Watching the Skies » Tornado

Videos: May 25, 2010 Storm chase and more

Sean Toner — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 04:28:31 +0000

I’ve created several new videos, including never before released footage of a storm chase I performed May 25, 2010 in the Texas Panhandle. I observed two separate supercell thunderstorms along US 385 in Channing, TX and Dimmitt, TX. I also observed a tornado, though at the time it wasn’t very obvious. No condensation funnel developed, the only indicator of any rotation was from dust being pulled into the storm. I captured a few still frame shots of lightning from video during this case, all are linked below.

Additionally I have compiled several time lapse videos of lightning and other storm phenomenon not typically apparent with the naked eye at normal speed. All new content is linked below.

Stills from HD video:

Storm chase compilation from May 25, 2010.

Time lapse thunderstorm – 6/19/08 – Treasure Island, FL

Time lapse lightning – 9/24/11 – Irving, TX

Time lapse lightning 2 – 9/24/11 – Irving, TX

Time lapse shelf cloud -10/17/11 – Irving, TX

Damage surveys confirm 8 tornadoes around north Texas

Sean Toner — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:10:12 +0000

The latest damage surveys conducted by the National Weather Service confirm 8 tornadoes from around north Texas on May 24. This includes one tornado in Denton County which affected Argyle, Denton, and Corinth. Read below for details.

...Damage survey update for the may 24th storms...

National Weather Service crews spent the day conducting additional
damage surveys from the thunderstorms which occurred on Tuesday
may 24th. The survey team started in northwestern Tarrant and
northeastern Parker counties...where damage was found in an area
bounded by Haslet...Azle...and Springtown. This damage was found
to be consistent with straight line damaging winds...approximately
75 to 85 mph.

The crew then assessed damage in Denton County and determined
there was one tornado...which occurred in the city limits of Denton.
This will decrease the preliminary number of tornadoes to 8 for
the afternoon and evening of may 24th.

The storm survey team assessed damage in the far southwestern
portion of the city of Denton. In this area...close to the Denton
and Argyle city limits boundary...substantial tornado damage was
found in numerous homes in a subdivision. Additional damage...consistent
with straight line winds were observed across the western portions
of the city of Corinth. 

The team spent additional time considering the photographs...video
...And eyewitness evidence of the Denton County damage. It has
been determined that the numerous reports of funnel clouds...tornadoes...and
damage in Corinth area were actually from the tornado which
occurred along the Denton/Argyle border...now commonly referred to
as the Argyle tornado.

The Denton tornado has been given a preliminary damage rating of
EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Damage was found that was
consistent with wind speeds between 115 and 125 mph. The path
length of this tornado was approximately 1.2 miles...and had a
maximum path width of 220 yards.

While there will be undoubtedly other evidence and other damage
areas to consider...the total number of tornadoes now stands at 8
for the evening of may 24th. The listing of tornadoes and their
damage ratings are as follows:

A brief tornado was observed by spotters 2 miles southeast of St.
Jo. This tornado has been given a preliminary damage rating of
EF-0.

A brief tornado was observed by spotters 4 miles northeast of
Nocona...near Lake Nocona. This tornado has been given a
preliminary damage rating of EF-0.

A tornado was observed and photographed 2 miles southwest of
Gainesville. This tornado has been given a preliminary damage
rating of EF-0.

A brief tornado was observed by spotters 3 miles north of Rhome
in Wise County. This tornado has been given a preliminary rating
of EF-0.

A tornado occurred in Irving. This tornado has been given a
preliminary rating of EF-1. 

A tornado occurred in the far southwestern sections of
Denton...along the Denton and Argyle city limits. This tornado has
been given a preliminary rating of EF-2.

A tornado was observed by spotters near the intersection of I-20
and I-45 in southeast Dallas County...along the Trinity River
bottom. This tornado has been given a preliminary rating of EF-0.

A tornado was observed by spotters near Cedarville in Kaufman
County. This tornado has been given a preliminary rating of EF-0.

For the calendar year 2011 so far...there have now been 37
confirmed tornadoes in the 46 counties in the WFO Fort Worth area
of responsibility.

