Dust Storm — Hale, Texas

2025-03-14 · Hale, Texas

Wider weather episode

An intense cyclone emerging over the southern High Plains on the 14th brought widespread high-impact weather to the entire region. Multiple weather hazards were observed which included severe winds, thick blowing dust, precipitation, and extremely critical fire weather. A Pacific cold front raced through the region during the early morning hours and brought light precipitation, mostly to areas on the caprock, as well as an initial bout of severe wind gusts. This first round of severe wind gusts kicked up blowing dust which quickly shifted into Oklahoma and North Texas. More intense westerly winds developed over the region through the mid to late morning hours and continued through the late afternoon. The widespread and long duration intense wind storm carried copious amounts of dust from eastern New Mexico into West Texas and areas farther east. Visibilities of less than one half mile were common for areas on the caprock with many areas experiencing brownout conditions. Limited visibility contributed to numerous vehicle accidents across the region. This included 18-wheelers that were blown over by the wind. Law enforcement closed several highways due to low visibilities. The severe winds also caused significant tree and property damage. Most severe wind gusts were measured between 65 and 75 mph with a peak wind gust of 84 mph at both Friona (Parmer County) and Dimmitt (Castro County). Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County) measured a wind gust of 82 mph which is the highest wind gust recorded during the three month period from March through May dating back to 1945.

High wind gusts from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet network are below:

84 mph at Friona (Parmer County),

84 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County),

80 mph at Plainview (Hale County),

80 mph at Vigo Park (Swisher County),

79 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County),

78 mph at Hart (Castro County),

78 mph at Happy (Swisher County),

78 mph at Tulia (Swisher County),

78 mph at Caprock Canyons State Park (Briscoe County),

77 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County),

77 mph at Amherst (Lamb County),

77 mph at Lesley (Hall County),

77 mph at Turkey (Hall County),

75 mph at Earth (Lamb County),

75 mph at Olton (Lamb County),

74 mph at Morton (Cochran County),

74 mph at Flomot (Motley County),

74 mph at Floydada (Floyd County),

74 mph at South Plains (Floyd County),

73 mph at Abernathy (Hale County),

73 mph at O'Donnell (Lynn County),

73 mph at Shallowater (Lubbock County),

72 mph at Aiken (Hale County),

72 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County),

72 mph at Matador (Motley County),

72 mph at Estelline (Hall County),

72 mph at Guthrie (King County),

71 mph at McAdoo (Dickens County),

71 mph at Aspermont (Stonewall County),

71 mph at Levelland (Hockley County),

70 mph at Memphis (Hall County),

69 mph at Anton (Hockley County),

69 mph at New Deal (Lubbock County),

69 mph at Northfield (Motley County),

69 mph at Lubbock (Lubbock County),

68 mph at Childress (Childress County),

68 mph at Ralls (Crosby County),

68 mph at White River Lake (Crosby County),

67 mph at Sundown (Cochran County),

67 mph at Wolfforth (Lubbock County),

67 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County),

67 mph at Plains (Yoakum County),

67 mph at Spur (Dickens County),

66 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County),

66 mph at Paducah (Cottle County),

65 mph at New Home (Lynn County),

65 mph at Graham (Garza County),

65 mph at Jayton (Kent County),

65 mph at Hackberry (Cottle County),

64 mph at Post (Garza County),

63 mph at Tahoka (Lynn County),

62 mph at Brownfield (Terry County),

60 mph at Lake Alan Henry (Garza County).

The following high wind reports are from Automated Surface Observing Stations (ASOS) and Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS):

82 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County),

72 mph at Plainview-Hale County Airport (Hale County),

71 mph at Childress Municipal Airport (Childress County),

68 mph at Levelland Municipal Airport (Hockley County),

59 mph at Denver City Airport (Yoakum County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1232700. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.