The second powerful winter storm to affect the region in less than a week brought another round of highly impactful weather to West Texas. The powerful winter storm system accelerated through the Four Corners and emerged across the central and southern High Plains on the afternoon of the 26th. As this occurred, rapidly deepening low pressure, in combination with a dryline and Pacific cold front, increased the wind dramatically across the entire region. Initially gusty southerly winds not only transported moisture northward, but began to loft enough blowing dust to turn the sky an orange/brown color by mid-afternoon. As the Pacific front raced out of eastern New Mexico, the wind and dust levels increased and became dangerous. Widespread severe wind gusts lofted copious amounts of dust, dropping the visibility to and below one quarter mile in most locations on the Caprock through the late afternoon hours. The thick dust made travel difficult to impossible and contributed to several vehicle accidents around the region. Severe winds also brought down numerous utility poles across the South Plains. When the cold front overtook the dryline, widespread showers and thunderstorms filled in over the southeast Texas Panhandle into the Rolling Plains. The storms did provide a little rain in spots as a quick-moving line raced eastward, but they also enhanced the wind and a few locations even experienced hail, as large as golf balls in Memphis (Hall County). Wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were common with the strongest thunderstorm activity, but the West Texas Mesonet site one mile northeast of Memphis (Hall County) recorded an impressive 114 mph gust. Thankfully, this magnitude of wind appeared quite localized, though the town of Memphis did have some damage, both from the wind and wind-driven hail. Several windows were broken, roofs were damaged and carports were destroyed. Behind the dryline, the intense winds and warm and much drier air created a period of critical fire weather. These conditions supported the ignition and spread of several wildfires on the South Plains, including one west of Levelland (Hockley County) and a second in northwest Lamb County.
High wind gust reports from the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet are listed below:
84 mph at Paducah (Cottle County),
82 mph at Hart (Castro County),
82 mph at White River Lake (Crosby County),
79 mph at Friona (Parmer County),
78 mph at Amherst (Lamb County),
78 mph at Plainview (Hale County),
77 mph at Dimmitt (Castro County),
77 mph at McAdoo (Dickens County),
77 mph at Lubbock 4E (Lubbock County),
77 mph at Anton (Hockley County),
76 mph at Roaring Springs (Motley County),
75 mph at Olton (Lamb County),
75 mph at Floydada (Floyd County),
75 mph at Levelland (Hockley County),
75 mph at Graham (Garza County),
75 mph at Plains (Yoakum County),
75 mph at Denver City (Yoakum County),
74 mph at Aiken (Hale County),
74 mph at Lesley (Hall County),
73 mph at Tulia (Swisher County),
73 mph at Silverton (Briscoe County),
73 mph at Ralls (Crosby County),
73 mph at Muleshoe (Bailey County),
73 mph at Earth (Lamb County),
72 mph at Northfield (Motley County),
72 mph at Vigo Park (Swisher County),
72 mph at Wolfforth (Lubbock County),
72 mph at Reese Center (Lubbock County),
72 mph at Abernathy (Hale County),
72 mph at Morton (Cochran County),
71 mph at Hackberry (Cottle County),
71 mph at Lubbock Texas Tech University (Lubbock County),
71 mph at Sundown (Cochran County),
71 mph at South Plains (Floyd County),
70 mph at Childress (Childress County),
70 mph at Lubbock 6SSW (Lubbock County),
70 mph at New Deal (Lubbock County),
69 mph at Happy (Swisher County),
69 mph at Post (Garza County),
69 mph at Caprock Canyons State Park (Briscoe County),
69 mph at Spur (Dickens County),
69 mph at Guthrie (King County),
68 mph at O'Donnell (Lynn County),
68 mph at Slaton (Lubbock County),
67 mph at Turkey (Hall County),
67 mph at Brownfield (Terry County),
64 mph at Tahoka (Lynn County),
64 mph at Lubbock 4SE (Lubbock County),
62 mph at Estelline (Hall County),
60 mph at New Home (Lynn County), and
58 mph at White River Lake (Garza County).
Maximum wind gusts from area ASOS and AWOS stations are listed below:
78 mph at Childress Municipal Airport (Childress County),
77 mph at Lubbock International Airport (Lubbock County),
75 mph at Levelland Municipal Airport (Hockley County), and
63 mph at Hale County Airport (Hale County).

