A series of severe thunderstorms moved through
the extreme southern portions of the South Plains and the northern
portions of the Texas Permian Basin late Sunday night and early Monday
morning. These storms produced a variety of severe weather across
WFO Midland’s County Warning Area. The following is a summary
of findings from the WFO Midland Damage Survey Team.
The majority of the damage occurred in Dawson, Martin, and Andrews
counties. Martin County and eastern portions of Andrews County experienced
high winds and flooding. There were an estimated 38 power poles
either damaged or destroyed across these counties. This damage was
concentrated near the intersection of Highway 349 and 176. Flooding
was also viewed in Martin County along Highway 349...12-15 miles
north of the Midland County line as well as in Andrews County along
Highways 115 and 176 east of the city of Andrews.
One interesting observation near the intersection of Highways 349
and 176 was that of hail up to the size of quarters, remaining on
the ground over nine hours after the last severe storm had passed.
Also at that intersection, a 50 foot light pole rated to withstand
80 mph winds, was snapped at the base. All survey observations indicated
that the damage was produced by straight line winds.
Severe thunderstorms over the western and eastern portions of Dawson
County produced large hail and flooding. This resulted in catastrophic
damage to cotton, sunflower, and sorghum crops in two separate portions
of the county.
Along Farm to Market road 1210, indentations from golf ball to
ping pong ball size hail were noted along the sides of the roadway
in the muddy areas. Residents in the area noted that it hailed for
20 minutes across this area...while the hail fell for approximately
28 minutes south of Sand in western portions of Dawson County.
The local storm report for this severe weather event can be found
here. |