High Wind in Texas, February 27, 2024

Name: High Wind in Texas, February 27, 2024
Start: 2024-02-27T11:06
End: 2024-02-27T18:26
Location: Texas

February 27, 2024 · NWS LUB · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LUB wrote it up.

A large storm system digging into the four corners region spread strong wind energy across a large portion of the nation including a large portion of West Texas. Warm temperatures allowed for deep boundary layer mixing which permitted strong winds aloft to mix down to the surface. The strong winds also lifted dust over the South Plains, dropping the visibility as low as two miles in Lubbock (Lubbock County) on the afternoon of the 27th.

High wind gusts from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet network are below:

The following high wind reports are from Automated Surface Observing Stations (ASOS):

62 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County).

Sustained high winds of 40 mph or greater were observed by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet sites below:

What forecasters said that day

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 Feb 27, 5:34 AM CST, 5 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 5:34 AM CST, 5 hours 32 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Lubbock TX
534 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

...New AVIATION...

.SHORT TERM...
(Today and tonight)
Issued at 302 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

An even windier day is in the cards today ahead of an upper trough
currently digging into the Four Corners. Immediately south of this
trough is an already healthy subtropical jet with copious high
clouds. As the base of the trough slides east today, an impressive
kissing jet structure will unfold with 160 knots or more of flow at
300 mb and a 90-95 knot jet at 500 mb forecast to shift over the
northern half of our forecast area by midday. Wind maxima of 70
knots at 700 mb and 35-45 knots at 850 mb still justify the High
Wind Warning. Model soundings indicate high clouds won't be
particularly thick/opaque today, so this along with above normal
temperatures and a dry boundary layer should have little trouble
tapping into the low level wind cores. Many models, including MOS,
have been on the low side with winds going back to Sunday, so have
blended today's winds closer to the NBM 90th percentile. This
results in high winds across all of the Caprock, so the High
Wind Warning was expanded to include Briscoe, Floyd and Crosby
counties. Peak gusts in the warning to 60 mph still look on track.
High temps should flirt with record levels at Lubbock (81 from 1932
and 2006), although with thicknesses lowering today ahead of the
trough and dewpoints not mixing much lower than current readings,
will leave NBM's temps intact.

Westerly winds only taper to around 20 mph this evening ahead of a
strong cold front currently diving through the Nebraska Sandhills.
FROPA should reach the Childress area from 8-10 PM before clearing
our CWA after midnight. Hefty pressure rises up to 4mb/hr are
progged off the Caprock where the Wind Advisory may need to be
extended or re-issued in later forecasts. Lows finally return closer
to normal tonight with 20s and 30s on tap and blustery NE winds.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Wednesday through Monday)
Issued at 302 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

The cold front will be well south of the FA by sunrise tomorrow
morning. Winds will begin to shift to the east to southeast by late
tomorrow afternoon/evening ahead of another approaching upper level
system. Models continue to show precip ahead of the upper shortwave
trough and as the trough passes. One main limiting factor in
widespread precip will be low level moisture which will not have had
time to fully recover. Moisture will have to come from top-down
moistening and will limit precip intensity and amount. Precip mode
will be liquid rain followed by a possible mixture of rain and snow.
Currently little to no accumulation is expected of either form. The
upper trough will push to our east by late Thursday and will be
followed by mostly zonal upper flow leading quiet conditions heading
into the weekend. A larger upper trough will begin to amplify across
the western CONUS Saturday into Sunday with models diverging on the
trough evolution by mid-Sunday. The ECMWF keeps the upper trough/low
mostly confined to the Pacific Northwest while the GFS continues to
amplify it as it moves into the Central CONUS.

