A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across the Southern South Plains during the late afternoon and evening in conjunction with an upper level disturbance and strong moisture advection. These storms continued to expand in coverage and produce isolated severe wind and hail while moving northeast into Lubbock.
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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.
A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across the Southern South Plains during the late afternoon and evening in conjunction with an upper level disturbance and strong moisture advection. These storms continued to expand in coverage and produce isolated severe wind and hail while moving northeast into Lubbock. At the same time, a discrete supercell thunderstorm was able to ingest unperturbed warm and moist air west of Post in Garza County. This storm also produced large hail and severe wind gusts. Widespread flooding then occurred as storms trained over Lubbock, resulting in multiple road closures and flooded vehicles. Flash flooding also impacted areas between Kalgary and White River Lake in southeast Crosby County through northeast Garza County where the above mentioned supercell remained nearly stationary through much of the evening.
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 May 14, 5:57 PM CST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 657 PM CDT THU MAY 14 2015 .UPDATE... THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO COVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA THROUGH 11 PM. THE LATEST HRRR GRADUALLY MORPHS THE CLUSTER OF TSTMS ACROSS THE WRN SPLNS INTO A SQUALL LINE WHICH THEN MOVES EAST TONIGHT. WE HAVE ALSO INCREASE THE POPS FOR MOST AREAS. && .AVIATION... -TSRA IS EXPECTED AT KLBB AND PVW THIS EVENING...THEN SEVERAL HOURS LATER AT KCDS. SOME SEVERE WIND WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE. VFR CONDITIONS WILL RETURN LATE TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH THERE IS A LOW POTENTIAL FOR LOW CEILINGS...ESPECIALLY AT KCDS. SW BREEZES WILL INCREASE FRIDAY MORNING. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 214 PM CDT THU MAY 14 2015/ SHORT TERM... FORECAST THINKING CONTINUES ON TRACK WITH THAT PROVIDED IN THE NOON UPDATE. CAPE VALUES HAVE INCREASED A FAIR BIT IN THE LATEST MESOANALYSES PEAKING AT VALUES IN EXCESS OF 3KJ/KG PARTICULARLY ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN COUNTIES. BULK SHEAR CONTINUES TO BE RUNNING AROUND 35 KTS THOUGH ONE OF THE MORE REMARKABLE FIELDS IN THIS MORNING/S RUNS IS THE HELICITY...MOST NOTABLE THE 0-1KM FIELDS WHICH RAMP UP RAPIDLY THIS EVENING. THE ONE NEGATIVE...AND HISTORICALLY THIS CAN BE A DEAL-BREAKER...IS THE PRESENCE OF A PERSISTENT CIRRUS SHIELD. AS SUCH THE SEVERE THREAT IS CONDITIONAL ON INITIATION OF DEEP CONVECTION. HOWEVER...IF THINGS DO BECOME ESTABLISHED...ALL FORMS OF CONVECTIVE SEVERE WILL BE LIKELY. DATA SUGGESTS THAT THE WINDS WILL RAPIDLY BACK AROUND 00Z WITH ATTENDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SURGE AND ENHANCE THE TORNADO THREAT. ASSUMING DEEP CONVECTION OCCURS...WOULD LOOK FOR INITIAL ACTIVITY TO BE SOMEWHAT DISCRETE AND EVOLVE TOWARD SOME SORT OF QLCS LATER THIS EVENING. AFTER THE ACTIVITY WANES THIS EVENING...COULD SEE A BIT OF FOG TOWARD MORNING ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE ROLLING PLAINS. WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY...WE SHOULD GET A RESPITE IN CONVECTION UNTIL LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING WITH ANOTHER SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS AS DISCUSSED IN THE LONG TERM. LONG TERM... MODELS ARE CHANGING COURSE A LITTLE BIT WITH REGARDS TO FRIDAY CONVECTION. THE UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK WILL COME OUT OF THE SOUTHWESTERN US FARTHER SOUTH CLOSER TO WEST TEXAS. THIS WILL LEAVE THE REGION IN DIVERGENCE FLOW ALOFT. OVERNIGHT CONVECTION LOOKS MORE LIKELY FROM FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY MORNING. A PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL EVENTUALLY OVERTAKE A RETREATING DRYLINE FRIDAY NIGHT DEVELOPING CONVECTION INITIALLY IN EASTERN NEW MEXICO. A LOW LEVEL JET RAMPING UP WILL SUSTAIN CONVECTION IN MORE OR LESS OF A LINEAR FORM. THIS WILL BE COUPLED WITH STRONG HEIGHT FALLS OVERNIGHT. STEEPER LAPSE RATES ENTERING THE REGION BECAUSE OF COOLING ALOFT WILL ALLOW THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE