Thunderstorm Wind in Garza County, Texas

A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Lake Alan Henry measured severe wind gusts from 0548 CST through 0549 CST. A peak wind gust of 69 mph was measured at 0548 CST.

Several rounds of severe thunderstorms developed from the afternoon of the eighth into the late morning hours of the ninth. A slow moving closed off upper level low pressure system moved across Arizona and New Mexico on these days. This system brought broad large scale lift over the region aiding in thunderstorm development. A slow moving cold front tracked southward through West Texas during the daytime hours of the eighth creating sufficient low level convergence for thunderstorms. Moisture streamed northward from the Gulf of Mexico in advance of the approaching upper level storm system. Strong instability developed underneath steep mid-level lapse rates despite a total solar eclipse briefly preventing solar insolation. This instability combined with strong deep layer shear produced storms with rotating updrafts promoting stronger updrafts and large hail. Most reports of hail ranged from sizes of quarter to golf ball. Relatively high cloud bases also promoted strong downdraft thunderstorm winds. The afternoon and evening thunderstorm activity quickly shifted to the east of the Rolling Plains and diminished after midnight. However, more widespread showers and thunderstorms rapidly redeveloped across eastern New Mexico and the western South Plains in the predawn hours of the ninth as the primary lift emerged across the southern High Plains. Isolated severe thunderstorms continued through the remainder of the morning hours of the ninth. One area of non-thunderstorm wind gusts were observed near Floydada (Floyd County) as light rain showers moved over a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet.