Scattered severe thunderstorms erupted this afternoon and tracked eastward across the South Plains and into the Rolling Plains. A few of these storms acquired deep rotation as they interacted with a stationary front draped west-to-east over the region, and resulted in swaths of destructive hail and significant straight line winds at times.
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 severe thunderstorms erupted this afternoon and tracked eastward across the South Plains and into the Rolling Plains. A few of these storms acquired deep rotation as they interacted with a stationary front draped west-to-east over the region, and resulted in swaths of destructive hail and significant straight line winds at times. One particularly intense supercell storm produced a large swath of downburst winds of 70 to 100 mph over portions of Lubbock, Hale, Crosby, and Dickens Counties.
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 Sep 17, 2:57 PM CST, 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 357 PM CDT Sun Sep 17 2017 .DISCUSSION... Similar to Saturday afternoon, another round of organized convection was underway this time and could prove more robust given improved instability and deep layer shear. Surface analysis at 3 PM featured a stationary front curling NW-SE from near Hereford to Jayton, with a surface trough aligned from Hereford SW to Carlsbad. Strong heating along the surface trough should focus the greatest coverage of storms in this area, with some flourishing likely as this activity eventually crosses the front. Thanks to a 60+ knot 200 mb jet atop the region, 0-8 km shear of nearly 50 knots with SBCAPEs around 1500 J/kg will support organized storm modes at times including supercells. Favorable 0-1 km shear on the cool side of the front could certainly foster low level mesocyclones and perhaps a brief tornado. Otherwise, model consensus is for the brunt of storms to affect the northern half of our CWA through the evening, before dwindling overnight following the passage of a subtle trough in cyclonic SW flow. Monday opens with a transition to deeper westerly flow complete with a warmer EML. Although most of the operational models are dry on Monday, data from WPC and various high resolution CAMs support a small window for storm development in the afternoon, mainly near the surface trough progged to reside over our western zones. Even with warming aloft, moisture convergence and favorable lapse rates aloft do appear to support at least isolated storm development. By Tuesday, even warmer air from 700-500 mb will advect through in advance of a shallow upper trough. Stronger westerly flow should serve to mix a dryline off the Caprock while also pushing highs well above normal region wide. How well the dryline can convect by late day is unclear, so we have retained the broad slight chance PoPs in our Low Rolling Plains counties. Thereafter, the upper flow will slowly back southwesterly in advance of a longwave trough progged to occupy the western CONUS by late week. The only change made to the forecast for late week was to skim back on PoPs across the eastern half of our CWA in response to meridional flow focusing farther west and translating much slower to the east into Saturday. This fits well with energy digging and slowing across the Desert SW which could open the door to repeated rain episodes from eastern NM through the TX South Plains - and perhaps regional flooding events which is not that uncommon this time of year. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 93
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Lubbock TX 401 PM CDT Sun Sep 17 2017 TXZ021>044-182115- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale- Floyd-Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King- Yoakum-Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 401 PM CDT Sun Sep 17 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains...Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms are expected across much of the outlook area through late this evening. The strongest of storms will be capable of producing very large hail to around baseball size, along with straight line winds near 70 mph. Some flooding may also accompany this activity. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday The probability of hazardous weather is low at this time.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:23 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Broadcast media relayed damage photos of a significant hailstorm that struck the community of Bula. Wind-driven hail as large as baseballs pummeled crops and caused extensive damage to siding, windows and roofs to dozens of buildings in the area.
Downburst winds around 75 mph downed several power lines along Farm-to-Market Road 2528 east of Shallowater. Some roof damage was also reported to a single family residence in the area.
Downburst winds around 80 mph lofted the roof from the Allsup's convenience store in Petersburg. The roof landed on an adjacent mobile home, causing moderate damage to the residence. Much of the store suffered water damage from the ensuing heavy rainfall.
A large and particularly destructive macroburst (downburst winds more than 2.5 miles in width) tracked east across most of northern Crosby County this evening, accompanied by winds ranging from 80 to 100 mph at times. Data from radar and damage patterns during a NWS storm survey indicated these intense winds were about five miles in width, and traveled for a distance of almost 30 miles. The community of Cone was struck especially hard by these winds. An older, single family home had a west-facing wall partially collapse, and the roof to a grain store was blown off and deposited on US Highway 62 forcing a temporary closure of the road. Additional damage in Cone consisted of several downed power lines, about ten snapped utility poles, a few downed trees, light to moderate building damage, and one metal shed that was destroyed and had its contents of antique tractors and vehicles damaged. The NWS damage survey also noted several dozen more damaged power lines throughout northern Crosby County, along with multiple center pivot irrigation systems overturned. Cotton, corn, and sorghum crops sustained light to moderate damage, however some crops used as silage were completely flattened by the intense winds. Combined losses in Crosby County alone are estimated to be nearly $2 million USD.
Measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet southeast of Ralls.
The Floyd County Emergency Manager relayed a report from a fire department member in McAdoo who lost a corner of their home's roof during intense straight line winds.
Measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, September 2017
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: 715373, 714955, 714962, 714963, 714971, 714964, 714972, 714974.