High Wind in BAILEY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 14:35:00 to 26-FEB-23 23:48:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in BRISCOE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:43:00 to 27-FEB-23 00:13:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in CASTRO, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 15:26:00 to 26-FEB-23 21:26:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 71.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in COCHRAN, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 14:33:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:54:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in CHILDRESS, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 20:02:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:31:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 68.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

High Wind in COTTLE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:36:00 to 26-FEB-23 23:32:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 73.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in CROSBY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:32:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:35:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 71.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in DICKENS, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:40:00 to 26-FEB-23 23:28:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 67.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in FLOYD, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:13:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:06:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in GARZA, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:16:00 to 26-FEB-23 23:31:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in HALE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:03:00 to 26-FEB-23 21:35:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 68.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in HALL, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:54:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:57:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 58.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in HOCKLEY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 16:03:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 67.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in KING, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 21:49:00 to 27-FEB-23 00:29:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 60.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in LAMB, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 14:34:00 to 26-FEB-23 23:36:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 68.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in PARMER, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 13:31:00 to 26-FEB-23 21:31:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 69.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in TERRY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:41:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:01:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 58.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in YOAKUM, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 15:29:00 to 26-FEB-23 21:29:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in LYNN, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:51:00 to 26-FEB-23 23:14:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 59.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in SWISHER, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 15:38:00 to 26-FEB-23 21:38:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in MOTLEY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:45:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 66.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind in LUBBOCK, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 16:35:00 to 26-FEB-23 22:10:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 67.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Hail in HALL, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:38:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:38:00 (CST-6)
Location: MEMPHIS
Magnitude: 1.75 
Reported by: Emergency Manager

An emergency management official reported wind driven hail up to golf ball size. Numerous windows were destroyed in the city of Memphis.

Thunderstorm Wind in HALL, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:22:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:37:00 (CST-6)
Location: LESLEY
Magnitude: 99.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A swath of severe wind gusts were measured from near Lesley to Memphis. Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet sites near Lesley and Memphis measured severe wind gusts from 1822 CST through 1837 CST. A peak wind gust of 70 was measured near Lesley at 1822 CST. A peak wind gust of 114 mph was measured near Memphis.

Thunderstorm Wind in BRISCOE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:05:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:16:00 (CST-6)
Location: SILVERTON
Magnitude: 67.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A swath of severe wind gusts occurred from near Silverton to Caprock Canyons State Park. Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet sites near Silverton and Caprock Canyons State Park measured severe wind gusts from 1805 CST through 1816 CST. A peak wind gust of 77 mph was measured at 1805 CST by the Silverton mesonet. A peak wind gust of 71 mph was measured by the Caprock Canyons State Park mesonet at 1814 CST.

Thunderstorm Wind in HALL, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:24:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: TURKEY
Magnitude: 54.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A swath of severe wind gusts occurred from near Turkey to near Estelline. Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet sites near Turkey and Estelline measured severe wind gusts from 1824 CST through 1850 CST. A peak wind gust of 59 mph was measured near Turkey at 1824 and 1825 CST. A peak wind gust of 62 mph was measured near Estelline at 1850 CST.

Thunderstorm Wind in CHILDRESS, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:59:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:03:00 (CST-6)
Location: (CDS)CHILDRESS ARPT
Magnitude: 62.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

A swath of severe winds were measured in and around Childress from 1859 CST through 1903 CST. An Automated Surface Observing System at Childress Municipal Airport measured a wind gust of 71 mph at 1859 CST. A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Childress measured a severe wind gust of 71 mph at 1903 CST.

Thunderstorm Wind in KING, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 19:22:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:28:00 (CST-6)
Location: GUTHRIE
Magnitude: 67.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Guthrie measured severe wind gusts from 1922 CST through 1928 CST. A peak wind gust of 77 mph was measured at 1922 CST.

Thunderstorm Wind in KENT, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 19:24:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:24:00 (CST-6)
Location: JAYTON
Magnitude: 56.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Jayton measured a severe wind gust of 64 mph.

Thunderstorm Wind in COTTLE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 19:17:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:33:00 (CST-6)
Location: PADUCAH
Magnitude: 51.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A swath of severe wind gusts were measured from near Paducah to near Hackberry. Texas Tech University mesonet sites near Paducah and Hackberry measured severe wind gusts from 1917 CST through 1933 CST. A peak wind gust of 59 mph was measured near Paducah from 1917 CST through 1919 CST. A peak wind gust of 59 mph was measured at Hackberry at 1933 CST.

Dust Storm in PARMER, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 16:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in BAILEY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in CASTRO, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in LAMB, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in COCHRAN, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in YOAKUM, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:15:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:45:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in HOCKLEY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:15:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:45:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in TERRY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in SWISHER, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 17:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in HALE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in LUBBOCK, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Dust Storm in LYNN, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in BRISCOE, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:00:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in FLOYD, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:15:00 to 26-FEB-23 19:45:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in CROSBY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in GARZA, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in HALL, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Dust Storm in MOTLEY, TEXAS
From 26-FEB-23 18:30:00 to 26-FEB-23 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement