An upper level trough moved out of the southwest United States and a weak warm front moved northward through South Central Texas. These combined to induce thunderstorms in a warm, moist airmass.
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 EWX wrote it up.
An upper level trough moved out of the southwest United States and a weak warm front moved northward through South Central Texas. These combined to induce thunderstorms in a warm, moist airmass. Some of these storms produced heavy rain and damaging wind gusts.
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 Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 13, 6:10 AM CST, 0 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 710 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2015 .AVIATION... /12Z TAFS/ MAIN CONCERNS OVER NEXT SIX HOURS AT SAT/SSF/AUS WILL BE LIFR CIGS TRANSITIONING TO TSRA THAT ARE DEVELOPING AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHES THE REGION AND A WEAK WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH. MORE ISOLATED STORM COVERAGE IS EXPECTED AT THESE SITES PRIOR TO 14-15Z AT SAT AND 15-16Z AT AUS...BUT EXPECT WIDESPREAD SHRA AND TSRA AFTER THAT THROUGH AT LEAST 18-19Z. FORECAST AFTER THIS IS RELATIVELY UNCERTAIN...BUT EXPECT THERE WILL BE A BREAK IN THE ACTION THIS AFTERNOON WITH CIGS LIFTING TO MVFR WITH A POSSIBLE SECOND ROUND LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. AT DRT...SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO END WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS...ALLOWING FOR A GRADUAL CLEARING AND IMPROVEMENT TO MVFR OR VFR CONDITIONS BY LATE MORNING. THIS WILL ALLOW THE ATMOSPHERE TO DESTABILIZE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON...WHICH SHOULD SUPPORT STRONG TO SEVERE TSRA THAT FORM OFF THE SERRENIAS DEL BURRO AND DRYLINE TO MOVE INTO THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS. IT IS UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME IF THERE WILL BE ENOUGH INSTABILITY LEFTOVER AT SAT/SSF/AUS TO SUPPORT THE MAINTENANCE OF THESE STORMS INTO THE I-35 SITES EARLY THIS EVENING...BUT SHOULD HAVE A BETTER IDEA BY THE 18Z PACKAGE. LH && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 404 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2015/ SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS A LONG WAVE UPPER TROUGH MOVING ACROSS THE CONUS SOUTHWEST REGION AND NORTHERN MEXICO. THIS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS FORECAST TO PUSH INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS MORNING. AS IT PUSHES INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS...A JET STREAK OF 50 TO 65 KNOTS IS EXPECTED TO PUSH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU AND RIO GRANDE PLAINS AREAS PER LATEST GFS AND RUC40 GUIDANCE. AT THE SURFACE...00Z WEDNESDAY BROWNSVILLE AND DEL RIO SOUNDINGS SHOWED 1.91 AND 1.41 PWATS RESPECTIVELY. AREA FORECAST SOUNDINGS SUGGEST AN INCREASE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS THROUGH LATE THIS MORNING WITH PWATS REACHING 1.9 INCHES AT KDRT AROUND 12Z. AREA RADARS ARE SHOWING THE LEADING EDGE OF SHOWERS AFFECTING THE SOUTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU AND RIO GRANDE PLAINS WITH LIGHTNING DETECTED ACROSS THE SIERRA MADRE OF MEXICO. ALSO...AREA RADARS ARE DETECTING SEVERAL FEATURES OF INTEREST SUCH AS THE MCV JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE HOUSTON AREA...A CLUSTER OF STORMS EAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI AND ANOTHER MCV WEST OF SAN ANGELO AREA WITHIN A LARGER SCALE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. AS THE DAY GOES ON...THE COMBINATION OF DAYTIME HEATING WITH TEMPS REACHING THE MID 70S TO LOWER 80S AND DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 60S TO LOWER 70S PLUS AN INCREASE OF UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL RESULT IN A PERIOD OF ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF A FREDERICKSBURG TO SEGUIN TO YORTOWN LINE. THE MAIN SEVERE THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ALSO...THERE IS THE THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS THROUGH 7 PM THIS EVENING. NEW RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO GENERALLY BE AROUND 1 TO 3 INCHES WITH ISOLATED 5 INCHES. LARGEST AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR BETWEEN HIGHWAY 83 AND HIGHWAY 281 (AVERAGE RAINFALL AMOUNTS EXPECTED FOR SAN ANTONIO METRO AREA IS 1.9 INCHES). ALL HIRES AND MEDIUM-RANGE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE EXPECTED WEATHER FOR TODAY. BY NOON TODAY...MODELS BRING A LINER CONVECTIVE SYSTEM ACROSS SAN ANTONIO WHILE MOVING TO