Thunderstorms bring torrential rain, damaging winds and large hail (2-4 October 2023)

WFO Lubbock's Storm Reports collected on October 4th, 2023

Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary National Weather Service Lubbock TX 850 PM CDT Wed Oct 4 2023 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0212 PM Hail 3 N Spade 33.97N 102.15W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lamb TX Public 0220 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 N Roaring Springs 33.94N 100.85W 10/04/2023 M70 MPH Motley TX Mesonet 0255 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 N Paducah 34.06N 100.30W 10/04/2023 E60 MPH Cottle TX Storm Chaser 0304 PM Hail 3 S Paducah 33.97N 100.30W 10/04/2023 E1.50 inch Cottle TX Storm Chaser 0308 PM Hail Paducah 34.01N 100.30W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Cottle TX Storm Chaser 0309 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 NNE Floydada 34.00N 101.33W 10/04/2023 M58 MPH Floyd TX Mesonet 0313 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 SSE Hackberry 33.90N 100.13W 10/04/2023 M59 MPH Cottle TX Mesonet 0317 PM Hail 7 E Paducah 34.02N 100.18W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Cottle TX CO-OP Observer 0420 PM Landspout 1 S Whiteface 33.58N 102.61W 10/04/2023 Cochran TX Emergency Mngr 0437 PM Hail Whiteface 33.60N 102.61W 10/04/2023 E1.75 inch Cochran TX Emergency Mngr 0445 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 S Paducah 34.00N 100.30W 10/04/2023 E70 MPH Cottle TX Storm Chaser Reported estimates between 70-75 mph. 0504 PM Hail 1 N Levelland 33.60N 102.37W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Hockley TX Emergency Mngr 0527 PM Hail 3 W Reese Center 33.59N 102.08W 10/04/2023 E2.00 inch Lubbock TX Emergency Mngr 0533 PM Hail 3 E Smyer 33.58N 102.12W 10/04/2023 E2.00 inch Hockley TX Public Report from mPING: Hen Egg (2.00 in.). 0534 PM Hail 1 S Reese Center 33.58N 102.03W 10/04/2023 E2.50 inch Lubbock TX Fire Dept/Rescue 0538 PM Hail 5 E Reese Center 33.58N 101.95W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lubbock TX NWS Employee 0539 PM Hail 3 E Lubbock Int. Airpor 33.66N 101.76W 10/04/2023 E1.75 inch Lubbock TX Fire Dept/Rescue 0540 PM Hail Reese Center 33.59N 102.03W 10/04/2023 M2.00 inch Lubbock TX Public 0540 PM Hail 2 E Reese Center 33.59N 101.99W 10/04/2023 M2.50 inch Lubbock TX Fire Dept/Rescue 0541 PM Hail 4 E Reese Center 33.59N 101.96W 10/04/2023 M2.50 inch Lubbock TX Public 0544 PM Hail 5 ESE Reese Center 33.57N 101.94W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). 0544 PM Hail 4 E Reese Center 33.58N 101.97W 10/04/2023 E3.00 inch Lubbock TX Public 0545 PM Hail 4 SE Reese Center 33.56N 101.97W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). 0545 PM Hail 6 W Lubbock 33.58N 101.95W 10/04/2023 M1.50 inch Lubbock TX Public 0547 PM Hail Reese Center 33.59N 102.03W 10/04/2023 M3.00 inch Lubbock TX Public 0549 PM Hail 3 W Lubbock 33.58N 101.90W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). 0550 PM Hail 2 W Lubbock 33.59N 101.88W 10/04/2023 E0.50 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Half-inch (0.50 in.). 0553 PM Hail Lubbock 33.58N 101.84W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lubbock TX Public 0556 PM Hail 1 WSW Lubbock 33.58N 101.86W 10/04/2023 E0.75 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Dime (0.75 in.). 0556 PM Hail 2 ENE Lubbock 33.59N 101.81W 10/04/2023 E1.00 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). 0600 PM Hail 5 E Reese Center 33.60N 101.94W 10/04/2023 E2.00 inch Lubbock TX Public Report from mPING: Hen Egg (2.00 in.).

Thunderstorms bring torrential rain, damaging winds and large hail 2-4 October 2023

Street flooding at the intersection of 98th Street and Indiana Avenue in Lubbock at 7:26 am Tuesday morning (3 October 2023). The image is courtesy of the City of Lubbock.

Plentiful moisture, coupled with lift from a large storm system approaching through the Intermountain West, resulted in numerous showers and thunderstorms late Monday evening into early Tuesday morning (2-3 October). The initial thunderstorm development occurred over eastern New Mexico Monday afternoon, but spread into the western South Plains Monday evening.


Lubbock WSR-88D radar animation valid from 10:23 pm on Monday to 6:31 am on Tuesday (2-3 October 2023). Additional radar animations can be found at: 6:25 pm to 9:58 pm on Monday (2 October); and 1:43 am to 9:44 am on Tuesday (3 October 2023).

The most intense thunderstorms produced pockets of hail and strong winds, including a peak wind gust of 68 mph measured at the West Texas Mesonet located 8 miles southwest of Sundown Monday evening. However, even more impactful was the torrential rain that accompanied the thunderstorms and affected much of the central and southern South Plains.


