Hail — Lubbock, Texas

2014-08-28 · near Doud, Lubbock, Texas

Event narrative

A narrow swath of hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter traveled east from the South Plains Mall to near the U.S. Highway 84 exit on South Loop 289. This hailstorm was observed firsthand by NWS employees who stated the hail was very dense and fell for about 10 minutes without much wind. Countless vehicles in south Lubbock received numerous dents from this barrage of hail and some buildings (such as the Pyramid Plaza) suffered broken skylights. Insurance adjusters estimated several hundred homes with shingle roofs would need replacement due to damaged shingles. Combined property damage estimates could exceed $2 million.

Wider weather episode

A well-developed upper trough combined with a surface trough and moderate instability to generate scattered severe thunderstorms this afternoon and early evening. The first storms developed in Hall County early in the afternoon and gradually expanded southwest to the Lubbock area, before moving east into the Rolling Plains by late afternoon. Downburst winds around 60 mph were the most common occurrence with these severe storms; however, a narrow swath of half-dollar size hail in south Lubbock created considerable damage to vehicles, some roofs and skylights. At times, torrential rains in the Rolling Plains were measured in excess of one inch in 15 minutes, although no reports of flooding were received.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.5302, -101.9239)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 531467. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.