Hail in Childress County, Texas

Numerous photos of hail larger than baseballs were received from the south and southeast parts of the city of Childress. The slow movement of this supercell storm compounded damage to hundreds of vehicles, homes and buildings in the area. Combined property losses are estimated to be around $2 million.

A short-lived, but intense heat spell with highs of 102 to 108 came to an abrupt end late this evening as active northwest flow overspread the region. Isolated, high-based supercell thunderstorms erupted first near the U.S. Highway 83 corridor from Childress south to Aspermont, with even more intense supercells occurring later over the western South Plains. Some of these storms produced giant hail of 3 to 4 inches in diameter causing severe damage to crops, buildings and vehicles. Cities hit especially hard included Childress, Amherst, Littlefield, and Anton where combined property damages may exceed $10 million with regional agricultural losses approaching $50 million. Toward midnight CST, individual storms grew more linear over the southern South Plains before exiting southeast of the region before daybreak on July 1st.