Rotation tracks and tornado damage from the 5/24/11 storms

Sean Toner — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:55:45 +0000

I created a map of approximate mesocyclone tracks based off high res radar data in Fort Worth. I will continue adding tornado damage reports in as the National Weather Service conducts it’s damage surveys. Click here to view the complete map.

So far there have been two tornadoes known to occur within the Metroplex. One in Irving, rated an EF-1 which damaged houses and an apartment building. The second at Dallas Love field, but no damage occurred.

This is a radar snapshot from 01:25 Z / 8:25 pm CDT 5/24/11. Top left corner is standard reflectivity, top right is velocity, bottom left is maximum estimated hail size, bottom right is the altitude of the storm tops. Hail size estimates show 3.32 inch according to radar, with hail everywhere from 2 to 4.25 inches actually falling. The EF-1 tornado in Irving hit during the time of this radar snapshot, the small red square in the middle indicates the location of the tornado damage.

Below is the statement from the National Weather Service.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
317 PM CDT WED MAY 25 2011

...PRELIMINARY WIND DAMAGE ASSESSMENT FROM MAY 24TH...

A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAMAGE SURVEY TEAM CONTINUES TO ASSESS
WIND DAMAGE FROM THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING
OF MAY 24TH 2011. PRELIMINARY INFORMATION FROM DALLAS COUNTY
INDICATES THAT TREE DAMAGE AT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN THE OAK LAWN
AREA OF DALLAS WAS DUE TO STRAIGHT-LINE THUNDERSTORM WINDS. ONE
FATALITY WAS REPORTED AT THIS LOCATION DUE TO ELECTROCUTION WHERE
POWER LINES WERE DOWNED BY FALLING TREES.

A BRIEF TORNADO REPORTED AT DALLAS LOVE FIELD AIRPORT WAS VERY
LOCALIZED AND NO APPRECIABLE WIND DAMAGE HAS BEEN FOUND.

THE TEAM FOUND EVIDENCE OF AN EF-1 TORNADO IN IRVING BETWEEN 820
PM AND 840 PM CDT. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION
OF BELTLINE AND CONFLANS AND TRAVELED ONE-HALF MILE TO NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF STORY ROAD AND ROCK ISLAND. THE PATH WIDTH
AVERAGED 150 YARDS. MAXIMUM WINDS WERE BETWEEN 95 AND 105 MPH.
FOUR HOMES SUFFERED ROOF DAMAGE AND A NEARBY APARTMENT COMPLEX
LOST A PORTION OF ITS ROOF.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTINUES TO BE GATHERED FROM THE
WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS THAT OCCURRED TUESDAY. UPDATED
INFORMATION STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED.

Preliminary storm reports from around the Metroplex

Sean Toner — Wed, 25 May 2011 04:44:37 +0000

A preliminary list of tornado reports listed below. Hail and wind reports are far too numerous to list in detail here. In summary, a massive hail swath hit the central Metroplex including Arlington where a Rangers game was delayed and fans were asked to seek shelter in underground tunnels. Hail reports across the metroplex were frequently in the 2 to 4.25 inch range. 4.25 inches being reported in Irving at 8:20pm CDT.

Other high wind and storm damage reports came in from Argyle and Corinth, just north of DFW. Houses were damaged in Saginaw and trees down near Wilmer.

I will try to update this post with more storm damage reports as they come in.

Additionally, I was able to capture a few pictures from the severe storms that rolled through here in Plano, TX. Unfortunately these pictures aren’t terribly remarkable in any way. Gallery available for viewing here.

24-May-2011 19:32PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.0, 18.0mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 400

Preliminary tornado reports from around the Metroplex:

