Elevated light rain showers and virga associated with a weak shortwave led to strong wind gusts across parts of North Texas the evening of May 15. Wind gusts around 60 MPH were measured, and trees were blown down in a few locations within the DFW Metroplex.
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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 FWD wrote it up.
Elevated light rain showers and virga associated with a weak shortwave led to strong wind gusts across parts of North Texas the evening of May 15. Wind gusts around 60 MPH were measured, and trees were blown down in a few locations within the DFW Metroplex.
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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 5:23 PM CST, 21 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 623 PM CDT Fri May 15 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... - More robust rain chances (30-60%) return to the region daily beginning Sunday and into the middle of next week. Strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible during this time frame. - Above normal temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend and into next week. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Saturday) Issued at 217 PM CDT Fri May 15 2026 The weak disturbance responsible for last night's convection across Northwest Texas has shifted east, leaving North and Central Texas precipitation-free so far this afternoon. High clouds will continue to stream overhead through the rest of the day within the subtropical jet, while another subtle shortwave over Arizona approaches from the west. This feature should encourage isolated dryline convection well to our west later this afternoon and evening, but any activity moving toward North Texas would likely be elevated and weakening as it outruns the better forcing and encounters stronger inhibition with eastward extent. Most locations will remain dry. Any storms that survive into the forecast area should remain isolated and sub-severe, though steep lapse rates above the warm layer may support some small hail should a strong updraft persist. Outside of the low storm chances, today's winds may end up being the most noticeable weather impact. A fairly tight surface pressure gradient ahead of the approaching shortwave and lee troughing to our northwest will support breezy south winds through the afternoon. Sustained speeds will increase to around 15 to 20 mph with occasional gusts up to 35 mph. Though we will remain below Wind Advisory criteria, lightweight objects may be blown around this afternoon and high-profile vehicles may have some difficulty on east-west roadways. Winds will briefly ease tonight before the low-level jet develops. Persistent warm advection will keep temperatures mild overnight with lows hovering in the upper 60s to lower 70s. && .LONG TERM... (Saturday night through next Thursday) Issued at 217 PM CDT Fri May 15 2026 A digging western CONUS trough and persistent lee Rockies cyclone will maintain warm and breezy conditions across North and Central Texas this weekend. Southwest flow aloft will already be in place Saturday, but the more meaningful forcing should remain displaced to our west and northwest. The dryline will also remain well west of the forecast area while lingering inhibition keeps North and Central Texas dry. Increasing storm chances will arrive late Sunday as a smaller-scale shortwave embedded within the larger western trough approaches the Southern Plains. Convective activity should initially attempt to develop along the dryline, which is expected to still be west of the I-35 corridor by late afternoon or early evening. With that said, storm development is far from guaranteed. The strongest ascent still appears displaced north of much of the forecast area, and it is likely that there will be several failed convective attempts over North Texas before one or two storms finally break through. This should keep storm coverage isolated, with the best chances generally near and north of I-20. Any sustained storm would likely be discrete and could become severe given good instability and modest flow aloft, with large hail and damaging winds the main concerns. A stronger shortwave will round the base of the trough and lift northeast through the Plains on Monday. This wave should provide stronger ascent and broader height falls, making dryline-induced convection more likely Monday afternoon and evening. The more southward trajectory of this disturbance should also bring storm chances farther south into parts of western Central Texas compared to Sunday. Moisture loading will also be more substantial by this time, with dewpoints peaking in the low to mid 70s across much of the warm sector supporting strong afternoon instability. Initial storm mode may be semi-discrete or discrete near the dryline before mergers and cold pool interactions begin increasing with time. Large hail and damaging winds will be the primary hazards, though a tornado threat cannot be ruled out where low-level winds locally back near outflow boundaries or remnant mesoscale features. By Tuesday, attention turns to the main trough axis and the associated cold front. Guidance has trended more aggressive with the east and southeast push of the boundary compared to earlier forecasts, with the front entering our northwest zones Tuesday morning. This should provide the most coherent mesoscale forcing of the period. Scattered showers and thunderstorms should develop along and ahead of the front, then spread southeast through North and Central Texas Tuesday afternoon and overnight into early Wednesday. With frontal forcing becoming more dominant, storm mode should trend more linear or clustered with time, supporting a continued threat for damaging winds, hail, and locally heavy rainfall. The heavy rainfall signal is still worth watching, but the faster frontal progression lowers the QPF ceiling somewhat compared to a slower or stalled-boundary scenario. Even so, rainfall efficiency will be high where storms interact with the front or any pre- existing outflow boundaries, and brief training could still produce localized flooding. This is especially true Tuesday into early Wednesday when the front intercepts the moist and unstable airmass. Forecast confidence decreases by late Wednesday into Thursday. The large-scale pattern remains unsettled, but the details become increasingly dependent on the timing and amplitude of additional upstream shortwaves, how far the front clears the area, and where residual boundaries and deeper moisture end up. Additional showers and storms may return late next week, but the confidence in timing, coverage, and intensity is lower than the Sunday through Tuesday period. The main message remains the same: occasional interruptions to outdoor activities are possible from Sunday through midweek, with the highest storm coverage currently favored Monday into Tuesday night. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 602 PM CDT Fri May 15 2026 Widespread mid and high cloud cover will prevail for another several hours along with some high based showers. Most of this activity is not reaching the ground but stronger radar reflectivity suggests some light rain will be possible for the next few hours before the upper level support pulls off to the east. VFR will prevail through the late evening but MVFR cigs are expected to develop and spread north through the overnight hours. We'll maintain VFR at this time given the low level flow should keep the bulk of the lower cigs just to the east of the major airports, but it's not out of the question that we'll need to AMD for lower cigs during the early morning hours on Saturday. Otherwise, breezy southerly flow will continue through the period. Dunn && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Issued at 115 AM CDT Fri May 15 2026 Spotter activation is not expected at this time. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Dallas-Ft. Worth 71 90 73 90 / 10 0 0 10 Waco 70 88 73 88 / 0 0 0 0 Paris 70 87 70 87 / 10 0 0 10 Denton 71 89 74 89 / 10 0 0 10 McKinney 71 90 72 89 / 10 0 0 10 Dallas 71 91 73 91 / 10 0 0 10 Terrell 71 89 72 90 / 10 0 0 10 Corsicana 71 90 74 91 / 10 0 0 10 Temple 69 90 74 90 / 0 0 0 10 Mineral Wells 68 90 71 89 / 20 0 0 10 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...12 LONG TERM....12 AVIATION...Dunn
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Alliance Airport measured a 51 kt wind gust beneath a high based rain shower.
A 68 mph wind was measured off Main St near 121 in The Colony. A station at 30 ft above ground also reported a gust to 78 mph but appears high compared to values throughout the day. Multiple trees also were damaged in the area.
A local official reported that a tree was down at Schooling Road and Palm Lake in Roanoke. Strong winds of 50-60 mph were measured beneath virga moved through the area.
A 51 kt wind gust was observed at DFW Airport beneath virga.
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, May 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: 1335330, 1335333, 1335336, 1335335.