05/13/2026 - Here is another view of tonight’s microburst that hit Tulia! One of my followers, Christina Villegas Cruz, sent me this picture from in town. Lots of blowing dust with this virga shower, and little to no rain. A peak gust of 43 MPH was measured at the Tulia Mesonet site right around 8 PM CDT.
In Person vs. Radar
Check out this virga bomb, aka dry microburst, that occurred just north of Tulia, TX this evening! You can see the rain evaporating before reaching the ground, resulting in strong winds that kicked up blowing dust at the surface! Special thanks to one of my followers, Tony Selvera, for sending this picture in! Also, keep the rainbow in the picture🌈 #KLBK #TXwx #Virga
6:24 PM CDT 05/13/2026 - See these little specs of green on radar? Those are the virga showers we were expecting! As these push northeast, they could continue to strengthen. Damaging wind gusts near 60 MPH and blowing dust will be the main concern with this activity this evening. Most activity should diminish shortly after sunset.
4:05 PM CDT 05/13/2026 - Good Wednesday afternoon! Cumulus clouds have begun to develop over northwestern areas this afternoon. We still have relatively moderate/strong capping, which will limit shower and storm development. However, any activity that gets going will be capable of 50-60 MPH wind gusts! We will watch this region to see if any activity can get going this evening. #KLBK #TXwx #Nmwx #SPwx #Lubbock
05/13/2026 - Good Wednesday morning☀️ A level 1/5 marginal risk for severe storms remains over the extreme northern fringes of our forecast area today. Within the dark green area, isolated storms could produce damaging wind gusts upwards of 60 MPH. While large hail is not likely, some storms could produce hail up to quarter sized (1.00” in diameter). Like we’ve seen a lot this season, dry air is abundant at the surface. This will cause most precipitation to evaporate before it reaches the ground, increasing wind gusts! This is known as virga! Most, if not all, of the forecast area will remain dry this evening! Upwards of 10% of our 30-county area could see measurable rainfall greater than 0.01”.
05/12/2026 - If 2026 has seemed like a warm year so far, it's because it has been! In fact - through May 11th - this year has been the hottest to date by quite a large margin. Before 2026, 2017 had the warmest start to the year through May 11th with an average temperature of 55.4°. 2026's average temperature is 56.5°, shattering the old record by 1.1°! It is also worth noting that 4 of the top 5 hottest years have occurred within the past 20 years🥵
05/12/2026 - Summer lovers rejoice! Well above average temperatures are back, and they're here to stay through the weekend! We'll cut it close, but Lubbock is on track to see its first 100° day of the year by the end of the week. If you're like me and prefer the cooler air, we are only 133 days away from first day of fall😅
05/12/2026 - Through May 11, 2026, Lubbock has only received 1.89" of rainfall for the year of 2026 so far. This marks the 17th driest start to a year since records began in Lubbock back in 1911! In March, we only saw 0.14" of rainfall. In April, only 0.16". Through the first 11 days of May, we have had NO measurable rainfall in Lubbock.
05/12/2026 - A level 1/5 marginal risk for severe storms has been introduced over northeastern portions of the forecast area for Wednesday afternoon, May 13, 2026. Isolated showers and storms will be possible across the Texas Panhandle, especially north of a line from Childress to Friona. A few storms could produce some hail up to quarter sized (1.00" in diameter). The main concern will be with damaging wind gusts around 60 MPH. Dry air at the surface will cause rain to evaporate as it passes through it. This will cool the air it falls through, making it more dense, and therefore causing it to accelerate to the ground resulting in stronger wind gusts. Coverage will remain at or below 10% on Wednesday, meaning up to 10% of the entire 30-county forecast area could see measurable precipitation (≥0.01" of rainfall).
4:06 PM CDT 05/12/2026 - Watching a few cumulus clouds developing over Deaf Smith and Parmer counties this afternoon. We could see a few virga showers (rain showers that evaporate before the rain reaches the ground) develop over northwestern areas through the evening hours. Watch out for some gusty winds under the base of anything that develops! Peak gusts around 50 MPH will be possible.
05/11/2026 - Is our weather pattern FINALLY about to trend on the wetter side across eastern New Mexico and western Texas?
