Power Outage in Tahoka, TX

An NWS cooperative weather observer in Tahoka relayed photographs of wind damage to trees, fences, and power poles.

Intense rear flank downdraft winds as high as 80 mph were documented over a large swath of central Lynn County for nearly one hour. In addition to downing an estimated 250 power poles over the area, these winds caused minor damage to a couple dozen homes, sheds, and toppled several trees.

Storm chasers observed what at first looked to be a harmless gustnado southeast of New Home, but this innocuous dirt whirl quickly grew taller and phased with a rotating wall cloud immediately aloft. This tornado slowly intensified just west of US Highway 87 and moved southeast before crossing the highway around 1655 CST. The NWS storm survey found only minimal wind damage along the highway, but this tornado rapidly intensified as it turned nearly due south just east of US Highway 87. It was here that the tornado inflicted EF2 damage to power poles approximately 2.7 miles N-NE of Tahoka. The tornado crossed US Highway 380 about 3 miles east of Tahoka around 1705 CST and grew to just over one mile in width. Visibility was compromised during much of this wedge phase due to large amounts of dust wrapping around the tornado. EF1 damage was noted to a residence along US Highway 380. About a half mile south of the highway the tornado caused EF1 to EF2 damage to a manufactured home and farm equipment. By 1730 CST, the tornado and parent mesocyclone halted their S-SE motion and wobbled back to the west as indicated by the radar data and storm chaser video. Based on reports from a few storm chasers, at least one additional tornado may have accompanied this larger tornado at times a mile or two to its northeast, but a lack of sufficient evidence prevented these reports from being submitted.

Storm chasers observed what at first looked to be a harmless gustnado southeast of New Home, but this innocuous dirt whirl quickly grew taller and phased with a rotating wall cloud immediately aloft. This tornado slowly intensified just west of US Highway 87 and moved southeast before crossing the highway around 1655 CST. The NWS storm survey found only minimal wind damage along the highway, but this tornado rapidly intensified as it turned nearly due south just east of US Highway 87. It was here that the tornado inflicted EF2 damage to power poles approximately 2.7 miles N-NE of Tahoka. The tornado crossed US Highway 380 about 3 miles east of Tahoka around 1705 CST and grew to just over one mile in width. Visibility was compromised during much of this wedge phase due to large amounts of dust wrapping around the tornado. EF1 damage was noted to a residence along US Highway 380. About a half mile south of the highway the tornado caused EF1 to EF2 damage to a manufactured home and farm equipment. By 1730 CST, the tornado and parent mesocyclone halted their S-SE motion and wobbled back to the west as indicated by the radar data and storm chaser video. Based on reports from a few storm chasers, at least one additional tornado may have accompanied this larger tornado at times a mile or two to its northeast, but a lack of sufficient evidence prevented these reports from being submitted.

Three power poles were downed along Farm to Market Road 213.

The fire department in Grassland reported three power poles downed by high winds near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 212 and County Road 24.

A vigorous storm system ejected eastward over the Rocky Mountains on the 6th and resulted in widespread strong to severe winds, blowing dust, and contributed to yet another outbreak of large wildfires over the Southern Plains of the U.S. Westerly gradient winds over the South Plains region of west Texas gusted as high as 66 MPH and caused minor damage that included downed power lines and light roof damage. Around 14:00 CDT, wind gusts caused a tractor-trailer to roll over while traveling along Interstate 27 near Abernathy (Hale County). The driver was able to walk away with no injuries. Numerous homes across the region lost shingles from roofs as a result of the winds, 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

The Texas Tech West Texas Mesonet recorded a total of seven severe wind gusts across the South Plains region during the daytime hours on the 12th. The high westerly winds, with gusts up to 62 MPH, blew dust and smoke from ongoing wildfires over much of the region. The visibilities were dramatically reduced during much of the afternoon. Minor roof damage to several homes was reported in Lubbock, and a few power lines were additionally blown down by the winds. No injuries were reported.Friona (Parmer County)..........59 MPHTulia (Swisher County)...........60 MPHSilverton (Briscoe County)......59 MPHTahoka (Lynn County)............59 MPHLubbock (Lubbock County).....58 MPHHart (Castro County)..............62 MPHPlains (Yoakum County)........60 MPH

Strong thunderstorm wind blew down several power poles.

A powerful upper level storm system which brought isolated high wind gusts to the area on the 12th departed the area on the 13th but still was able to bring strong but non-severe winds on the 13th. These winds came in the wake of a cold front which moved through early in the morning of the 13th. Although temperatures were close to seasonal averages on the 13th behind this cold front, extremely dry air advected into the region with widespread dew points below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. This led to relative humidity values at or below three percent along with gusty northwesterly winds. A wildfire in Lynn County, named the Side Oats Fire, started several miles to the southwest of Tahoka (Lynn County). The wildfire burned a total estimated 1477 acres before being fully contained by the Texas Forest Service on the evening of the 13th.