Time	Location	County	State	Lat	Lon	Comments
2246	2 SE ST. JO	MONTAGUE	TX	3368	9751	BRIEF – WEST OF MUENSTER ON 82 (FWD)
0028	1 E SPRINGTOWN	PARKER	TX	3297	9766	(FWD)
0038	2 W AZLE	PARKER	TX	3290	9756	(FWD)
0038	3 N RHOME	WISE	TX	3309	9748	(FWD)
0048	1 E SPRINGTOWN	PARKER	TX	3297	9766	SEVERAL HOMES DAMAGED NEAR HWY 199 (FWD)
0051	CORRAL CITY	DENTON	TX	3310	9723	AT I-35W AND FM 407 (FWD)
0056	1 E AVONDALE	TARRANT	TX	3297	9740	(FWD)
0103	CORINTH	DENTON	TX	3315	9707	REPORTED AT OLD ALTON AND TEASLEY (GUYER HS) (FWD)
0248	6 SW BALCH SPRINGS	DALLAS	TX	3266	9670	I-20 AND TRINITY RIVER (FWD)
0350	1 W CEDARVALE	KAUFMAN	TX	3258	9612	SPOTTER REPORTS BRIEF TORNADO BETWEEN KUAFMAN AND CEDARVALE (FWD)

Multiple tornado warnings persist through the DFW Metroplex

Sean Toner — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:08:22 +0000

Very strong rotation over eastern Dallas headed east into Mesquite at this time. Tornado reports from Corinth, west of Justin, & Springtown already. High wind reports and storm damage from Saginaw and Fort Worth. Large hail up to 4.25 inches in Irving already. The night isnt over people, stay tuned to your local weather service offices.

Radar snap from 9:02pm CDT

West Dallas tornado rated eF-2, six other tornadoes around north Texas

Sean Toner — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:59:39 +0000

Tornado damage consistent with an eF-2 tornado was found in West Dallas during a storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service today. The tornado’s path was one half mile in length, causing significant damage to numerous structures in that area. A preliminary track map shows it crossing the Trinity River and its levees, which should debunk any myths people may of had about tornadoes and river crossings… (source: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=prelimtrackmap) I have included a tornado damage summary provided by the National Weather Service below.

Six other tornadoes were documented around the area, including another which caused moderate damage in southeast Dallas county, to the city of Seagoville. Below is radar snaps of the storm as it looked while producing the tornado in West Dallas. The storm is not overly impressive, when compared to supercells during our spring time severe weather season, but still displays the traditional hook echo and velocity couplet associated with tornadic supercells.

A similar feature is observed with the northeast Ellis/southeast Dallas counties tornado. A noteworthy hook echo and velocity couplet are observed by radar.

Thankfully the next 7 days don’t appear to show any significant tornado threats. Forecast models show marginal chances of thunderstorms Friday night, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Additionally a weak front may move through the area Saturday, then lay stationary across the Metroplex Sunday into Monday. This front has the potential to kick off organized severe development along and to the south of the front, but coverage of storms may be limited. Regardless I would consider storms a possibility Saturday and Sunday. Straight line winds and hail would be possible with stronger storms over the weekend, but the tornado threat will be minimal as environmental wind shearing will be very low. Temps the next 7 days will remain above normal and with high dew points due to the obvious abundance of moisture, our heat indexes will be around 100 to 105.

It would seem summer has not quite left us yet.

Tornado damage survey report by the NWS:

…PRELIMINARY DAMAGE REPORT…

A TOTAL OF SIX TORNADOES OCCURRED ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH. FOUR
TORNADOES WERE RATED EF0 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. ONE TORNADO
WAS RATED EF1…AND ONE TORNADO WAS PRELIMINARILY RATED EF2. ONLY
TWO MINOR INJURIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED FROM ALL OF THESE STORMS.

THE EF2 TORNADO DAMAGE WAS LOCATED IN THE CITY OF DALLAS NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF MOCKINGBIRD LANE AND IRVING BOULEVARD. THIS
TORNADO CAUSED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO SEVERAL BUILDINGS AND CAUSED
MORE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO A WAREHOUSE. AN EXTERIOR NON LOAD BEARING
WALL COLLAPSED…LEADING TO A PARTIAL COLLAPSE OF THE ROOF. THIS
DAMAGE WAS RATED EF2 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WITH WIND SPEEDS
OF APPROXIMATELY 115 MPH. THE LAST TIME THE CITY OF DALLAS HAD A
TORNADO RATED AT F2/EF2 OR HIGHER WAS F2 TORNADO DAMAGE ON APRIL
11 1974. THE LANCASTER TORNADO OF APRIL 25 1994 PRODUCED F4 DAMAGE
IN THE CITY OF LANCASTER BEFORE DISSIPATING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS
OF DALLAS.

