Hail — Hale, Texas

2015-05-08 · near (pvw)hale Co Arpt, Hale, Texas

Event narrative

Widespread hail damage occurred to homes, businesses and vehicles in Plainview with the worst damage reported at newly constructed luxury homes in the southwest side of the city where every home would require new roofing. This hail was as large as golf balls at times and extended east and northeast over the remainder of the city. Preliminary damage estimates from body shops and home insurance adjusters indicate that the area sustained nearly $300M of combined damages.

Wider weather episode

Shortly before 0800 CST, elevated thunderstorms intensified across the western South Plains and far eastern New Mexico in response to a surge of Gulf moisture ahead of a mid-level trough. Unlike the previous day when widespread morning storms contaminated the potential for severe storms later in the day, this day featured multiple rounds of severe storms from mid-morning through late afternoon rumbling over the South Plains, Rolling Plains and the far southeast Texas Panhandle. The majority of these thunderstorms were elevated with large hail and failed to become surface based thanks to a large outflow boundary that surged south from early morning storms. Despite favorable low level wind shear for tornadoes, the fast-moving outflow boundary was a saving grace of sorts in that it quickly undercut supercells and prevented them from becoming tornadic. Nonetheless, the severe storms that did develop proved costly to many residents across the region, especially in and around the cities of Plainview and Slaton where extensive damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, and wheat crops was reported.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.1733, -101.7628)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 567048. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.