High Wind — Motley, Texas

2024-04-16 · Motley, Texas

Wider weather episode

A powerful upper level storm system tracked across the central Rocky Mountains on the 15th. A strong surface cyclone developed in eastern Colorado out ahead of this system also producing a compact dryline. This dryline started out in the western South Plains in the morning and moved eastward through the day tightening its dew point gradient along the way. Ample instability existed east of the dryline along with sufficient deep layer wind shear to produce severe storms. However, cloud cover prevented convective initiation for much of the afternoon. Once clouds cleared out late in the afternoon, thunderstorms quickly developed and became severe. One severe storm produced hail up to quarter size as it tracked to the northeast across Stonewall County. Later in the evening, a pacific cold front rushed through the area. Strong westerly winds in the wake of the front produced a severe wind gust of 59 mph near Roaring Springs measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1162618. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.