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An Early Morning Severe Thunderstorm
hits Fort Stockton, Tx.
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| A high precipitation supercell formed in extreme southwestern Pecos
County early in the morning on Sunday, April 4th, and moved to the
northeast, eventually affecting Fort Stockton. This thunderstorm produced
extremely heavy rainfall, very high wind gusts (80 mph estimated),
hail up to the size of golfballs, and flooding as it moved across
the city of Fort Stockton. Several areas of Fort Stockton were affected
by the storm. One of the hardest hit areas was the James Rooney Memorial
Park. Comanche Creek, which runs through this park, was well out of
its banks as can be seen in the following pictures. The radar imagery
and loop shows that the most intense reflectivities of the storm went
over the southeastern half of the city, which is where the park is
located. The storm hit the Fort Stockton area at around 5 AM CDT.
While possible, early morning severe weather events are quite rare
across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The following chart
shows a 40-year climatology of severe weather events for this area
broken down by hour of the day. |
| The following are some images from James Rooney Memorial Park in
Fort Stockton showing the extent of the flooding that occurred. Photos
are courtesy of Ron M. in Fort Stockton. |
In a rare early morning event such as this, receiving warning
information can be very difficult. When people are asleep, radios
and televisions are often turned off. Additionally, loss of power
can result in the loss of key weather information during an event.
Having NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) with a battery backup can make a
huge impact by providing a tone alert, which allows for those that
are sleeping to awaken and receive vital life saving information.
Currently, Reeves County, adjacent to Pecos County, is in the process
of applying for a Rural Utility Services Grant Program through the
USDA to fund the installation of a NOAA Weather Radio transmitter
in Reeves County. If approved and installed, this NOAA Weather Radio
system will not only provide key information to the communities
of Pecos, Saragosa, and Balmorhea, but also provide coverage in
the Fort Stockton area.
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Here are additional photos showing some of the hail that fell
during this rare early morning severe weather event. A radar loop
depicting the severe thunderstorm as it moves into the Fort Stockton
area can be viewed by clicking on the radar image below.. |
Click the above radar image for a loop (~ 900K). |
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weather.gov 