THE EAST. AT THAT TIME...IF THIS PANS OUT...THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AS STORMS ACCELERATE FORWARD WITH PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 35. WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM WEST TO EAST WITH LINGERING ACTIVITY OVER THE EASTERN ZONES. LONG TERM (THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)... ON THURSDAY...THE LONG WAVE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH REGIME CONTINUES AND BRING RAIN CHANCES ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT PERIOD. THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS TEND TO AGREE WITH THE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TO PREVAIL FOR SEVERAL DAYS WITH A MORE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN FOR LATE FRIDAY THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT REMAINS INTACT...BUT WEAKENS SIGNIFICANTLY. WE WILL MAINTAIN SOME LOW END RAIN CHANCES FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... AUSTIN CAMP MABRY 77 69 83 70 82 / 90 50 30 20 40 AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTL AIRPORT 78 68 83 70 82 / 80 50 30 20 40 NEW BRAUNFELS MUNI AIRPORT 79 68 84 70 81 / 80 50 30 20 40 BURNET MUNI AIRPORT 74 66 82 68 80 / 90 50 20 30 40 DEL RIO INTL AIRPORT 80 68 85 68 86 / 80 20 20 50 20 GEORGETOWN MUNI AIRPORT 75 67 82 69 80 / 90 50 30 20 40 HONDO MUNI AIRPORT 79 67 85 69 84 / 90 20 20 40 40 SAN MARCOS MUNI AIRPORT 78 68 83 70 82 / 80 50 30 20 40 LA GRANGE - FAYETTE REGIONAL 80 71 84 72 82 / 70 50 40 20 40 SAN ANTONIO INTL AIRPORT 79 69 85 71 82 / 90 40 20 30 40 STINSON MUNI AIRPORT 80 69 85 71 83 / 80 30 20 30 40 && .EWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: ATASCOSA...BANDERA...BASTROP...BEXAR...BLANCO...BURNET...CALDWELL... COMAL...DE WITT...DIMMIT...EDWARDS...FAYETTE...FRIO...GILLESPIE... GONZALES...GUADALUPE...HAYS...KARNES...KENDALL...KERR...KINNEY... LAVACA...LEE...LLANO...MAVERICK...MEDINA...REAL...TRAVIS...UVALDE... VAL VERDE...WILLIAMSON...WILSON...ZAVALA. && MESOSCALE/AVIATION...01 SYNOPTIC/GRIDS...17
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 444 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2015 TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-141000- LLANO-BURNET-WILLIAMSON-VAL VERDE-EDWARDS-REAL-KERR-BANDERA- GILLESPIE-KENDALL-BLANCO-HAYS-TRAVIS-BASTROP-LEE-KINNEY-UVALDE- MEDINA-BEXAR-COMAL-GUADALUPE-CALDWELL-FAYETTE-MAVERICK-ZAVALA- FRIO-ATASCOSA-WILSON-KARNES-GONZALES-DE WITT-LAVACA-DIMMIT- 444 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 5 INCHES POSSIBLE. THESE AMOUNTS...ESPECIALLY OVER ALREADY MOIST AND NEARLY SATURATED GROUND FROM RECENT RAINFALL...WILL LIKELY RESULT IN FLASH FLOODING. LOW WATER CROSSINGS...CREEKS AND STREAMS...AND AREAS WITH POOR DRAINAGE MAY BE IMPACTED. THERE IS A MARGINAL TO SLIGHT RISK FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE GREATEST THREAT AREA IS ALONG AND WEST OF FREDERICKSBURG TO NEW BRAUNFELS TO KARNES CITY LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. RESIDENTS AND DECISION MAKERS SHOULD MONITOR THE FORECAST CLOSELY AS THE FORECAST WEATHER PATTERN IS FAVORABLE TO PRODUCE CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG STORMS WILL CONTINUE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.
The Laughlin AFB radar (KDFX), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:10 UTC.
7 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing several roads in Del Rio including Industrial Blvd. and Avenues J and B.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing FM 674 southwest of Rocksprings.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain causing flash flooding closing FM 1588 (Thompson Rd.) off Hwy 277 between Eagle Pass and Elm Creek.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing low water crossings on FM 1051 west of Concan, on FM 187 north of Sabinal, and on State Hwy 127 northwest of Sabinal.
A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 58 mph that knocked down a tree limb and blocked a road.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing numerous roads in and around Elgin including Old Sayer Rd., FM 812 near the county line, Woody Ln. at FM 1704, and Young Prairie at FM 1704.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding requiring a high water rescue near the junction of FM 2505 and FM 541.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing several roads in Lee County including FM 141 near Dime Box and FM 1624 near Lexington.
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, May 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: 581463, 581464, 581465, 581466, 581467, 581468, 581469, 581470.