Thunderstorm Wind — Childress, Texas

2009-07-29 · near (cds)childress Arpt, Childress, Texas

Event narrative

A complex of severe thunderstorms produced extreme winds and resulted in significant damage in the Childress vicinity during the 21:00 CST hour of the 29th. The Automated Surface Observing System at the Childress Municipal Airport recorded a 102 mph thunderstorm wind gust at 21:29 CST. The nearby Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet recorded a series of severe gusts between 21:35 CST and 21:45 CST, with a peak gust of 80 mph at 21:40 CST.

Damage across the northwestern half of the city was extensive. Three people were injured when the walls of a motel collapsed just off of U.S. Highway 287. Two other hotels sustained heavy damages. Minor roof damage was additionally reported at the Childress Regional Medical Center and the Childress High School.

Wider weather episode

A complex of thunderstorms swept southeastward over the South Plains region of west Texas during the evening hours of the 29th. These storms resulted in widespread severe wind gusts. Damage across the region was generally limited to downed tree limbs and utilities, however, a segment of the convective complex that moved over the extreme southeastern Panhandle produced extreme wind gusts that caused significant structural damage. These winds resulted in the partial collapse of a brick structure in Estelline (Hall County). More significant damage occurred as the winds spread into Childress (Childress County), where a number of buildings were heavily damaged including three local hotels, a hospital, and the high school as measured wind gusts reached 102 mph. Three people were injured and economic losses across the region exceeded $2.2 million.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.4300, -100.3000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 187177. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.