Hail — Lubbock, Texas

2018-05-19 · near Slide, Lubbock, Texas

Event narrative

A pair of nearly stationary supercell storms inflicted heavy tolls on thousands of residents across South Lubbock. The largest hail from tennis ball to just over baseball size occurred along a swath from near Quaker Avenue and 130th Street to Slide Avenue and 122nd Street. On both sides of this line and extending outwards for a few miles, hail from quarter size to golf ball size was common. With very little storm movement, large hail fell for up to 15 minutes at some locations causing even greater damage. In Lubbock's Vintage Township alone, it was estimated that every home would require a new roof. Preliminary insurance data indicated approximately 4000 auto claims were filed, with an estimated 1200 homes potentially in need of new roofs. Many area auto body shops were required to work overtime to meet the onslaught of customers. Fortunately, very little wind accompanied the hail which prevented even greater damage to the siding and windows of most homes and buildings.

Wider weather episode

Scattered thunderstorms developed late this afternoon ahead of a dryline, initially in the Rolling Plains and then farther west and in greater number across the southern South Plains through late evening. Strong instability and moderate wind shear resulted in many of these storms becoming supercells, some with destructive hail to 3 inches in diameter, but very few severe wind gusts were reported. The south side of Lubbock was especially hard hit by very large hail that fell for up to 15 minutes in some locales. Total losses to homes and vehicles in Lubbock alone could exceed $30 million. Some of these supercell storms were stationary at times which led to torrential rain, flash flooding and at least two road closures.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4628, -101.8824)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 746394. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.