On the afternoon of the 27th, scattered thunderstorms developed along a weak cold frontal boundary across the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. These storms brought intense rainfall but were relatively quick moving.
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.
On the afternoon of the 27th, scattered thunderstorms developed along a weak cold frontal boundary across the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. These storms brought intense rainfall but were relatively quick moving. However, training of storms occurred in and around Tulia (Swisher County) which resulted in flash flooding. One vehicle stalled out along Interstate 27 near Tulia.
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 Jul 27, 3:11 PM CST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 411 PM CDT Mon Jul 27 2020 .AVIATION... Slow-moving scattered showers and thunderstorms continue to develop and propagate southeast across the southern and southeastern Texas panhandle towards South Plains/Low Rolling plains of northwest Texas and southwest Oklahoma. This convection is closing in on KCDS terminal and due to slow movement will likely impact terminal periodically over the next few hours with MVFR conditions and occasionally gusty outflow winds. Also, the KPVW terminal may be impacted by showers and thunderstorm within the next 1 to 3 hours. JH. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 231 PM CDT Mon Jul 27 2020/ SHORT TERM... Scattered showers and thunderstorms already going up along a cold front that extends from Clovis to Tulia to Wheeler, particularly on the eastern end of that line in an area that got quite a bit warmer than forecast. The combination of temperatures of 95-100 and dew point temperatures in the low to mid 60s is resulting in a band of surface-based CAPE of around 1500 J/kg and weak inhibition that these storms are developing in. Shear is weak, so at least early on, disorganized multi-cellular is expected to be the preferred mode. However, there is enough shear that cold pools might be able to become organized in a few hours. Models may be overdoing the amount of deep moisture as the 12Z model initializations were higher with PWAT and other moisture parameters than observed on regional soundings. Still, some heavy showers will be possible. Training looks unlikely at this time and movement just fast enough to suggest that flooding threat will remain isolated. Best precip chances still look to be across the northern zones late afternoon to early evening, shifting to the eastern zones later tonight. Moist air mass remains in place across the forecast area on Tuesday. The cold front is expected to undergo frontolysis with a return to a general southerly low level flow across the area. However, subtle areas of convergence may be enough to kick off isolated to scattered showers/thunder. Slight chance to chance PoPs should cover the situation. Temperatures likely a bit higher than MOS guidance. LONG TERM... The stalled front should begin to drift north into the Texas/Oklahoma Panhandle region late Tuesday night, with a west- east oriented surface trough branching from a weak cyclone in eastern New Mexico. Strengthening of the mid- and upper-level ridge across the Desert Southwest will veer winds aloft, resulting in west-to-northwesterly flow above the boundary-layer while southerly flow persists beneath. This will enhance the potential for localized convection in areas along and north of the surface trough where low-level moisture convergence is maximized. The EML should be weak to modest at best, on the order of ~1,500 J/kg of SB/MLCAPE parcels owing to weak ML theta-e advection aloft and mean cloud-layer flow at around 15 knots. The combination of weak cloud-layer flow and meager CAPE (forecast soundings indicate the classic tall, skinny profile) should yield locally heavy rain and strong winds as the primary hazards with overnight convection. However, with precipitable water content in the <= 90th percentile (as per SPC sounding climatology from nearby RAOB sites), mean mixing ratios around 13-14 g/kg, and weak upper-level divergence, a widespread heavy rain event is not expected. Though, moderate to possibly high rain rates will be possible within the deepest convection, and a localized flash flood threat cannot be ruled out. Wednesday looks to be the driest day of the extended period as the surface low moves from eastern New Mexico and into the central Great Plains, with minimal chances for a shortwave to rotate over the forecast area. As the mid- and upper-level anticyclone strengthens over the southwestern U.S., there will be a potential for a few shortwave perturbations to rotate along the downstream ridge axis heading into Thursday and for the remainder of the extended forecast period. Convective precipitation will be possible each evening across the Caprock and portions of the low Rolling Plains into early next week. Sincavage && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 99/99/02
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 215 PM CDT Mon Jul 27 2020 TXZ021>044-281915- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 215 PM CDT Mon Jul 27 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:30 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Intense rainfall from training thunderstorms produced flash flooding in and around Tulia. Law enforcement reported that a vehicle had become stalled due to flooding along Interstate 27/US Highway 87 underneath the Texas Highway 86 overpass.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2020
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: 904230.