Houston was pounded by rain and subsequent flooding at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. But even more extreme weather pummeled towns across the Texas Panhandle on Saturday night.
Multiple storms brought heavy rain and damaging wind gusts across towns in the Panhandle, with the most severe storms arriving in the tiny town of Spearman, about 30 miles south of the Oklahoma border. Spearman was set to host an event on the town’s Main Street, but attendees and vendors were sent scattering as sheets of rain and 60-plus-mile-per-hour winds ruined the festivities. Lightning strikes were also reported across Spearman, which were captured on video near the various oil fields in the area.
An incredible display of lightning during last nights severe storm in the small town of Spearman, Texas. This bolt of lightning literally shot out of the sky, reaching down 😮 🤯#txwx#lightning#Storms#pnwchaserpic.twitter.com/1z9AstACeg
— Wheels (Sean) (@wheeler244) May 24, 2026
Spearman wasn’t the only Panhandle town to experience extreme weather Saturday night. Residents in Hartley (90 miles west of Spearman) saw their town consumed by a “dust wall,” which forced some drivers to pull over to the side of the road and wait for the wall to pass through the town. Residents in Plainview (just north of Lubbock) spotted a landsprout, a non-supercell tornado that arises when dusty fields are hit by heat, wind and air-pressure instability. Few towns around the Texas Pandhandle were spared from extreme weather Saturday, adding a hurdle to plenty of weekend plans across the Lone Star State…