Street flooding at: (Left) Southwest Lubbock, near Chicago Avenue and 93rd Street, courtesy of Mark Conder; and (Right) On Highway 87 near FM 41, courtesy of John Lipe. Both pictures were taken near daybreak on Tuesday (3 October 2023).

Multiple rounds of heavy rain tracked across the South Plains late Monday evening into Tuesday morning, swelling playa lakes, causing the often dry streams to flow and causing flooding problems across the region. Travel on several roadways became difficult to impossible as a result of the deep flood waters.


Regional water vapor satellite loop valid from 7:11 pm to 7:56 pm on Monday (3 October 2023).

Rain totals of 2 to 4 inches were common across the central and southern South Plains, including in and around Lubbock, from this overnight event. This heaviest rain targeted the southern portions of Lubbock and points south and west from there, including through much of Lynn, Terry and Yoakum Counties.


(Left) North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River flowing over FM 835 immediately upstream of Buffalo Springs Lake Tuesday afternoon (3 October 2023). (Right) Overflowing playa lake on the north side of Slaton Tuesday afternoon (3 October 2023).

Runoff from the excessive rain on Lubbock caused the North Fork Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River to swell, rising above flood stage for the second time in less than a month (read about the mid-September flooding event HERE).


West Texas Mesonet measured 24-hour rain totals ending at 7 pm on Tuesday (3 October 2023).

The river gauge located on the southeast side of Lubbock peaked at 11.34 feet, briefly reaching minor flood stage. This water continued downstream, rising out of the banks and over FM 835, immediately upstream of Buffalo Springs Lake, on Tuesday. The water flowing over FM 835 peaked around 2 feet deep Tuesday afternoon, and prompted a road closure for several hours.


Plot of the Brazos River near Lubbock 4ESE September 29th to October 4th. The river crested at 11.34 feet early Tuesday (3 October).

After a relative lull for much of the South Plains Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning, active weather returned Wednesday afternoon. Extremely rich moisture, seasonably warm conditions and relatively cool temperatures aloft supported unusually strong instability (by October standards).


Severe thunderstorm near Paducah Wednesday afternoon (4 October 2023). The picture is courtesy of Dana Wright.

The instability fueled numerous thunderstorms, some which were severe and produced torrential rainfall, Wednesday afternoon and evening (4 October) near and ahead of a cold front. The most intense storms generated very large hail, as big as baseballs near Reese Center.


Lubbock WSR-88D radar animation valid from 2:01 pm to 4:46 pm on Wednesday (4 October 2023). Additional radar animations can be found at: 1:02 pm to 3:00 pm on Wednesday (4 October); 4:24 pm to 5:32 pm on Wednesday (4 October 2023); and 5:46 pm to 7:12 pm on Wednesday (4 October 2023)

A couple of thunderstorms in the Rolling Plains also generated severe-caliber wind gusts, estimated as high as 60-70 mph near Roaring Springs and Paducah, and measured as high as 59 mph by the West Texas Mesonet near Hackberry.


(Left) Looking northeast at a storm from south-central Lubbock at 2:53 pm on Wednesday (4 October 2023). (Right) Looking west at a storm from south-central Lubbock shortly before 6 pm on Wednesday (4 October 2023).

In addition to producing severe weather, the thunderstorms made for a scenic, and sometimes ominous, sky, as the above images illustrate. Torrential rain also fell from the storms, but the quick storm motions helped to limit rain totals at most spots on Wednesday. Even so, where storms repeatedly tracked, a quick 2 to 3+ inches of precipitation did cause a few flooding problems, primarily in the Rolling Plains.


Visible satellite loop valid from 2:16 pm to 3:41 pm on Wednesday (4 October 2023).

A cold front gradually moved through, from north-to-south, during the late afternoon and evening, bringing cooler and drier air on northerly breezes. The front took the bulk of the showers and thunderstorms south with it through the mid-late evening hours.


Large hail that fell at Terra Estates South, on the northwest side of Lubbock, Wednesday evening (4 October 2023). The image is courtesy of Tom Schlabach.

By the time it was all said and done, nearly the entire region saw at least a little rain, with hefty totals focused from the central and southern South Plains into the northern and central Rolling Plains. Several sites, from west of Denver City and near Seagraves northeastward through Brownfield, New Home, Slaton, Crosbyton and Matador, measured totals in excess of 3 inches. Farther north, rain totals were lighter, with spots around Muleshoe reporting no measurable rainfall.


Radar-estimated rainfall for early October 2023 (1-4 October). The 3-day rainfall measured by the West Texas Mesonet (WTM), ending at 1 pm on Thursday (5 October), can be FOUND HERE. A close up of the WTM 3-day rainfall, centered on Lubbock, can be VIEWED HERE.

Officially the Lubbock Airport recorded 1.80 inches over this active stretch, most of which fell late on the evening 2nd and early on the 3rd. The rain raised the yearly tally to 14.68 inches, which is less than an inch below average (average precipitation at Lubbock through October 4th is 15.49 inches). Childress missed out on the bulk of the rain, but did officially measure 0.30 inches in early October, boosting their annual total to 22.85 inches (2.88 inches above average through October 4th). Preliminary storm reports collected in early October 2023 can be found below:

Thunderstorms bring torrential rain, damaging winds and large hail (2-4 October 2023)

WFO Lubbock's Storm Reports collected on October 4th, 2023

WFO Lubbock's Storm Report collected on October 2nd, 2023