Scattered thunderstorms developed again on the afternoon of the 23rd in the absence of meaningful large scale forcing for ascent. Moisture in the lowest levels of the atmosphere continued to increase through the day resulting in a very unstable atmosphere by mid-afternoon.
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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 again on the afternoon of the 23rd in the absence of meaningful large scale forcing for ascent. Moisture in the lowest levels of the atmosphere continued to increase through the day resulting in a very unstable atmosphere by mid-afternoon. Veering of relatively weak winds through the atmospheric column resulted in organization of thunderstorms which were able to produce very large hail and damaging wind gusts. Reported hail was as large as 3.50 inches in diameter near Dimmitt (Castro County). Additionally, wind gusts up to 79 mph were also reported by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet. The relatively slow storm motion and intense rain rates also resulted in pockets of very heavy rainfall that induced flash flooding.
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 Apr 23, 5:28 PM CST, 55 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 628 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered thunderstorms are expected across much of the forecast area this evening, with some storms likely becoming severe. - Daily chances for storms, some severe, continue through Tuesday. - Friday night and Saturday morning hold potential for heavy rain and some flooding. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Thursday) Issued at 247 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025 The short term forecast for the next 24 is a familiar one. There is a prevailing westerly 250mb sub-tropical jet placed over northern Mexico where a subtle left exit region will provide lift for the CWA over the next 24 hours. There continues to be weak westerly/southwesterly flow at the 500mb level (~25 kts), though a 850mb LLJ will increase in the overnight hours. Today's airmass is more moist than yesterday's characterized by dew points into the lower 60s in the eastern portion of the CWA. SBCAPE values up to 2,000 J/KG and little to no CIN indicates the likelihood of strong updrafts. Current temps are about 5 degrees cooler than yesterday, which would indicate a later convective initiation. Despite the favorable thermodynamics, the environment is characterized by weak shear ~30 kts which could lead to slightly less favorable conditions for supercells, though the nocturnal LLJ could help sustain storms longer during the overnight period. With MUCAPE up to 2,000 J/Kg hail sizes up to 2.75 inches and thunderstorm winds gusts of up to 70 mph are possible. Storms will coalesce into an MCS which should push east out of the CWA overnight with an attendant damaging wind gust and hail risk. With slow RM storm motions of 5-10 kts, a flash flooding risk will also accompany these storms. Continual southerly flow at the surface will provide another period of return flow tomorrow morning and afternoon creating a sharpening dryline and another round of convection. Similar to today, high CAPE values (~2,000 J/Kg) and shear(~35 kts) will characterize the environment ahead of the dryline. Thus storm evolution, intensity, and mode will resemble Tuesday and Wednesday. KCL/JDS && .LONG TERM... (Thursday night through next Tuesday) Issued at 247 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025 Daily bouts of showers and storms remain the theme through early next week as unsettled southwest flow persists atop an unseasonably moist and unstable air mass. Few changes were needed for Thursday evening's precip chances east of a sharper dryline progged to sit over the Caprock, with more widespread chances expected later on Friday as a cold front stalls over the area. The biggest change with this forecast involved boosting PoPs into the 70-90 realm from Friday night through Saturday given increased support for rich moisture advection streaming NW atop a stationary frontal zone draped over the forecast area. This boundary could easily shift north or south of our area in later model runs pending the strength of convective cold pools, but for now a healthy signal exists for training convection somewhere in our area with the potential for heavy rain/flooding before the boundary ultimately lifts north as a warm front by Saturday night. NBM's cool highs in the 60s/70s for Saturday fit this pattern well. Sunday features stronger SW flow overspreading the area downstream of a vigorous low in the Great Basin. This improved flow supports mixing the dryline out of NM and over the South Plains by the afternoon while also supporting stronger shear profiles for supercells, but at the same time this flow will advect a healthy EML over the area perhaps leaving us capped all day. The dryline could remain capped once again on Monday as the upper low ejects too far to our north for any meaningful height falls/mid-level cooling. This story should change come Tuesday as a southern stream wave pinches off over the Desert SW and backs our winds aloft to a more southerly component with slightly cooler temps in the EML. Add to this a potential cold front reaching our area courtesy of the departing northern stream low and it seems that our active stretch of weather is a good bet through the final days of April. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 626 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025 Isolated thunderstorm threat at KPVW and KLBB in the next few hours and a little later at KCDS. MVFR ceilings likely toward sunrise through mid-morning at all terminals tomorrow morning. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...KCL LONG TERM....93 AVIATION...07
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Lubbock TX 259 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025 TXZ021>044-242000- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 259 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop late this afternoon and evening near the Texas and New Mexico border before expanding over the remainder of the area. Severe storms are likely and will be capable of producing very large hail up to baseball size and damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph. Locally heavy rainfall and flooding are also possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Daily chances for thunderstorms, including severe weather, will continue each afternoon from Thursday through Tuesday. Heavy rain and flooding are possible Friday night into Saturday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Lubbock TX
548 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025
TXZ022-232315-
Castro TX-
548 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHERN CASTRO COUNTY THROUGH
615 PM CDT...
At 547 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Easter, or 7 miles northwest of Dimmitt, moving northeast at 10 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Easter and Dimmitt.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until midnight CDT for
the Panhandle of Texas.
&&
LAT...LON 3464 10210 3454 10231 3464 10249 3475 10239
3475 10223
TIME...MOT...LOC 2247Z 223DEG 10KT 3464 10239
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
APThe Amarillo radar (KAMA), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:23 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A slow moving supercell produced a wide swath of very large hail from south of Dimmitt into the town of Dimmitt. Numerous reports were received of hail ranging from golf ball size to as large as 3.50 inches in diameter. No damage was reported.
Intense rainfall from a slow moving storm occurred in and around Happy. A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Happy measured 1.62 inches of rainfall in less than one hour. An mPing report was received of flooded roads in Happy.
An mPing report was received of tennis ball size hail along Texas State Highway 194 southeast of Dimmitt. At least one windshield of a storm chaser was destroyed by extremely large hail.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Tulia measured severe wind gusts from 1920 CST through 1940 CST. A peak wind gust of 76 mph was measured at 1940 CST.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Silverton measured severe wind gusts from 2106 CST through 2113 CST. A peak wind gust of 79 mph was measured at 2109 CST.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near South Plains measured a wind gust of 59 mph at 2108 CST.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust of 60 mph.
Both Childress municipal airport and the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Childress measured severe wind gusts spanning from 2256 CST through 2316 CST. A peak wind gust of 64 was measured at 2313 CST and 2316 CST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2025
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: 1242304, 1242319, 1242305, 1242309, 1242311, 1242310, 1242313, 1242312, 1242316.