A widespread severe thunderstorm event occurred on the afternoon and evening of the 17th. Thunderstorms initially formed along a dryline near the Texas/New Mexico state line and along an outflow boundary from previous day storms.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
A widespread severe thunderstorm event occurred on the afternoon and evening of the 17th. Thunderstorms initially formed along a dryline near the Texas/New Mexico state line and along an outflow boundary from previous day storms. The ample instability was complemented by large scale lift moving overhead from an upper level jet moving into the southern High Plains. Very intense supercells developed across the entirety of the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and extreme southern Texas Panhandle due to the abundant amount of unstable air. Several supercells produced hail up to baseball size as they slowly moved across the region. One particularly robust rotating storm developed over Hockley County and moved eastward into Lubbock County and through the city of Lubbock. This storm developed several funnel clouds and a brief tornado in far eastern Hockley County. The low level circulation moved directly over the southern portion of the city of Lubbock but did not produce any additional tornadoes. Decaying thunderstorms also produced two high wind gusts. These high wind gusts were measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet at Friona (Parmer County) 64 mph and Lesley (Hall County) 59 mph. Lastly, thunderstorms repeatedly formed over central Bailey County causing flash flooding along Farm to Market Road 746 west of Texas Highway 214.
In the early morning hours of the 18th, stratiform precipitation from decaying thunderstorms produced two high wind gusts. One near Graham of 62 mph and the other near Hackberry (Cottle County) of 59 mph. Both of these reports came from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet.
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 17, 1:36 PM CST, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 236 PM CDT Mon May 17 2021 .SHORT TERM... Relatively cool and somewhat surprisingly dry airmass (with dewpoints dropping into the upper 40s) much of the day so far, following the early morning outflows. By mid afternoon, however, we were seeing rapid recovery of higher dewpoints and gradually warmer temperatures as a surface low pressure center was deepening over eastern New Mexico. Anticipation is the surface low will shift into southeast New Mexico and increase the moist, low level inflow across our area in advance of the strong upper level low pressure system over eastern Arizona. Solutions consistent breaking out scattered strong or severe thunderstorms by 4 or 5 pm near the New Mexico-Texas border with storms moving to the east. Combination of instability and shear support rapidly rotation supercells and a valid tornado threat, so a Tornado Watch will be in effect this evening at least areas on the Caprock if not all areas. We also issued a Flash Flood Watch this evening the entire area over concern for slower moving right-splitting supercells. Forecast hodographs exhibit straight- lines initially late this afternoon and early evening, favoring splitting storms, before stronger flow leads to a more coalesced system into the eastern part of the area later this evening. Another impulse appears will stream across the area later tonight. So following a break in activity on the Caprock later this evening, we expect a renewal of storm chances early Tuesday mainly from the southern South Plains to the Rolling Plains. But rain coverage from this next impulse remains uncertain and largely dependent on the early evening storms. None-the-less, slightly cooler and moist low level conditions likely to blanket the area again early Tuesday after this next impulse departs to the east. Focus Tuesday afternoon once again will likely turn west to to the dryline, which probably will be in eastern New Mexico once again. The large upper level storm system still will be just west of the area. We retained a chance mention for storms much of the area Tuesday afternoon, but perhaps better chances will be later Tuesday or Tuesday night; see discussion below. RMcQueen .LONG TERM... The upper level closed low currently to our west, helping to drive recent severe convection will begin to lift north out of northeast New Mexico tomorrow night into early Wednesday morning. As the low evolves into an open wave, a sharp trough will linger over our general longitude with high pressure amplifying across eastern CONUS. The lingering trough and surface pressure falls in eastern New Mexico will keep chances of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast late Tuesday night and Wednesday, along and east of a dryline currently progged to position in vicinity of the I27 corridor. The SPC currently has most of our area in a Day 3 Marginal for more severe storms on Wednesday. The upper level low turned open wave and associated trough will get absorbed by the polar jet back into the next Pacific low over NOCAL Thursday, as the broad ridging across the east serves to block eastern progression. There will be a break in convective activity on Thursday as the upper trough gets absorbed, followed by deep boundary layer Gulf moisture return beginning early Friday as the blocking ridge expands west. The expected moisture return and westward expansion of the ridge coupled with the deepening of the next Pacific Low to our west may lead to another round of severe weather over multiple days next weekend. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flash Flood Watch until midnight CDT tonight for TXZ021>044. && 05/55
