Isolated thunderstorms developed on a weak dryline on the afternoon of the 12th. The lack of an upper level storm system allowed these storms to be short lived across areas off the caprock.
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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.
Isolated thunderstorms developed on a weak dryline on the afternoon of the 12th. The lack of an upper level storm system allowed these storms to be short lived across areas off the caprock. One of these isolated storms became severe as it moved over the town of Memphis producing a severe wind gust of 59 mph.
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 12, 11:35 AM CST, 5 hours 13 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 1235 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 ...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, AVIATION, FIRE WEATHER... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 1220 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 - High-based thunderstorms, some severe, remain possible this afternoon. - Very mild this week with sporadic chances for thunderstorms from Monday night through Friday night. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Monday) Issued at 1233 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 The dryline has moved into our western zones as of noon and is continuing to progress eastward. Some CAMs show some isolated convection developing along the dryline this afternoon across the eastern South Plains. Confidence in convection at this point is rather low as upper lift will be lacking with lift relying mostly on surface convergence which is also not much to get excited about. Nonetheless, a mention of isolated storms has been added before 00Z as there is a non-zero chance for convection. Any convection should be short lived and could be strong to low end severe with wind gusts up to 60 mph and hail up to half dollar size being possible. Tonight through Monday morning will be fairly quiet. Upper flow will remain out of the southwest. A lee surface low will develop after sunset this evening ahead of an embedded shortwave. This will help to keep surface winds mostly out of the southwest tonight and will keep overnight lows in the 50s and 60s. A second surface low will develop across eastern Colorado by early noon Monday as upper low over northern California pushes southward into southern California and begins pushing eastward. This will tighten the surface pressure gradient and allow for a breezy Monday afternoon. Sustained winds around 20 mph out of the southwest can be expected. && .LONG TERM... (Monday night through next Saturday) Issued at 1233 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 Unsettled southwest flow loiters through late week accompanied by daily chances for thunderstorms, primarily off the Caprock near the mean dryline's position most days and nights. Monday night should see the dryline retreat onto portions of the Caprock ahead of a shortwave trough, but this wave is not schedule to reach the forecast area until Tuesday night. Nonetheless, convective temps look reachable Tuesday afternoon off the Caprock with a likelihood for the dryline to retreat once again Tuesday night supporting low PoPs on the South Plains, mainly as a Pacific front overtakes this boundary. Severe potential in in the cards given ample shear and MUCAPEs pushing 2000 J/kg. Hump day is shaping up the most stable day all week on the heels of Tuesday night's trough and weak FROPA. Gulf moisture returns on Thursday ahead of a more vigorous trough entering the Intermountain West. Models still differ with PoPs Thursday night accompanying a lead impulse and this is captured by the NBM's broad 20 PoPs. Stronger and deeper SW flow on Friday following this lead wave look to mix the dryline out of much of our area ahead of a cold front dropping south Friday night. This front and dryline will support low PoPs in the Rolling Plains overnight before much cooler northerlies round out the weekend. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1233 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 VFR conditions will prevail. There is a very low chance for thunderstorms at the terminals between 20Z-00Z. Confidence is too low for a TAF mention. Primary threats from any convection will be wind gusts up to 50 knots and hail up to 1.5 inch in diameter. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1233 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 Elevated to critical fire weather danger is expected Monday afternoon mainly across the far southern Texas Panhandle and northern South Plains. While some areas did receive wetting rains Saturday, most areas missed out and remain dry which is reflected in ERCs around the 70th percentile. Afternoon relative humidity will drop into the mid teens area wide while 20 foot winds will be out of the southwest around 15-20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for much of the southern Texas Panhandle and northern South Plains from 11 AM through 8 PM Monday. An RFD is not currently anticipated for areas south of the RFW, but one is not fully out of the question. Those areas received more widespread wetting rainfall. This will help with green-up and make fuels dry more slowly. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from noon to 8 PM CDT Monday for TXZ021>024- 027>029. && SHORT TERM...51 LONG TERM....93 AVIATION...51
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 1134 AM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 TXZ021>044-131645- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 1134 AM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026 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 low chance of thunderstorms over the Rolling Plains and eastern South Plains this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds up to 60 mph and large hail up to half dollar size would be the main threats. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Thunderstorm chances return Tuesday evening and will continue each evening thereafter through Saturday, mainly off the Caprock. Critical fire weather conditions are possible Wednesday through Friday across portions of the far southern Texas Panhandle and South Plains. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Lubbock TX
535 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026
TXZ032-038-122300-
King TX-Cottle TX-
535 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHERN KING AND SOUTHEASTERN
COTTLE COUNTIES THROUGH 600 PM CDT...
At 535 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 5
miles south of Grow, or 7 miles north of Guthrie, moving northeast at
35 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and penny size 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...
Guthrie, Grow, Finney, Chalk, and Hackberry.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3360 10032 3362 10050 3376 10050 3400 10005
3384 10005 3383 10000 3371 9999
TIME...MOT...LOC 2235Z 243DEG 32KT 3373 10030
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
12The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:47 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Memphis measured a severe wind gust of 59 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, April 2026
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: 1320034.