STORMS. THE PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL THEN STALL OUT OVER THE ROLLING PLAINS WITH STRONGER LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE UPPER LEVEL JET POSITION WILL FAVOR THE CENTRAL PLAINS RATHER THAN THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS. ALTHOUGH THE SURFACE CONVERGENCE WILL FAVOR SOME INITIATION SATURDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING OVER THE ROLLING PLAINS. SUNDAY WILL SEE A BREAK FROM THE CONVECTION CHANCES AS THE LONGWAVE TROUGH EJECTS OUT INTO THE PLAINS AND MIDWEST. A CANADIAN COLD FRONT ON MONDAY WILL ALLOW LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO BE DRAWN BACK INTO THE REGION. OUR UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE NEXT WEEK WITH WESTERN CONUS TROUGHING RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AGAIN NEXT WEEK. AT THE MOMENT...MONDAY-TUESDAY IS THE AGREED UPON TIME FRAME FOR BEST CONVECTION IN BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FRIONA 55 77 53 74 / 30 10 50 0 TULIA 58 79 58 77 / 50 10 60 10 PLAINVIEW 59 79 59 77 / 60 10 60 10 LEVELLAND 59 80 59 78 / 70 10 60 0 LUBBOCK 60 81 61 80 / 70 10 60 10 DENVER CITY 59 81 58 78 / 30 10 60 0 BROWNFIELD 61 82 60 80 / 60 10 60 10 CHILDRESS 64 83 64 83 / 70 10 60 50 SPUR 63 82 63 83 / 70 10 60 20 ASPERMONT 66 83 66 85 / 70 20 60 50 && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 33
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX 1147 AM CDT THU MAY 14 2015 TXZ021>044-151700- PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE- FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING- YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL- 1147 AM CDT THU MAY 14 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE...SOUTH PLAINS AND ROLLING PLAINS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE SOUTH PLAINS AND SOUTHERN ROLLING PLAINS. THE MOST INTENSE STORMS COULD PRODUCE VERY LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS UP TO 80 MPH. ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE MAINLY FOR AREAS ON THE CAPROCK. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ADDITIONAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL THREATEN MUCH OF THE AREA ON FRIDAY EVENING...AND THEN AGAIN ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY IN THE ROLLING PLAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:18 UTC.
3 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Local media relayed a report of carport damage in Bula as severe downburst winds moved overhead.
The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site southwest of Graham measured a 59 mph wind gust as a thunderstorm moved through. This swath of damaging downburst winds continued northeast into Post, producing tree damage and lifting the roof off of a shed.
A NWS Employee reported quarter sized hail south of Wolfforth.
A trained weather spotter and several public citizens observed quarter sized hail from southeast of Wolfforth through much of the southwest side of Lubbock. No damage was reported.
Numerous reports of flooded roadways were received throughout the evening as three rounds of intense rainfall moved over the city, most notably over the southwestern side of town. Almost every major intersection between Milwaukee Avenue and Quaker Avenue was flowing with water, with the greatest impact being between 98th and 82nd Streets. Several cars were stranded in high water, as up to 2.5 inches of rain fell over the course of an hour and a half.
A storm chaser reported quarter sized hail and wind gusts to 60 mph as a supercell thunderstorm occurred five to ten miles southwest of Kalgary.
A supercell thunderstorm, which initiated west of Post in Garza County, moved northeast to near Kalgary and White River Lake. This storm became nearly stationary, producing radar estimated rainfall as high as six to eight inches in a 2 hour period. A NWS Storm Survey was conducted the following day, finding water still flowing across several farm to market roads as well as numerous areas of mud. One of these actually caused a road grader to become stuck while trying to remove mud off of a roadway near Kalgary. A high water rescue was also performed in this area the previous night. The abundant rainfall brought swiftly flowing water back to nearby portions of the Brazos River.
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: 566312, 566315, 566313, 566314, 566317, 566316, 566318.