Hail — Lamb, Texas

2017-06-30 · near Sudan, Lamb, Texas

Event narrative

An intense, slow-moving supercell tracked slowly southeast along and near U.S. Highway 84 causing significant damage along its 28-mile path, particularly in Amherst and Littlefield. Wind driven hail as large as softballs devastated home siding, shattered windows, punctured roofs in homes, and severely damaged vehicles. An estimated 1500 homes and buildings in Amherst and Littlefield sustained moderate to severe hail damage, with many rural homes and outbuildings also affected. Financially, the greatest losses were dealt to approximately 50,000 acres of corn, cotton and sorghum. Those crops that avoided the worst hail succumbed to torrential rains, flooding and wash outs. Total crop losses are estimated at approximately $20 million. Many farmers were determined to replant with 90-day corn or sorghum.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.0800, -102.5200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 699919. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.