A nearly stationary upper level low over southern California was the mechanism that caused upper level disturbances to move across West Central Texas. These upper level disturbances interacted with outflow boundaries, daytime heating, and very unstable air to produce severe weather over the three day period which included large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.
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 SJT wrote it up.
A nearly stationary upper level low over southern California was the mechanism that caused upper level disturbances to move across West Central Texas. These upper level disturbances interacted with outflow boundaries, daytime heating, and very unstable air to produce severe weather over the three day period which included large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 3:29 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 429 PM CDT Fri May 8 2015 .SHORT TERM... (Tonight and Tomorrow) ...Severe Thunderstorms... The potential for severe thunderstorms highlights the forecast for the next 24 hours. With southwest flow aloft over Texas and a dryline to our west, severe thunderstorms are possible during the next 24 hours. Most of our Counties are currently under Tornado Watch number 145, which continues until midnight CDT tonight. In addition, the 0 to 6 kilometer bulk shear this afternoon is in the 40 to 60 knots range; plus, surface based CAPEs this afternoon are around 4000 J/Kg. These conditions clearly have our attention. With ongoing severe thunderstorms to our northwest, outflow boundaries from that activity will be a big player, during the evening hours, for supercell initiation over our counties. .LONG TERM... (Saturday night through Friday) ...Severe Weather Threat Into Sunday Night... With the main focus on the short term, the long term forecast remains essentially unchanged. The upper trough axis will finally move over and east of our counties Sunday night. Until then, any thunderstorms, which develop over or move into our counties, may be severe. The timing of the next front looks more likely for early to mid day Monday, rather than late Sunday night. Temperatures after the front still look cooler, at least into mid week. Another developing upper trough, along the west coast, will help maintain southwest flow aloft over Texas for most of next week. Thus, thunderstorms remain in the forecast for all long-term periods. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Abilene 68 84 63 80 60 / 30 50 50 50 30 San Angelo 69 88 63 81 60 / 30 30 70 50 40 Junction 70 83 68 81 64 / 30 40 70 70 60 && .SJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && Huber
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 354 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2015 TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139- 140-154-155-168>170-092100- FISHER-NOLAN-STERLING-COKE-RUNNELS-IRION-TOM GREEN-CONCHO- CROCKETT-SCHLEICHER-SUTTON-HASKELL-THROCKMORTON-JONES-SHACKELFORD- TAYLOR-CALLAHAN-COLEMAN-BROWN-MCCULLOCH-SAN SABA-MENARD-KIMBLE- MASON- 354 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY WEST OF A LINE FROM JUNCTION TO COLEMAN. THE MAIN THREATS THERE ARE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. ELSEWHERE...THE MAIN THREATS ARE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. ALTHOUGH THE TORNADO THREAT IS NOT HAS HIGH...EAST OF THIS LINE...A TORNADO IS POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL MAY PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE AGAIN ON SATURDAY. SEVERE WEATHER THREATS INCLUDE DAMAGING WINDS...VERY LARGE HAIL... TORNADOES...AND LOCALIZED FLOODING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON...AND AGAIN ON SATURDAY. HUBER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
309 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2015
TXZ076-082045-
CROCKETT TX-
309 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2015
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY EFFECTIVE UNTIL 345 PM CDT FOR
CROCKETT COUNTY...
POTENTIAL STORM HAZARDS INCLUDE...
GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL
AT 307 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER CENTRAL PECOS
COUNTY...OR ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTH OF MCCAMEY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25
MPH.
POTENTIAL STORM IMPACTS INCLUDE...
SOME BROKEN TREE BRANCHES AND A FEW WEAK TREES TOPPLED...
SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES LIKELY...
LIGHT LOOSE OBJECTS TOPPLED...
DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS...
MINOR SHINGLE DAMAGE...
ISOLATED SMALL DENTS TO VEHICLES...
THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
NORTHWESTERN CROCKETT COUNTY.
LAT...LON 3110 10234 3109 10163 3108 10162 3095 10195
3098 10199 3098 10201 3099 10206 3098 10209
3100 10218 3103 10222 3103 10229 3107 10236
TIME...MOT...LOC 2009Z 223DEG 26KT 3103 10223The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
The Haskell County Sheriff's Office reported a wind gust of 60 mph in Rochester.
A trained spotter reported a tornado through the Haskell County Sheriff's office about 3.7 miles east of O'Brien.
The sheriff's Office estimated a wind gust of 70 mph in Rochester.
The public reported a tornado about 13 miles northwest of Throckmorton.
The sheriff's office reported a tornado about 1 mile north of Throckmorton.
The Throckmorton Fire Department/Rescue reported numerous tree limbs down in Woodson.
The Throckmorton Fire Department/Rescue estimated a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph in Elbert.
A trained spotter 4 miles east-southeast of Woodson estimated a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph.
The Fire Department/Rescue reported hail up to the size of quarters on U.S. 87 in extreme southwest Coke County.
A trained spotter estimated a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph, 4 miles north of Kinckerbocker.
A trained spotter reported numerous tree limbs down throughout Paint Rock. The largest limbs were up to 15 feet in length.
A RAWS observation site measured a wind gust of 69 mph, 4 miles west-northwest of Stacy.
The Coleman County Fire Department/Rescue estimated a thunderstorm wind gust of 70 mph on U.S. 67 between Valera and Talpa.
A COOP Observer reported numerous tree limbs blown down in Moran, which were up to 8 feet in length.
A National Weather Service employee reported golf ball sized hail along Interstate 10 about 15.6 miles east of Sonora.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2015Warnings 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: 578016, 578343, 578018, 578347, 578350, 578019, 578022, 578024, 578026, 578027, 578028, 578029, 578039, 578040, 578048, 578049, 578050, 578076, 578078, 578081, 578087, 578090, 578095, 578115, 578116, 578117, 578118.