Power Outage in Plainview, TX

A storm chaser reported a snapped power pole at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 400 and 788 northeast of Plainview. The snapped power pole was likely due to rear flank downdraft winds within the supercell.

Tornado development started west of Interstate 27 around 1636 CST based on storm chaser images. The first indications of damage occurred near the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and northbound Interstate 27 where shipping containers were blown over. Damage was then noted to the northeast along the Interstate at the off-ramp and North Columbia Street where tin roofs were blown off storage buildings. Damage then continued south and east towards the intersection of North Columbia Street and Fence Road where a small out building was destroyed and a mobile home that was being transported on a flatbed trailer was blown over and destroyed. The tornado started to move east near or over County Road 65/East 34th Street where several trees had damage and a small out building was destroyed. On County Road 65, halfway between North Columbia Street and Well Road, the most significant damage occurred to a trussed cell phone tower. The tower was destroyed and fell across County Road 65. The tornado dissipated shortly after crossing Well Road north of County Road 65. Up to 2400 homes were without power in Plainview immediately after the storm passage.

Tornado development started west of Interstate 27 around 1636 CST based on storm chaser images. The first indications of damage occurred near the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and northbound Interstate 27 where shipping containers were blown over. Damage was then noted to the northeast along the Interstate at the off-ramp and North Columbia Street where tin roofs were blown off storage buildings. Damage then continued south and east towards the intersection of North Columbia Street and Fence Road where a small out building was destroyed and a mobile home that was being transported on a flatbed trailer was blown over and destroyed. The tornado started to move east near or over County Road 65/East 34th Street where several trees had damage and a small out building was destroyed. On County Road 65, halfway between North Columbia Street and Well Road, the most significant damage occurred to a trussed cell phone tower. The tower was destroyed and fell across County Road 65. The tornado dissipated shortly after crossing Well Road north of County Road 65. Up to 2400 homes were without power in Plainview immediately after the storm passage.

A downburst traveled easterly across southern Hale County accompanied by wind gusts near 70 mph. These winds damaged 12 power poles just northeast of Abernathy that proceeded to disrupt power to much of the city for nearly 18 hours. Later, these storms produced a wind gust to 59 mph at 0035 CST as measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station northeast of Abernathy.

A particularly intense series of downbursts with winds from 60 to 80 mph traveled east-southeast from about five miles west of Plainview to three miles west-southwest of Aiken. These winds created swaths of damage consisting of siding and roofing blown from homes, downed power poles estimated at nearly 50 in total across northern Hale County, dozens of downed trees, and even two semi-trucks toppled on Interstate 27. One driver suffered minor injuries and required treatment at a hospital. A broadcast media's weather station four miles south of Plainview recorded a peak gust to 73 mph at 513 PM and a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet one mile south of Plainview registered a peak gust to 65 mph at 525 PM. Law enforcement estimated gusts as high as 80 mph at times when the semi-trucks were blown over. The number of downed power poles along Interstate 27 forced the closure of all lanes for six hours until utility crews could complete the necessary repairs.

A particularly intense series of downbursts with winds from 60 to 80 mph traveled east-southeast from about five miles west of Plainview to three miles west-southwest of Aiken. These winds created swaths of damage consisting of siding and roofing blown from homes, downed power poles estimated at nearly 50 in total across northern Hale County, dozens of downed trees, and even two semi-trucks toppled on Interstate 27. One driver suffered minor injuries and required treatment at a hospital. A broadcast media's weather station four miles south of Plainview recorded a peak gust to 73 mph at 513 PM and a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet one mile south of Plainview registered a peak gust to 65 mph at 525 PM. Law enforcement estimated gusts as high as 80 mph at times when the semi-trucks were blown over. The number of downed power poles along Interstate 27 forced the closure of all lanes for six hours until utility crews could complete the necessary repairs.

A citizen reported golf ball size hail east of Halfway. Damage to center pivots, grain crops, and half a dozen power poles was reported in the area between Edmonson and Hale Center due to the large hail and strong thunderstorm winds.

Broadcast and print media relayed reports of minor damage from thunderstorm winds in Plainview shortly before 19:00 CST. Damaging thunderstorm winds downed a number of large tree limbs and utility lines in the city. More than 2,000 residents lost electrical power at 18:45 CST, and electrical power was out for approximately two hours. A Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site just south of Plainview recorded a 58 mph wind gust at 18:50 CST. No injuries or structural damage was reported.

Hale County officials reported that numerous power lines were blown down by thunderstorm winds in Seth Ward. Damaging winds continued to accompany the convective complex southward across the county. Around 20:00 CST, winds estimated to approach 80 mph caused significant damage to two businesses near Interstate 27 in Abernathy. The roof was completely blown off of one industrial size metal structure, while another sustained partial roof loss. Subsequent wind and water damage inside the fully exposed building led to a total loss of that facility. No injuries were reported, but more than 5,200 homes and businesses were reportedly without utility power following the storm.

A linear complex of thunderstorms produced a destructive swath of damaging winds across much of Hale County during the evening hours of the 24th. Damage was initially reported in the city of Plainview, where a number of large trees and power lines were blown down just before 20:00 CST. One tree was blown onto a house, and caused minor structural damage. A Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site near Plainview recorded a peak gust of 65 mph.||The swath of wind damage continued to accompany the storms southward across the county. Fifty utility poles were broken south of Hale Center. Some of the poles were snapped near the ground just east of Interstate 27 along Farm to Market Road 37. Damage to the wooden poles suggest significantly strong wind speeds may have occurred in the area. By 20:15 CST, 60 mph winds were recorded by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet just northeast of Abernathy.