This week - May 12-16, 2026 - a ridge of high pressure is set to develop over the southwestern U.S., and slowly propagate to the east-southeast. This will result in *mainly* warmer and drier conditions through the end of the week across the forecast area. Northwesterly flow could bring a few high based showers or storms into the region, but most locations look to remain dry.
Next week - May 17-23, 2026 - our upper level pattern will begin to shift. As high pressure re-establishes itself over the southeastern U.S., a trough will begin to dig out west. This upper-level setup will support an increased amount of moisture in both the mid and lo levels of our atmosphere.
I expect our dryline activity to begin to ramp up across the region! Overall, our risk for large hail and damaging winds will begin to increase. Depending on the exact setup, tornadoes will also be a concern. We are still WAAAAAYYYYY too far out to talk specifics, but now would be a good time to review your severe weather safety plan with your loved ones! I know this season has been a dud thus far, which can cause a lot of folks to become complacent with severe weather safety.
Be sure to give me a follow for more updates as this event gets closer! For now, keep praying for rain🙏
56 years ago tonight, Lubbock’s history was forever altered when a killer F5 tornado struck our city around 9:30 PM. 26 neighbors lost their lives to one of the strongest tornadoes to strike our state, with more than 1,500 people being injured. The Lubbock Tornado memorial was completed back in 2021, and is an official historical marker memorializing that fateful night. This tornado remains the most recent F5 that has directly struck the downtown of a major city. This event serves as a reminder that large cities are not immune to violent tornadoes. Many Lubbock residents believed such an occurrence was not possible at the time. Unfortunately, many have fallen back to that same belief just 56 short years later. #Lubbock #Tornado #F5
3:33 PM CDT 05/10/2026 Radar Update - I know it’s not what any of us want to hear, but Lubbock and areas back to the west - as expected - will miss out on today’s rain. Showers and storms are continuing along and east of the Interstate 27/Highway 87 corridor, and are tracking off to the east-northeast. We are also seeing shower and thunderstorm activity continue along and north of Highway 70! Since the cold front has now cleared our area, our severe weather potential will continue to decrease. We will still see some gusty winds and sub-severe hail with activity as it wraps up through the 9-10 PM timeframe later tonight. If you see some rain today, enjoy it! It’s as good as liquid gold around these parts nowadays.
Good Sunday morning, and Happy Mother’s Day!
We’ll be keeping an eye to the sky today as isolated strong to severe storms will be possible for *some* across the forecast area⛈️
Areas in orange have been placed under a level 3/5 enhanced risk for severe storms. Areas in yellow, a level 2 out of 5 slight risk. Areas in dark green are under a level 1/5 marginal risk. Areas in light green have the *possibility* of seeing storms, but severe weather is not *likely*. The greatest *potential* of seeing severe weather exists for areas in orange⛈️
⏰TIMING⏰
Showers and storms will begin to develop around Noon, and last through roughly 10 PM CDT. Lubbock’s window of opportunity for any precipitation will exist from 3-7 PM CDT.
Areas along and east of a line from Tulia to Lubbock, then Lubbock to Seminole will have a *possibility* of seeing showers and storms today. Areas along a line from Guthrie to Tahoka, then Tahoka to Lamesa are *most likely* to see showers and storms today.
The *strongest* storms that develop today will be *capable* of producing any of the following threats: Isolated Tornadoes🌪️
Damaging Wind Gusts ~75 MPH💨
Large Hail ~Lime sized (2.00” in diameter)⚪️
Once again, the greater *potential * for any of these modes for severe weather exists for areas in orange.
Be sure to remain #WeatherAware today, and follow along for updates! Coverage with today’s rainfall looks to peak at 40-50% of the forecast area!
05/08/2026 - Our next noticeable cold front will move into eastern New Mexico and western Texas Saturday night into Sunday morning (May 9-10, 2026). In its wake, cooler and breezier conditions can be expected. Winds will gust around 40 MPH out of the northeast on Sunday. Isolated showers and a mostly cloudy sky will be possible behind the cold front! However, no meaningful rainfall looks likely at this time. Enjoy a cooler Sunday, because the heat is set to REALLY crank up next week🥵