On Friday May 14, the chase centered around Kermit, Odessa and Midland, Texas with storms forming along a stationary front draped across the area along I-20 in the southwest part of the state. It was a good old fashioned Texas wild-goose-chase across the oil fields and several tornadoes were sighted by Roger Hill and Tony Laubach.
Coming in from the north, I had a long drive from Amarillo that morning so I positioned myself to catch the western-most storms in the line. Quite often, the storms forming at the end of the line can quickly produce tornadoes, and are sometimes quite photogenic as there are no storms behind them to interfere with light quality and contrast for photos and video.
This area of southwest Texas is dotted with oil drilling platforms and has the distinct odor of crude oil mixed with mesquite. An interesting smell, to be sure. The countryside is mostly flat, providing a great view of thunderstorm updraft bases for miles around.
Taking I-27 south to Lubbock and then proceeding southwest from there along smaller roads, I was able to intercept several thunderstorms. The weather situation in the area was dominated by a stationary front. North of the front, temperatures were in the 50s with fog and drizzle. South of the front, readings reached the upper 60s with high dewpoints. There was also a low-level jet of 30 knots crossing the front at a favorable angle. When you have dynamics like that, you can be fairly certain that storms will form.
Proceeding south toward Kermit, TX, I was able to navigate safely through one thunderstorm "hail core". A hail core is the part of a thunderstorm where the largest hail is falling, usually some distance away from the updraft. Hail was golf ball sized and my vehicle sustained several dings. Once south of the hail and rain, I sighted the storm's updraft base. I immediately recognized that the updraft was rotating and potentially tornadic. You can see the rotation in the images I've posted.
I encountered "chaser convergence" along Highway 115 near Kermit. The "TIV" or Tornado Intercept Vehicle (Tornado Tank) was there along with several of the Doppler-On-Wheels vehicles from various research teams including the National Science Foundation. Numerous amateur chasers were sighted along the roads as well. Fortunately, everyone played nice and I did not encounter any rude or unsafe chasers.
Locking in on the Kermit storm as the best looking one in the area, I decided to engage it. I positioned myself just north of I-20 and found good paved roads for a beautiful view of the storm structure, while staying out of the large hail that was falling. Visible to the northwest was the storm's rotating updraft which had "TVS" or Tornado Vortex Signatures embedded within the structure. A TVS is radar-indicated rotation. This was a classic super-cell updraft with strong inflow bands and beautiful sculpted striations, indicative of moderate wind shear.
After stopping four or five times at various points for photos, I disengaged around 4:30 p.m. CDT and began the long trek back up to Amarillo, where all my clothes were located! I arrived back at my hotel around midnight.
Folks, this is what serious storm chasing is all about. You get up early and forecast your target, then drive to get there, (four hours in this case). The chase lasted almost three hours, followed by a four hour drive back. Obviously, anticipation and positioning are key to avoiding long drives, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.
I've been out now since last Monday and running out of clean clothing. Today (Saturday May 15 will be a marginal day in the Amarillo area, however some storms may move out of New Mexico in the afternoon toward this area. Sunday 5/16 looks interesting east of here out toward Wichita Falls.
This has been a very successful week, however the weather pattern will be changing soon for the Great Plains. We are forecasting a high pressure ridge to move into the area next week, squelching the chances for severe thunderstorms.
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