Thunderstorm Wind — Garza, Texas

2023-05-12 · near Graham Chapel, Garza, Texas

Event narrative

A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Graham measured severe wind gusts from 1726 CST through 1727 CST. A peak wind gust of 62 mph was measured at 1726 CST.

Wider weather episode

Hot temperatures, coupled with a dryline, triggered widespread thunderstorm development on the afternoon of the 12th. Strong instability and the relatively hot and dry low levels of the atmosphere promoted strong wind gusts and pockets of small hail with the most intense activity, though relatively weak vertical wind shear kept severe storms from lasting very long. One storm did manage to generate a 62 mph wind gust near Graham (Garza County). A broad area of light to moderate rain evolved over the southern Rolling Plains during the evening hours. A wake low formed at the back edge of the precipitation shield generating severe wind gusts near Guthrie (King County) for about one hour.

High wind gusts from the wake low event are listed below from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet:

66 mph at Guthrie (King County).

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0806, -101.5174)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1087644. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.