Thunderstorm Wind in Hall County, Texas

A research team from NSSL measured a 90mph wind gust with a mobile mesonet along Texas State Highway 256 south of Brice. These winds also overturned an irrigation center pivot.

A retreating warm front and eastward moving dryline combined to create explosive thunderstorm development on the afternoon of the eighth lasting through the late evening hours. Very strong surface moisture was in place over the Rolling Plains and when coupled with cool mid level temperatures, created strong atmospheric instability. Thunderstorms initially developed over the southeastern Texas Panhandle early in the afternoon and quickly moved east into southwestern Oklahoma. A much strong complex of supercell thunderstorms moved southeastward out of the central Texas Panhandle creating widespread damaging wind gusts and very large hail. Most of this activity was concentrated across the extreme southeastern Texas Panhandle into the Rolling Plains. An NSSL research team measured a wind gust of 90 mph near the town of Lesley (Hall County). This same storm would go on to produce wind gusts near 80 mph and minor wind damage across Cottle County. More scattered thunderstorm activity developed across the Rolling Plains producing severe hail in excess of two inches in diameter.