aloft is forecast to send minor shortwaves thru the region, for a slight chance of convection each day. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BIG SPRING TX 71 97 70 98 / 10 0 0 0 CARLSBAD NM 68 98 69 101 / 20 20 10 20 DRYDEN TX 73 98 70 98 / 10 0 0 0 FORT STOCKTON TX 69 97 74 100 / 10 10 0 10 GUADALUPE PASS TX 66 87 68 90 / 30 30 10 20 HOBBS NM 68 94 71 96 / 10 10 0 10 MARFA TX 60 87 61 89 / 10 10 10 20 MIDLAND INTL AIRPORT TX 69 97 72 98 / 10 0 0 0 ODESSA TX 73 96 72 98 / 10 10 0 0 WINK TX 70 99 73 101 / 10 10 0 10 && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 84/44
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 149 PM CDT SUN AUG 16 2015 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-171900- GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY-GAINES- DAWSON-BORDEN-SCURRY-ANDREWS-MARTIN-HOWARD-MITCHELL- VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS- LOVING-WINKLER-ECTOR-MIDLAND-GLASSCOCK-WARD-CRANE-UPTON-REAGAN- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-MARFA PLATEAU- BIG BEND AREA-TERRELL-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS- 149 PM CDT SUN AUG 16 2015 /1249 PM MDT SUN AUG 16 2015/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND WEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN TODAY. THE BEST CHANCES FOR RAIN WILL GENERALLY BE ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO SOUTH THROUGH WESTERN PORTIONS OF WEST TEXAS. WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH...LOCALIZED AREAS OF BLOWING DUST REDUCING VISIBILITY...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WEST MONDAY THEN BEGIN TO SPREAD EAST THROUGH MID WEEK. GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE MAIN CONCERNS WITH THESE STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES... AND STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MIDLAND CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT /LOWER CASE/ HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/MIDLAND
The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 177 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:21 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
A storm moved across Culberson County and produced a 60 mph wind gust north of Van Horn as measured by the local ASOS site.
Heavy rain fell across Brewster County with a COOP observer near Alpine reporting 1.00 to 1.24 inches of rain in 30 minutes.
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, August 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: 592336, 592339.