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 1151 AM CDT Mon May 17 2021 TXZ021>044-181700- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 1151 AM CDT Mon May 17 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. There is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms for the South Plains and Rolling Plains this afternoon into tonight, with an enhanced risk of severe weather for the southern Texas Panhandle. Isolated to scattered supercell thunderstorms are expected to develop near a dryline across the southwest Texas Panhandle and western and central South Plains this afternoon. These storms will become more enhanced where the dryline intersects an east-west boundary crossing the southern and central South Plains and southern Rolling Plains. These storms will quickly become severe and be capable of producing baseball size hail, wind gusts to 75 mph, torrential rainfall and tornadoes. This activity will move eastward through the evening, likely growing into a larger complex of thunderstorms as it moves off the Caprock. A hail, wind and heavy rain threat will continue with the complex of thunderstorm through the evening as well as still a risk for a few tornadoes. Another round of severe thunderstorms capable of generating golf ball size hail, wind gusts to 65 mph and intense rainfall and flash flooding may develop over the southern South Plains and the Rolling Plains late tonight, after midnight, and persist into Tuesday morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. More opportunities for thunderstorms will exist late Tuesday, Wednesday and then again from Friday into next weekend. Some of these storms could be strong to severe and produce heavy rainfall. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will be needed. Please relay any information about severe weather to the NWS while following local, state, and CDC guidelines.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:04 UTC.
16 hail, 4 high wind, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency management in Dickens County reported quarter size hail about two miles south of Spur.
Several reports of hail up to baseball size were received from storm chasers in a swath from about nine miles southwest of Girard to the town of Girard. No damage was reported.
The Motley County sheriff's office reported ping pong ball size hail in Matador.
Law enforcement reported a swath of hail along Texas Highway 70 from Jayton to about two miles northwest of Jayton.
A storm chaser reported hail up to two inches in diameter about nine miles southwest of Muleshoe. No damage was reported.
A trained spotter reported quarter size hail in Sundown.
Law enforcement in Muleshoe and an NWS cooperative weather observer reported quarter size hail in Muleshoe.
Multiple reports were received of a swath of hail up to golf ball size from southwest of Levelland to southeast of Levelland crossing US Highway 385. No damage was reported.
A photograph on social media showed hail up to two inches in diameter in Sudan. No damage was reported.
A storm chaser reported quarter size hail northeast of Flomot.
A storm chaser reported hail up to two inches in diameter in Needmore. No damage was reported.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Dimmitt measured severe wind gusts from 1815 CST through 1820 CST. A peak wind gust of 71 mph was measured at 1820 CST.
A storm chaser reported hail up to tennis ball size southwest of Smyer. No damage was reported.
A storm chaser reported quarter size hail northwest of Sudan.
A storm chaser reported hail up to two inches in diameter along Texas Highway 70 just northwest of Turkey. No damage was reported.
Training thunderstorms over several hours across central Bailey County caused flash flooding mostly along Farm to Market Road 746 west of Texas Highway 214. The next morning water was still over Farm to Market Road 746.
A trained spotter reported quarter size hail at 108th Street and Indiana Avenue in the city of Lubbock.
Numerous reports of a funnel cloud and a brief touchdown were received on a supercell just west of Wolfforth. The tornado briefly touched down in an open field in Hockley County just west of the Lubbock/Hockley County line. No damage was known from this tornado, therefore, a rating of EF-Unknown was assigned.
A tornadic supercell produced a swath of mostly quarter size hail from Wolfforth across a small portion of the southern part of the city of Lubbock from 1912 CST through 1932 CST. A photograph on social media showed a maximum hail size of golf ball size in Wolfforth.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Childress measured severe wind gusts from 2130 CST through 2135 CST. A peak wind gust of 63 mph was measured at 2135 CST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2021Warnings in Texas, May 2021
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: 952348, 952349, 952350, 952351, 952352, 953065, 953062, 953066, 953080, 953072, 953077, 953074, 953081, 953082, 953083, 953084, 953097, 953086, 953091, 953089, 953093, 953094, 953109, 953110.