High Wind, Castro
- When
- May 9, 7:28 PM CST
- Where
- Castro forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
- Coordinates
- 34.530, -102.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Texas, May 9, 2026
A strong short wave trough dropping out of the central Rockies brought strong large scale ascent to the region on the afternoon and evening of the ninth. Lower levels of the atmosphere were very dry with mid-level moisture streaming overhead.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 strong short wave trough dropping out of the central Rockies brought strong large scale ascent to the region on the afternoon and evening of the ninth. Lower levels of the atmosphere were very dry with mid-level moisture streaming overhead. This allowed for virga showers to develop during this time period. One of these virga showers produced a high wind gust near Dimmitt (Castro County) measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet.
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 May 9, 5:33 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Updated at 629 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026
- A cold front Sunday morning will give way to cooler temperatures and windy conditions.
- Warm and dry conditions expected Tuesday through late week.
Area forecast discussion, May 9, 5:33 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 633 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 629 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 - A cold front Sunday morning will give way to cooler temperatures and windy conditions. - Warm and dry conditions expected Tuesday through late week. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Sunday) Issued at 139 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 The cold front that is expected to push through the region Sunday is in southern Nebraska as of 18Z. FROPA is forecast across our northern zones after midnight tonight and through the FA before noon Sunday. Low-end windy conditions (just under advisory level) will exist behind the front as pressure rises of 4 mb/hour are expected. There is potential for for light rain showers and possibly a thunderstorm behind the front tomorrow from a combination of lift from the approaching upper shortwave and frontal forcing. The greatest potential for thunderstorms will exist across our far eastern zones where surface flow will be more convergent, though the best environment for convective development will be well south and east of the FA. Any storm that does develop will have the potential for wind gusts over 60 mph and large hail. Cloud cover and CAA will keep highs on the cool side Sunday, barely reaching into the 70s across our northern zones. Winds will begin to diminish after sunset and become light after midnight. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through next Friday) Issued at 139 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 Rather benign but warm weather is in store Monday through mid week. Upper ridging will begin to move overhead Monday with the axis moving overhead by Wednesday with surface winds being out of the south during this time. The combination of overhead ridge and south to southwest surface winds will keep afternoon high temps in the mid to upper 90s. A pattern change is progged by late week as the upper ridge is kicked eastward by an upper low/trough that will move into the Pacific Northwest by mid week. This may be the fire in a series of upper troughs that will dominate the western CONUS late week and into the weekend, beyond the current forecast period. Also hinted by models with this progged pattern change is the potential for daily dryline convection. While not overly optimistic at this point, it is something worth watching over the next many days. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 629 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 Initially strong breezes this evening will gradually weaken and turn to a generally southeasterly direction overnight. A cold front will then bring a shift to strong northeast winds early Sunday morning which will continue through the rest of the day. Post-frontal MVFR CIGs are expected to develop at all terminals and persist to or beyond the end of this TAF period. There is a small chance that CIGs may fall to IFR especially during the morning to midday hours on Sunday, but confidence in this occurring is low. Finally some SHRA or TS will be possible Sunday afternoon especially at KCDS, but probability of convective impacts to the terminals currently appears quite low. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...51 LONG TERM....51 AVIATION...30
Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 7:12 PM CST, 16 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lubbock TX 812 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 TXZ021>044-110115- Parmer-Castro-Swisher-Briscoe-Hall-Childress-Bailey-Lamb-Hale-Floyd- Motley-Cottle-Cochran-Hockley-Lubbock-Crosby-Dickens-King-Yoakum- Terry-Lynn-Garza-Kent-Stonewall- 812 PM CDT Sat May 9 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and the far Southern Texas Panhandle. .DAY ONE...Tonight. A few isolated thunderstorms are possible this evening over the far southeastern Texas Panhandle. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Thunderstorm chances are forecast to increase across the Rolling Plains late Sunday morning following the passage of a cold front. Strong winds will be the primary hazard with storms. Elevated fire weather conditions are possible on the Caprock Tuesday through Friday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 9, 2026
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 9, 2026
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 9 to 11, 2026
- Hail in Texas, May 9 to 10, 2026
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 9, 2026
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Erie, May 9, 2026
- Dense Fog in New Jersey, May 9 to 10, 2026
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 9, 2026
- Lightning Strike in Texas, May 9, 2026
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 9, 2026
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, May 9, 2026
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 9 to 11, 2026
More
Every storm in Texas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, May 2026
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: 1323406.