Scattered thunderstorms developed across the South Plains ahead of a cold frontal boundary in the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. A very deeply mixed atmosphere allowed for a dry sub cloud layer.
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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.
Scattered thunderstorms developed across the South Plains ahead of a cold frontal boundary in the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. A very deeply mixed atmosphere allowed for a dry sub cloud layer. This resulted in a couple of severe wind gusts and thunderstorm wind damage. The first round of thunderstorms occurred late in the afternoon with a severe wind gust reported near Graham and a power pole blown over within the city of Lubbock (Lubbock County). An additional round of thunderstorms occurred during the early morning hours of the 31st as a short wave moved overhead. These thunderstorms mostly affected the southwestern South Plains and a severe wind gust was measured at a Texas Tech University mesonet site near Denver City (Yoakum County).
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 30, 1:43 PM CST, 3 hours 38 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 243 PM CDT Thu Jul 30 2020 .SHORT TERM... GOES-East water vapor imagery analyzes a mid-level impulse rotating equatorward along the downstream portion of the ridge axis, now located over the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle region. An upper-level trough axis was digging into the south-central Great Plains, accompanied by a 250-300 mb jet streak near 55 knots. A cold front was located across the the extreme southern Texas Panhandle, and continues to progress south across the Caprock and low Rolling Plains. As the cold front moves into the southern South and Rolling Plains later this afternoon, the mid-level shortwave perturbation will arrive during this time with isolated to scattered thunderstorm development expected along the front. Intense heating will mix out the boundary-layer entirely, though there is some degree of subsidence aloft as lapse rates dampen above 500 mb. However, towards the evening, mid-level cooling should begin to increase and therefore enlarging MLCAPE to ~2,500 J/kg in the open warm sector ahead of the cold front. The richly buoyant airmass, characterized by mean mixing ratios near 13-15 g/kg beneath strong mid- and upper-level flow in conjunction with a deeply mixed sub-cloud layer will augment the potential for a damaging wind threat (up to 65 mph) with the strongest convection. Locally heavy rain will also enhance the potential for localized flash flooding. However, the flash flooding risk should be mitigated by the stronger deep-layer winds as the front propagates through the forecast area later this evening. The mean storm motion is expected to be ~330/25 kt (towards the southeast at 30 mph) along the advancing front. There is a possibility of additional convection across the forecast area overnight as another weak shortwave perturbation rotates across the region. Should this come to fruition, LCLs will be rooted above the post-frontal airmass (i.e. elevated) and storms should remain below severe criteria. Quite a bit of uncertainty exists with the potential for overnight convection, mainly due to the potential for convective overturning after the initial round of storms and airmass stabilization. Thunderstorm chances wane altogether near sunrise tomorrow morning as the airmass stabilizes, and the post-frontal airmass will leave behind pleasant temperatures with highs only reaching the upper 80s and lower 90s on the Caprock and Rolling Plains, respectively. Sincavage .LONG TERM... The combination of N-NW flow aloft and low-level upslope flow should generate scattered t-storm activity across the higher terrain of NM Friday afternoon and evening. Although a stronger northerly component to upper- and lower-level flow should keep most of this activity to our west, there is a chance than an isolated storm or two could spill across the state line late Friday evening or Friday night. The forecast area will remain located between the upper ridge to the west and an upper trough to the east Saturday and into early Sunday; with deep-layer northerly flow bringing a weak disturbance across the area late Saturday afternoon and evening. This will bring a chance of some late day t-storm development, although forecast surface temps of lower 90s may be not quite sufficient to break the cap, or keep development isolated. Guidance is advertising a fairly strong convective signal late Sunday/Sunday night corresponding to a stronger upper-level shortwave moving out of the southern Rockies. It is still a little too early to completely bite on the timing and strength of this wave, but right now it looks like it will bring the best opportunity in the forecast period for widespread convection and rainfall across the forecast area. If the nocturnal MCS materializes, we could see a threat of severe winds and locally heavy rainfall, and it will likely be cooler Monday and more stable in its wake. After a day of recovery, we could see another shortwave and MCS late Tuesday/Tuesday night. But with signs of the Southwest Desert upper ridge expanding northeastward, this could push the storm track to the NE, favoring the SE TX Panhandle and northern Rolling Plains. Then, due to the expanding ridge, NW flow starts to weaken Wednesday, but could still be just enough to support some t-storm chances, mainly across our northern areas. Closing out the work week, it looks like the upper ridge should become centered close enough to the forecast area to keep precip chances low and temps above average. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 09/33
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Lubbock TX 1232 PM CDT Thu Jul 30 2020 TXZ021>044-311745- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 1232 PM CDT Thu Jul 30 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected this afternoon into tonight. These storms are expected to develop along and south of a line from near Morton, to near Guthrie, and generally move to the southeast. Wind gusts to 65 mph and hail near 1 inch diameter will be the greatest threats along with localized very heavy rain and flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Showers and thunderstorms will be possible over the South Plains Friday evening into early Saturday. Primary hazards will be locally heavy rain and wind gusts to 65 mph. Additional thunderstorm chances will exist from Sunday through early next week. A few of these storms could become strong to severe. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed. Please relay any information about severe weather to the NWS while following local, state, and CDC guidelines.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Lubbock TX 618 PM CDT Thu Jul 30 2020 TXZ034-035-040-041-302345- Terry TX-Hockley TX-Lynn TX-Lubbock TX- 618 PM CDT Thu Jul 30 2020 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN LUBBOCK...NORTHERN LYNN...NORTHEASTERN TERRY AND SOUTHEASTERN HOCKLEY COUNTIES UNTIL 645 PM CDT... At 617 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over Wolfforth, or 5 miles west of Lubbock, moving southeast at 25 mph. Nickel size hail and wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph will be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Lubbock, Wolfforth, Texas Tech University, Slide, Lubbock South Plains Mall, Woodrow, Reese Center, Wilson, Smyer, Ropesville, New Home and Lubbock Science Spectrum. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. && LAT...LON 3360 10219 3365 10194 3334 10158 3320 10213 TIME...MOT...LOC 2317Z 322DEG 22KT 3354 10198 55
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 16 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:21 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Local broadcast media relayed a picture of a power pole blown over near the intersection of 34th Street and South Loop 289.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Graham measured a wind gust to 69 mph.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Denver City measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph at 0210 CST. Severe wind gusts were measured from 0205 through 0210 CST.
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: 902126, 902128, 902129.