Scattered thunderstorms initially developed over the western South Plains on the afternoon of the 24th under a very unstable atmosphere. Relatively weak atmospheric flow for late May kept most of these storms from becoming severe.
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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 initially developed over the western South Plains on the afternoon of the 24th under a very unstable atmosphere. Relatively weak atmospheric flow for late May kept most of these storms from becoming severe. These storms produced mostly heavy rainfall but were also able to generate a few severe hail and wind reports. Most hail reports were only up to the size of quarters but one report of golf balls was reported in Hockley County near Whitharral. More notably, heavy rain caused flash flooding in the city of Lubbock and along the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos in Lubbock County. Heavy rain over the northeastern portion of the city of Lubbock flowed through Mackenzie Park into the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos. This water made its way downstream into Buffalo Springs Lake flowing over Farm to Market Road 835 west of the lake. The road was shut down on the 25th due to water flowing over the roadway making it impassable.
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 24, 1:41 PM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 241 PM CDT Mon May 24 2021 .SHORT TERM... An active weather period is expected this evening and tonight as thunderstorms, some severe, are projected to impact much of the CWA. Synoptically, the area remains situated between an upper low centered over Saskatchewan and an upper ridge over the Tennessee Valley. Consequently, southwesterly flow is present above 700 mb, with southeasterly low level flow courtesy of a weak lee cyclone to our west and broad surface high pressure to our east over the Deep South. The dryline is currently positioned over eastern NM, with southwesterly surface winds behind it. An impressive reservoir of moisture has built up in the low levels east of the dryline thanks to several days of southeasterly surface flow and persistent moisture advection. West Texas Mesonet observations place surface dewpoints in the low to mid 60s across much of the region this afternoon. 12z PWATs of 1.03" and 0.87" were sampled at MAF and AMA, respectively, this morning, and are expected to increase this afternoon. FWD sampled a PWAT of 1.80" at 12z, indicating the deep moisture present in our vicinity. Analysis of water vapor imagery depicts respectable moisture wrapping around the western edge of the upper ridge, with a shortwave and associated lift visible rotating through the higher terrain of northern Mexico. Skies have cleared along and west of I-27/US-87, and temperatures have already warmed into the low 80s. Forecast soundings for this afternoon depict a very unstable atmosphere, with upwards of 2000 J/kg of CAPE nearly universal in our region. SPC mesoanalysis even shows an area of >3000 J/kg CAPE edging into our southern counties where heating and moisture have been most robust thus far. Another notable feature about this setup is that there is very little convective inhibition present. However, upper level flow remains weak in magnitude overall, with 0-6 km shear barely reaching 25 kt. Nevertheless, given the deep moisture in place combined with the approaching upper level energy, the environment is still highly supportive of severe thunderstorms over the CWA this evening and tonight. Late this afternoon, convection is expected to fire in eastern NM in the vicinity of the dryline where surface convergence magnitudes are largest. These storms may initially be discrete in nature, and given the ample instability, severe hail is possible across the western South Plains and southwest Panhandle late this afternoon. With time, this activity is expected to merge into a more coherent line and propagate eastward, becoming more cold-pool driven as it progresses through the central South Plains late this evening and into the Rolling Plains tonight. The threat for significant damaging wind gusts near 70 mph will exist with these storms, along with heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding given the current moisture levels. Storms will exit the area to the east early Tuesday morning. West Texas will remain under southwesterly flow aloft on Tuesday, with weak embedded impulses transiting overhead. At the surface, the dryline is expected to mix further east, with southeasterly winds and dewpoints in the upper 50s to low 60s persisting east of the dryline. This sets the stage for another day of possible convection and severe weather in the vicinity of the dryline, though the details will be highly dependent on the evolution of the overnight convection. /DWK .LONG TERM... Overall things continue to look active through the next week with convective chances possible most days. Convection should be pushing to the east of the FA by early tomorrow evening as upper riding moves overhead. This will be followed by southwesterly flow aloft Wednesday. Some convection is possible Wednesday afternoon and evening as the upper flow remains divergent, but the main limiting factor will be an overall lack of surface forcing as the dryline remains mostly to our west. Despite this some convection will still be possible especially if there are any remnant surface boundaries across the FA. By Thursday a weak front associated with an upper level shortwave moving across the northern CONUS will approach the region by likely not make it (mostly) through. The front will likely aid in developing convection across the region by Thursday evening. Another spot for convective development Thursday will be a dryline across the western half of the FA. Models begin to diverge with the upper pattern by Friday with the GFS keeping things mostly quiet under an upper ridge and with the ECMWF keeping mostly zonal flow with some embedded shortwaves producing convection. By Saturday both models have an upper ridge over the region with dryline convection pushing through Saturday evening/night. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 23/30/51
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 1116 AM CDT Mon May 24 2021 TXZ021>044-251630- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 1116 AM CDT Mon May 24 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Widespread thunderstorms are expected to develop late this afternoon across the western South Plains and southwest Texas Panhandle. These storms will then move eastward, affecting the central and eastern South Plains and Rolling Plains this evening and tonight. This afternoon, storms may be severe with hail up to ping pong ball size and wind gusts to 65 mph. Later tonight, storms may also be severe with hail up to one inch in diameter and wind gusts to 70 mph. Heavy rainfall is likely and will likely lead to localized flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. From Tuesday through Sunday, thunderstorms will be possible every afternoon and evening. These storms may be severe, with heavy rain and flooding also possible. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed late this afternoon through tonight.
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:57 UTC.
5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
An off duty NWS employee reported golf ball size hail a few miles to the southwest of Whitharral along US Highway 385.
An NWS cooperative weather observer reported quarter size hail in Morton.
Emergency management in Hockley County reported quarter size hail on the east side of Levelland.
An NWS cooperative weather observer reported quarter size hail in Spur.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near White River Lake measured severe wind gusts from 2142 CST through 2145 CST. A peak wind gust of 61 mph was measured at 2145 CST.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Reese Center measured a wind gust to 64 mph.
An off duty NWS employee measured quarter size hail around the intersection of 42nd Street and Indiana Avenue in the city of Lubbock.
Thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall repeatedly developed and moved over the northeastern portion of the city of Lubbock late on the 24th particularly around the intersection of Interstate-27 and North Loop 289. Early in the morning of the 25th, Lubbock police reported numerous vehicles had become stranded on area roadways. At this point, many roads were closed off by law enforcement due to flooding. Water eventually flowed into the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos through Mackenzie Park in Lubbock (Lubbock County). This flow of water inundated Joyland Amusement Park shutting down the park until early June. Farther downstream, water flowed over Farm to Market Road 835 west of Buffalo Springs Lake. The road was closed due to the roadway becoming impassable.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Friona measured a wind gust to 72 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 953186, 953188, 953187, 953195, 953190, 953191, 953192, 953193, 953194.