Isolated thunderstorms developed over the South Plains on the afternoon of the 18th. One of these storms became severe as it moved over northwestern portions of the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County) and dropped one inch size hail.
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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.
Isolated thunderstorms developed over the South Plains on the afternoon of the 18th. One of these storms became severe as it moved over northwestern portions of the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County) and dropped one inch size hail.
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 18, 1:24 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 224 PM CDT Fri May 18 2018 .DISCUSSION... Elevated convection continued to develop across the southern South Plains early this afternoon. This was largely in response to weak height falls impinging on a N-S axis of richer PWATs all underneath favorable upper diffluence. Although recent high resolution CAMs have a poor handle on this activity, the expectation is for this elevated convection to gradually become surface based as it progresses NE into an increasingly unstable airmass focusing in the eastern Panhandle. This seems plausible given diminishing CINH downstream of this elevated convection as temps rise into the mid 90s. The dryline meanwhile will slowly become better defined across our western zones this afternoon before making an eastward push later today as a weak upper trough axis lifts NE. The dryline may not benefit us much as the brunt of 850mb moisture advection shifts into the eastern Panhandle in response to stronger height falls arriving there this evening. As such, PoPs continue to be highest in our NE zones where high based supercells could easily develop by late day within 3000 J/kg of CAPE and 35 knots of deep layer shear. Behind tonight's shortwave trough, a weak upper low is progged to develop over eastern CO and meander slowly eastward through Sunday. Following deeper and drier SW flow on Saturday with conditional dryline PoPs off the Caprock, departure of the aforementioned low should release a cold front southward through the Panhandle Saturday night before slowing across our southern zones on Sunday. Maintained healthy 40-50% PoPs Sat night for this boundary's arrival, while thinning these out on Sunday under shortwave ridging and cooler/more stable air following the earlier precip. Rain chances should see some resurgence Sun night as a deeper fetch of Gulf moisture resumes ahead of increasingly cyclonic SW flow. This theme remains mostly intact each day through at least Wednesday, but PoPs each day will be highly contingent on any pre-existing boundaries including the dryline. With generally modest SW flow aloft, the dryline should occupy a more westerly longitude each day...perhaps remaining in eon NM each days. Steady height rises ahead of sharper upper ridging now appear more likely by late week as the western CONUS cyclone slowly decays and sweeps east across the central and northern Rockies, so rain chances were culled accordingly for Thu and Fri. && .FIRE WEATHER... Southwest winds behind a developing dryline will slowly increase to 15 to 25 mph in the coming hours across the western South Plains. RH values should easily fall into the single digits, mainly west of the Highway 385 corridor, where most fuels did not benefit from rainfall in the past week. Red Flag Warning remains valid through 9 PM at which point winds will diminish to under 15 mph. .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for TXZ021-022-027- 028-033-034-039-040. && 93
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 1058 AM CDT Fri May 18 2018 TXZ021>044-190400- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale- Floyd-Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King- Yoakum-Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 1058 AM CDT Fri May 18 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Elevated to critical wildfire weather is expected this afternoon and early evening across the western South Plains and extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle, where a Red Flag Warning is in effect. Severe thunderstorms may develop this afternoon and evening. These storms are most likely to form east of the Interstate 27 corridor particularly across the southern Texas Panhandle. Hail to the size of baseballs and 70 mph wind gusts are possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday A few strong thunderstorms are also possible Saturday night and Sunday. Strong or severe thunderstorms also may develop Monday through Wednesday as an unsettled pattern holds over our region. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be requested this afternoon and evening across the northeastern South Plains, northern Rolling Plains, and southeastern Texas Panhandle.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Lubbock TX
238 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 2018
TXZ035-182000-
Lubbock TX-
238 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN LUBBOCK COUNTY UNTIL
300 PM CDT...
At 236 PM CDT, emergency management reported a strong thunderstorm
near Wolfforth, or 7 miles west of Lubbock, moving northeast at 25
mph. This storm produced pea size hail when it moved over the city
of Wolfforth.
Up to one half inch diameter hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will
be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Lubbock, Wolfforth, Shallowater, Lubbock International Airport,
Texas Tech University, Downtown Lubbock, Lubbock South Plains
Mall and New Deal.
LAT...LON 3355 10208 3362 10208 3379 10189 3359 10171
3349 10203
TIME...MOT...LOC 1936Z 232DEG 22KT 3355 10200
JORDANThe Lubbock radar (KLBB), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:50 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail up to the size of quarters was reported near 4th Street and Milwaukee Avenue in Lubbock.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2018
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: 747338.