A supercell thunderstorm produced two tornadoes across northern Swisher and southern Randall Counties during the evening hours of May 5th, 2002. The second tornado damaged the town of Happy around 6:40 pm CDT. A damage survey by the National Weather Service in Lubbock and Texas Tech University Wind Engineering rated the tornado as a low-end F2 (Old Fujita Scale).

Picture of the Happy, TX Tornado. Photo Credit: Kevin Manross.

Infrared Satellite Image from 6:32 pm on May 5th, 2002. Also available is a Three-hour loop of the IR Images for this event (2.5 MB) for the period 4-7 PM CDT. Credit: Steve Cobb, NWS Lubbock.

KLBB radar base reflectivity loop from 6-8 pm on May 5th, 2002. Approximate time of the two tornadoes was between 6:30 and 6:45 pm (2330-2345Z).

Texas Tech University Wind Engineering NIST damage report for this event: TTU WISE Tornado Damage Link.

National Weather Service (Lubbock) case study for this event: NWS LBB Happy Tornado Link.

OU/UMASS Monthly Weather Review paper for the Happy TX Tornado: Mobile Radar Observations of the Happy, TX Tornado.