THE EF1 TORNADO DAMAGE WAS LOCATED IN THE CITY OF SEAGOVILLE JUST
EAST OF HIGHWAY 175. AT LEAST THREE APARTMENT BUILDINGS SUFFERED
SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE. WIND SPEEDS IN THIS TORNADO ARE ESTIMATED
TO BE NEAR 90 MPH.

THE REMAINING TORNADO DAMAGE WAS GIVEN A PRELIMINARY RATING OF
EF0. THESE TORNADOES OCCURRED NEAR LINDSAY IN COOKE COUNTY…NEAR
FERRIS IN ELLIS COUNTY…IN HEATH IN ROCKWALL COUNTY…AND NEAR
BLOSSOM IN LAMAR COUNTY.

THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE RATES TORNADO DAMAGE.

ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE APPROXIMATE WIND SPEED RANGE

EF0 65-85 MPH
EF1 86-110 MPH
EF2 111-135 MPH
EF3 136-165 MPH
EF4 166-200 MPH
EF5 200 MPH OR GREATER

Tropical Storm Hermine & it’s effects

Sean Toner — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:08:59 +0000

Tropical Storm Hermine, a remarkably impactful storm for the DFW Metroplex which sits 550 miles north of the storm’s initial landfall. The storm has brought severe flooding to a 300 mile stretch of central and north Texas, along the I-35 corridor. The worst flood effects are being felt in San Antonio through Austin. Flash flooding has even occurred in the Metroplex, the most notable being numerous homes and trailers flooded in the cities of Lewisville, Arlington, and Fort Worth. The heavy rains brought over 12 inches of rain near Austin as of 8am today (9/8/10) and 4 to 6 inches of rain in the Metroplex. (source: CoCoRaHS) My CoCoRaHS gauge captured 4.01 inches of rain in the 24hr period from 8am 9/7/10 to 8am 9/8/10. Another several inches have been observed since that time, with even more rain on the way. Below is radar estimated total rainfall from the FWS dopplar radar. An even more accurate and complete picture region wide view is available from the National Weather Service at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/RFC_Precip/.

As if the flooding rainfalls weren’t enough, Hermine brought the risk of tornadoes to the region with several damage reports in Dallas, Highland Park, Seagoville, Ferris and Trumbull. Tornadoes embedded within the outer rain bands of tropical systems aren’t uncommon to coastal regions in the Gulf, but it is fairly unusual to get those type of tornadic storms this far away from the Gulf. Tornadoes in this type of environment tend to develop without warning and are difficult to detect with current radar technology, but are very brief and usually weak. The Dallas Morning News reported ripped up roofs in Cockrell Hill, Oak Cliff, West Dallas, and the Love Field areas. (source: Dallas Morning News) A Tornado Warning was also issued for a storm 4 miles south of Hebron at 5:37pm. The warned area included Frisco, Plano, and The Colony. The storm showed rotation on radar, and storm spotters observed a rotating wall cloud within the storm. Thankfully no tornado damage has been reported with this storm. Its center of circulation traveled north along the Denton/Collin county line, passing over Highway 121 and Plano Parkway, then dissipating. I got the pleasure of evacuating to our work’s ‘shelter’ area which amasses to little more than an open hallway, without access to my computer with accurate radar data.

A Tornado Watch still remains in effect for the entire DFW Metroplex, southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas until 1am. Another rain band is approaching from the west, with an approximate ETA of around 11pm to midnight tonight to Frisco/Plano/The Colony. Rain chances will continue Thursday, however nowhere near the levels observed the past two days. Hot and humid conditions should be expected the remainder of the week and weekend as the sun comes out and starts evaporating the abundance of water on the ground.

Lastly ill end with a quote from the local weather forecast office regarding the heavy rains the last two days…

DFW AND WACO HAVE BOTH SET CALENDAR-DAY PRECIPITATION RECORDS TODAY (SEPT 8). FOR BOTH SITES…THE 24-HR TOTALS (SEPT 7-8) WILL RANK AMONG THE TOP 10 ALL-TIME. PRECISE NUMBERS WILL BE AVAILABLE THURSDAY MORNING.

