Hail in Ector County, Texas

This convection fired along an outflow boundary moving to the southwest in northern Crane County. The initial cell immediately split with the left-split storm moving north toward Odessa, while the right-split storm moved to the ESE into Upton County where it dissipated.The left-split storm developed a mesoanticyclone as it neared Odessa. As the heart of the updraft moved northward along West Loop 338, baseball size hail was reported near the West County Road/University Blvd. intersection. The storm continued to the north where golfball size hail chased over 1000 people for cover attending a graduation practice. In downtown Odessa one-inch hail stacked up to ankle deep.The storm moved over the junction of Ector, Midland, and Andrews Counties where golfball size hail was reported. The storm then began to fade near the Andrews/Martin County line. As a line of non-severe storms approached from the west, this storm quickly dissipated.This storm was the most costly storm in the region for many years. Insurance agencies set up special claims stations and brought in numerous out-of-town employees to handle the workload.