Strong to severe westerly winds brought blowing dust and minor damage to the South Plains region of west Texas. The winds additioanally fanned raging wildfires. Winds over the South Plains region of west Texas gusted as high as 66 MPH. This downed power lines and caused light roof damage. Around 14:00 CST, severe wind gusts caused a tractor-trailer to roll over while traveling along Interstate 27 near Abernathy (Hale County). The driver walked away with no injuries. Numerous homes across the region lost shingles from roofs, particularly in Lubbock. Neither significant structural damage nor injuries were reported. A list of severe wind gusts recorded by the Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet and area observing stations follows:Abernathy (Hale County).........58 MPHAmherst (Lamb County)..........59 MPHChildress (Childress County)...58 MPHDimmitt (Castro County).........62 MPHFloydada (Floyd County).........58 MPHFriona (Parmer County)...........65 MPHGraham (Garza County)..........66 MPHHart (Castro County)...............61MPHMemphis (Hall County)...........60 MPHMuleshoe (Bailey County).......61 MPHOlton (Lamb County)..............60 MPHPaducah (Cottle County)..........58 MPHPlainview (Hale County)..........58 MPHPost (Garza County)................62 MPHTahoka (Lynn County)............58 MPHTulia (Swisher County)...........60 MPHSilverton (Briscoe County)......64 MPHWolfforth (Lubbock County)....59MPH

High wind associated with a cold front moving through the region blew down power lines and power poles in Plainview and near Petersburg.

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power poles.

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees, power lines, and fences.

Strong thunderstorm winds blew down power poles and signs.

Strong thunderstorm wind gusts snapped six power poles and blew down power lines.

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines in town.

Strong wind blew the roofs off several compress buildings and blew down power lines. A 59 mph wind gust was recorded at the Plainview Airport.

Strong wind snapped a power pole and destroyed a metal storage building. A 67 mph wind gust was measured at the nearby regional airport.

Following a day of widespread high winds, the 15th brought another quick-moving but powerful storm system through the southern Rockies. Winds on the 15th didn't increase in earnest until the afternoon but then persisted well into the evening. The strongest winds targeted spots on the Caprock and especially the southwest Texas Panhandle and northern and western South Plains. The most intense winds weren't as widespread or strong as the previous day, but eclipsed the 60 mph mark in a few locations. The wind also lofted areas of blowing dust though the worst of the dust was more limited in coverage than the previous day.||Maximum wind gusts from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are listed below:||63 mph at Amherst (Lamb County),|61 mph at Friona (Parmer County),|60 mph at Hart (Castro County),|59 mph at Abernathy (Hale County),|58 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County).

Following a Pacific cold front early in the morning, a potent upper low in southeast Colorado spread a belt of very strong southwesterly winds over much of the South Plains and Texas Panhandle. Winds of 30 to 45 mph with some gusts of 58 mph or greater occurred for up to several hours. The most intense wind gusts were focused in the southern Texas Panhandle and resulted in some power outages in Tulia from downed lines. A cinder block fence in Plainview was also toppled from the high winds. Fortunately, the lack of severe drought conditions limited the extent and severity of blowing dust with most areas only seeing visibilities reduced to four or five miles during the peak of the high winds.||The maximum wind gusts of 67 mph were recorded by two Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet stations: Mackenzie Reservoir at 1205 CST and Silverton at 1300 CST.

In advance of an unseasonably cold airmass, scattered thunderstorms erupted early this afternoon in the far south-central Texas Panhandle near the intersection of a dryline and cold front. More than adequate wind shear and instability allowed for many of these storms to become severe while spreading southeast into the Rolling Plains through the early evening hours. In addition to producing locally heavy rains, damaging downbursts, and hail as large as two inches in diameter, one of these supercell storms produced a five-minute EF1 tornado in rural areas southeast of Silverton. This tornado damaged a metal shed, one center pivot irrigator, and toppled four power poles.

Scattered thunderstorms developed over the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle and the northwestern South Plains during the late afternoon and early evening of the 31st. A small linear complex emerged from the convection, and resulted in damaging winds as it moved eastward over portions of Lamb and Hale Counties. The most significant impacts occurred in Plainview (Hale County), where downed utility lines left upwards of 2,000 customers without electrical power for approximately two hours.

An outbreak of severe weather impacted much of the central U.S. from Minnesota to Texas during the late afternoon and evening hours of the 21st. The west Texas South Plains and the extreme southern Texas Panhandle were affected by a series of significant tornadoes. At least five tornadoes were spawned by a single cyclic supercell thunderstorm that resulted in more than $3.5 million in damages.|The most severely impacted communities included Olton (Lamb County) and Tulia (Swisher County). Both of these west Texas towns were impacted by EF-2 tornadoes that destroyed property and injured four people, and more than 14,000 customers were without electrical power throughout the night.|The tornado outbreak was caused by a potent storm system that progressed east over the Four Corners region of the western U.S. on the 21st. A potent upper level jet stream spread over the Southern Plains of the U.S., and helped to create a favorable environment for supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes along a dryline that was stretched across west Texas.

A powerful upper-level storm system moved across the Texas Panhandle early Tuesday April 5, 2005 and continued through Oklahoma Tuesday night and Wednesday April 6, 2005. All of the extreme southern Texas Panhandle...South Plains and Low Rolling Plains experienced strong winds for nearly 36 continuous hours. The wind reports were measured by the Texas Tech/West Texas Mesonet sites in Dimmitt, Graham, Tahoka, Plains, Tulia, White River Lake, Friona and Abernathy.