On the evening of May 27th into the morning of the 28th, plenty of atmospheric moisture and lift led to training thunderstorms across the northeastern combined Panhandles. Some flooding eventually occurred in northern Lipscomb County due to the heavy and repeated rainfall.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 AMA wrote it up.
On the evening of May 27th into the morning of the 28th, plenty of atmospheric moisture and lift led to training thunderstorms across the northeastern combined Panhandles. Some flooding eventually occurred in northern Lipscomb County due to the heavy and repeated rainfall. Going into the 29th, moisture and lift continued to lead to thunderstorms, some of which became severe with hail up to golf ball size and wind gusts up to 75 to 80 mph. On the 29th, storms were mainly across the southern TX Panhandle.
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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 28, 5:22 AM CST, 53 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
622 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Issued at 1155 PM CDT Wed May 27 2026
- Low chance for an isolated thunderstorm or two this afternoon.
- Low to medium chance for thunderstorms Friday with a low chance
for these storms to become strong to severe.
- Warmer and drier weather over the weekend.
- Chances for rain showers and thunderstorms return for next work
week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Tonight through Friday night)
Issued at 1155 PM CDT Wed May 27 2026
A weather system continues to impact the panhandles tonight even
as it moves to the northeast. This is causing mainly light rain
showers with the occasional thunderstorms in the northeastern
panhandles. These will come to an end later this morning as the
weather system continues to push to the northeast. This will allow
for a dirty ridge to build across the panhandles for much of today
bringing more stable conditions. There will still be some
lingering moisture and instability that will allow for a low
chance for afternoon rain showers and thunderstorms. This ridge
will not last as it will be pushed out of the region by the
arrival of the next weather system for Friday. The path that this
weather system is taking will make it negative in orientation.
This normally brings an increase in the amount of shear and
instability it can produce. However the center of this weather
system will be far to the west of the panhandles which will
counter this effect. This makes it questionable just how much
instability and shear will be present across the panhandles for
Friday. Right now these are looking to be fairly modest for such a
weather system at 1000-2000 J/Kg of CAPE and 20 to 40 kt of
shear. This would still allow for afternoon rain showers and
thunderstorms but with more limited coverage. Still such values
will allow for a low chance for stronger to even severe
thunderstorms. If the system moves more favorable towards the
southern plains then it could lead to better dynamics and thus
more and stronger storms. Conversely if it continues in a less
favorable trajectory then the panhandles could see even less and
weaker convection. This forecast is still likely to change as the
finer details of this weather system become more certain.
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Saturday through next Wednesday)
Issued at 1155 PM CDT Wed May 27 2026
This weekend will most likely see the weather system push off to
the east leading to a more southwesterly to westerly flow across
the southern plains. This flow has the potential to transition to
a broad ridge over the course of the weekend. Such a flow will
bring mostly drier air to the panhandles leading to more dry
weather. Still if some moisture manages to linger across the
panhandles this weekend it can still lead to afternoon rain
showers and thunderstorms. Such an occurrence will be far more
miss than hit though so dont bank on any rain this weekend.
Towards next work week moisture has an increasing chance to work
its way back across the southern plains. This would lead to the
return of daily chances for rain showers and thunderstorms each
afternoon of each day. There are some hints that a weather system
can form late next week which opens up an opportunity for more
organized thunderstorms.
&&
.AVIATION...
(12Z TAFS)
Issued at 617 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026
LIFR conditions expected to persist at KAMA a little longer as
some dense fog has set in. MVFR to potentially IFR CIGs for KDHT
and KGUY may take a little bit longer to clear out as well. As we
get into the late morning conditions should improve with all sites
becoming VFR with some light and variable winds. There will be a
very low chance for some showers and thunderstorms across the
combined Panhandles later this afternoon after 18Z. Confidence is
too low to add to the TAFs at this time.
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...Dense Fog Advisory until 11 AM CDT this morning for TXZ008>020-
317.
OK...None.
&&
SHORT TERM...98
LONG TERM....98
AVIATION...03Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1217 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-317-281730- Cimarron-Texas-Beaver-Dallam-Sherman-Hansford-Ochiltree-Lipscomb- Hartley-Moore-Hutchinson-Roberts-Hemphill-Oldham-Potter-Carson- Gray-Wheeler-Deaf Smith-Randall-Armstrong-Donley-Collingsworth- Palo Duro Canyon- 1217 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Low chance for flooding in the northeastern panhandles this morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Tuesday. Low chance for severe thunderstorms in the panhandles Friday afternoon. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
252 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026
TXZ004-005-009-010-280830-
Hemphill TX-Ochiltree TX-Roberts TX-Lipscomb TX-
252 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT SOUTHWESTERN LIPSCOMB...
NORTHEASTERN ROBERTS...NORTHWESTERN HEMPHILL AND SOUTHEASTERN
OCHILTREE COUNTIES THROUGH 330 AM CDT...
At 251 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 5
miles north of Canadian, moving south at 10 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 30 mph and pea 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...
Canadian and Glazier.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 3614 10061 3616 10029 3583 10017 3580 10056
TIME...MOT...LOC 0751Z 349DEG 7KT 3598 10042
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
TLHSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service Amarillo TX 341 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 TXZ009-010-280915- Hemphill TX-Roberts TX- 341 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT EAST CENTRAL ROBERTS AND NORTHWESTERN HEMPHILL COUNTIES THROUGH 415 AM CDT... At 340 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 5 miles northwest of Canadian, moving south at 5 mph. HAZARD...Nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor hail damage to vegetation is possible. Locations impacted include... Canadian. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Torrential rainfall and accumulating hail is also occurring with this storm and may lead road hazards and localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. && LAT...LON 3599 10063 3605 10037 3585 10025 3576 10057 TIME...MOT...LOC 0840Z 341DEG 5KT 3594 10047 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH TLH
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Amarillo TX
414 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026
TXZ010-280945-
Hemphill TX-
414 AM CDT Thu May 28 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT SOUTHWESTERN HEMPHILL COUNTY
THROUGH 445 AM CDT...
At 413 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 5
miles south of Canadian, moving southeast at 15 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 30 mph and pea 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...
Canadian.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 3586 10051 3596 10033 3583 10017 3569 10038
TIME...MOT...LOC 0913Z 321DEG 12KT 3584 10035
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
TLHThe Dodge City radar (KDDC), 150 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:16 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A creek had water outside of its banks and an estimated one to two feet of water was over a dirt road. The water appears to be up to a maintained road. This flooding occurred about four hours after the rain ended.
A house lost a roof at this location.
A ground station measured a 58 mph gust at this location. The anemometer height was reported to be 25 feet above ground level.
One inch hail occurred one mile north of Happy, TX off of Interstate 27. Small accumulating hail also occurred at this location.
The peak wind gust of 77mph occurred at 2012CDT at the mesonet site located 15 miles west-southwest of Clarendon. Additional severe wind gusts of 73mph and 61mph occurred at 2015 and 2017 respectively.
The peak wind gust was 62 mph at 2037CDT. The first gust was 58 mph at 2036CDT.
Power poles were brought down in town.
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: 1335790, 1335778, 1335781, 1335785, 1335780, 1335786, 1335787, 1335784, 1335788.