On the afternoon of the fifth, scattered thunderstorms developed in eastern New Mexico ahead of an upper level shear axis. These storms became outflow dominant by the time they reached West Texas.
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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.
On the afternoon of the fifth, scattered thunderstorms developed in eastern New Mexico ahead of an upper level shear axis. These storms became outflow dominant by the time they reached West Texas. A cluster of thunderstorms was able to produce a couple of severe wind gusts in Lubbock 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 5, 5:12 PM CST, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 612 PM CDT Sun Jul 5 2020 .AVIATION... Late evening and overnight thunderstorm complexes continue to look possible over or near the TAF sites. Timing of storm development remains slightly uncertain, but the general timing looks after 03Z. Storms overnight will have areas of very heavy rainfall, gusty outflow winds, and ceilings briefly lowering to a little above MVFR levels. VFR conditions expected to return by daybreak Monday. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 218 PM CDT Sun Jul 5 2020/ SHORT TERM... A stormy night looks possible for much of the area tonight. A very moist and moderately unstable environment was in place this afternoon just downstream of a well-defined mid level shear axis from the Colorado-New Mexico-Oklahoma boundary south-southeast into the Texas South Plains and Rolling Plains. This shear zone is projected to move south-southeast through the Texas Panhandle tonight into the South Plains on Monday and will provide increasing support for storm chances. Surface conditions are more complex, with this mornings showers having sent a resurged outflow to the west, where highest convergence now exists from the southwestern South Plains into the northern Permian Basin. Thunderstorms may be most likely to form in this area initially late this afternoon, and drift southeast out of our area by early evening. But a growing cumulus cloud field through the western Panhandle and far northeast New Mexico will provide focus for one or more clusters of thunderstorms by late afternoon into early evening, from northeast New Mexico and the western Texas Panhandle into the central Panhandle. These storms will likely grow upscale into one or more complexes and move south-southeast into the Texas South Plains and possibly Rolling Plains during the evening or very early Monday morning. These systems may eventually converge and grow further while passing through central areas shortly after midnight resulting in a large cluster or convective complex. Strong winds will be a threat through the evening, then as the convective systems mature will likely lead to a heavy rain threat with isolated strong or high winds possible late tonight. We considered a Flood Watch or Flash Flood Watch for tonight, given the rich moisture and fairly widespread rain chances. But projected storm motion appears fast enough to limit rainfall accumulations. Isolated flooding, however, will be a threat overnight as rainfall intensity could be quite high in a few spots. We have increased rain chances and coverage into the likely category for much of the area, especially later tonight, and continued the mention for heavy rain. Monday will be notably cooler on the back side of the overnight convective systems, and temperatures will take much of the day to recover back into the mid or upper 80s. Still, the upper shear axis will be passing over along with considerable moisture and weak instability, and still capable of a chance for thunderstorms. RMcQueen LONG TERM... The previous forecast assessments for the extended term remain on track, with minimal changes necessitated. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected to linger across the southeastern Rolling Plains during the overnight hours Tuesday, as the stalled front dissipates and remnants of a weak vorticity lobe exits the region. The well advertised mid- and upper-level ridge axes will progress eastward this week, resulting in temperatures breaching 100 degrees by Wednesday and continuing through the weekend. Heat stress will increase especially during the overnight hours as lows struggle to fall below the middle 70s. While chances for convection remain quite low during the remainder of the forecast period, the main upcoming hazard will be heat as ridging dominates the southern Great Plains. Sincavage && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 99/99/28
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 220 PM CDT Sun Jul 5 2020 TXZ021>044-061930- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 220 PM CDT Sun Jul 5 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Thunderstorm chances will increase tonight as one or more thunderstorm complexes are expected nearby. Storms will have potential for wind gusts to 65 mph, hail near 1 inch diameter, and extremely heavy rainfall that could lead to localized flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. A heightened heat risk will develop late this week and continue into next weekend as high temperatures climb into the triple digits. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed tonight. Please relay any information about severe weather to the NWS while following local, state, and CDC guidelines.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:09 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site at Reese measured a wind gust to 68 mph.
The automated surface observing system at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport measured a wind gust to 58 mph.
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: 901637, 901638.