&&

.AVIATION...
(12Z TAFS)
Issued at 534 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

High winds will develop at LBB and PVW later this morning with
occasional gusts up to 50 knots through the afternoon. Visbys may
fall to MVFR in BLDU, yet confidence in this is reduced given
recent strong wind events and minimal vis impacts. LBB's Airport
Weather Warning for high winds will be issued shortly. Winds taper
this evening ahead of a strong FROPA overnight and blustery N-NE
winds.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 302 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

Widespread critical fire weather is likely this afternoon and
evening as high winds combine with above normal temperatures and low
RH values of 15 to 20 percent. The strongest westerly winds with
gusts over 50 mph at the 20-foot level are expected on the Caprock
this afternoon, although winds will remain very breezy tonight ahead
of a strong cold front and abrupt N-NE wind shift arriving after
sunset. North-northeast winds behind the front of 20-30 mph are
likely which could complicate fire fighting efforts or rekindle
earlier hot spots.

&&

.LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM CST this
evening for TXZ021>024-027>030-033>036-039>041.

Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM CST this
evening for TXZ021>044.

Wind Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM CST this evening
for TXZ025-026-031-032-037-038-042>044.

&&

SHORT TERM...93
LONG TERM....51
AVIATION...93

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 27, 7:01 AM CST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED
National Weather Service Lubbock TX
701 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

TXZ021>044-281315-
Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd-
Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum-
Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall-
701 AM CST Tue Feb 27 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling
Plains, and the far Southern Texas Panhandle.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

A High Wind Warning is in effect today for all of the Caprock
Escarpment from 9 AM to 9 PM for westerly winds of 35 to 45 mph with
gusts up to 60 mph. Blowing dust will result in localized poor
visibility.

A Wind Advisory is also in effect today for the Rolling Plains from
9 AM to 9 PM where westerly winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to
50 mph are likely. Northerly winds of 30 to 40 mph are possible
overnight in the Rolling Plains behind a strong cold front.

A Red Flag Warning is in effect from 11 AM to 9 PM for the extreme
southern Texas Panhandle, South Plains, and Rolling Plains. The
combination of strong winds and low relative humidity will lead to
favorable conditions for the rapid growth and spread of fires today.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday.

A light wintry mix is possible Wednesday night through Thursday
morning over portions of the South Plains. Little to no wintry
accumulation is expected at this time.

Elevated fire weather conditions are forecast to return to portions
of the Caprock and Rolling Plains from Friday into early next week.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Parmer

When: February 27, 11:06 AM CST to 4:06 PM CST
Where: Parmer forecast zone
Measured: 36 kt (41 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.530, -102.784 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Swisher

When: February 27, 11:38 AM CST to 3:32 PM CST
Where: Swisher forecast zone
Measured: 38 kt (44 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.530, -101.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lamb

When: February 27, 11:42 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where: Lamb forecast zone
Measured: 38 kt (44 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.069, -102.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hale

When: February 27, 11:56 AM CST to 2:43 PM CST
Where: Hale forecast zone
Measured: 37 kt (43 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.071, -101.827 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hockley

When: February 27, 12:19 PM CST to 6:26 PM CST
Where: Hockley forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 33.608, -102.343 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bailey

When: February 27, 12:23 PM CST to 12:38 PM CST
Where: Bailey forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.069, -102.830 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hall

When: February 27, 12:46 PM CST to 12:51 PM CST
Where: Hall forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.531, -100.681 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lubbock

When: February 27, 12:53 PM CST
Where: Lubbock forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 33.610, -101.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Castro

When: February 27, 12:54 PM CST to 1:05 PM CST
Where: Castro forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.530, -102.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Floyd

When: February 27, 1:04 PM CST to 3:34 PM CST
Where: Floyd forecast zone
Measured: 36 kt (41 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.072, -101.303 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Briscoe

When: February 27, 1:05 PM CST
Where: Briscoe forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 34.530, -101.209 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Yoakum

When: February 27, 1:29 PM CST to 3:11 PM CST
Where: Yoakum forecast zone
Measured: 36 kt (41 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 33.173, -102.828 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cochran

When: February 27, 3:33 PM CST
Where: Cochran forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 33.604, -102.828 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2024 Every state in 2024 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, February 2024

Sources

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: 1154520, 1154522, 1154524, 1154523, 1154517, 1154513, 1154512, 1154518, 1154515, 1154521, 1154516, 1154519, 1154514.