Thunderstorm Wind — Swisher, Texas

2025-06-04 · near Kaffir, Swisher, Texas

Event narrative

A swath of severe winds occurred from approximately seven miles west of Tulia to the town of Tulia. A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Tulia measured severe wind gusts from 2322 CST through 2324 CST. A peak gust of 81 mph was measured at 2323 CST. Additionally, Farm to Market Road 1424 was impassable due to downed power lines west of Tulia.

Wider weather episode

A complex of thunderstorms developed over northern New Mexico during the afternoon hours on the fourth aided by a short wave trough over Arizona promoting large scale ascent across the region. Very rich boundary layer moisture allowed instability to persist into the overnight hours into the early morning hours of the fifth. The combination of lift and instability allowed these storms to be maintained across the extreme southern Texas Panhandle. One particular storm brought significant damage in and around the city of Tulia (Swisher County). Severe thunderstorm winds blew over power poles and also brought damage in the form of wind driven hail.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.6027, -101.9205)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1256337. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.