AT THE PRESENT TIME…THIS MONTH WILL RANK AS THE 4TH WETTEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD FOR BOTH DALLAS/FORT WORTH AND WACO.

Texas Panhandle Storm Chase

Sean Toner — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:09:59 +0000

On May 25, 2010 I performed a brief storm chase in the Texas panhandle. I was able to chase two separate supercell thunderstorms before the day ended, with one possible tornado. The storms were extremely photogenic and easy to chase as the storm motion was about 20 kts ENE.

The first storm, tornado warned and intercepted west of Channing TX was very much a high precipitation supercell. This had a persistent but non rotating wall cloud for at least 15 minutes. Shortly after the storm inflow was contaminated by cold outflow of a neighboring thunderstorm and became a very high precipitation mess. The below images show a before, during, and after shot of the storm.

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:35.686146/-102.343181. 1.21 km West Channing Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_35.686146_-102.343181.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 17:19Canon Canon PowerShot SD10, 3.5, 8.462mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 80

25-May-2010 17:37PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D, 5.0, 20.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 100

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:35.685879/-102.361995. 2.88 km West Channing Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_35.685879_-102.361995.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 17:47PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 4.5, 43.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400

This storm no longer looked very favorable for redevelopment, thankfully a new tornado warned storm had just popped about 85 miles south near Dimmitt, TX. The storms were still moving slow around 20 kts, so I was able to jump on US-385 and blast southward to Dimmitt just as the storm was moving in. The storm appeared to maintain its strength and rotation according to radar for the hour and 15 minutes it took to get down to Dimmitt. Once I emerged through the rain core and encountered only sporadic pea sized hail, I was greeted with this monstrosity of a wall cloud!

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.601792/-102.312530. 5.66 km North Dimmitt Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.601792_-102.312530.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 19:24PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 4.5, 18.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 100

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.601792/-102.312529. 5.66 km North Dimmitt Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.601792_-102.312529.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 19:25PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.6, 55.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.601798/-102.312541. 5.66 km North Dimmitt Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.601798_-102.312541.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 19:28PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.6, 55.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 160

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.601801/-102.312557. 5.66 km North Dimmitt Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.601801_-102.312557.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 19:29PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 4.0, 18.0mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 100

Now I have only had the opportunity to do a couple of storm chases with my limited time living in tornado alley and this was my first experience seeing a low precipitation (LP) supercell. This was an incredibly beautiful LP storm and a slow mover at that. The sirens were sounding in Dimmitt intermittently, but otherwise it was very quiet and the winds were moving about 15-20mph into the storm.

The storm continued evolving but remained a LP supercell passing just a mile north of Dimmitt. For about 30 seconds, the storm appeared to kick up a lot of dust. Reviewing still images it looked like a brief microburst. However after reviewing some of the HD video I captured it may have been a very brief tornado without a condensation funnel! There was some very vigorous rotation in the cloud base for about 30 seconds just prior to the dust being pulled up into the air.

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.570253/-102.313780. 2.16 km North Dimmitt Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.570253_-102.313780.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 19:37PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 4.0, 21.0mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 100	Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.549768/-102.292876. 1.74 km East Dimmitt Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.549768_-102.292876.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 19:54PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 4.5, 43.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200	Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.542673/-102.213189. 8.47 km North Roy Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.542673_-102.213189.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 20:12PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 6.3, 55.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100
Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.542673/-102.213186. 8.47 km North Roy Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.542673_-102.213186.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 20:12PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.6, 18.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100

As the sun set, the storm retained it’s overall LP form but didn’t give me any confidence in it’s ability to produce a tornado despite it’s radar observed rotation. It did however give me a few more incredibly beautiful photographs.

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.542704/-102.213173. 8.48 km North Roy Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.542704_-102.213173.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 20:24PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 4.0, 31.0mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 320

Taken at Latitude/Longitude:34.529765/-101.964616. 4.07 km West Lakeview Texas United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_34.529765_-101.964616.html"> (Map link)</a>25-May-2010 20:45Canon Canon PowerShot SD10, 2.8, 5.8mm, 0.077 sec, ISO 200

25-May-2010 20:13PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D, 4.5, 18.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 100

This was the end of the chase day for me as the sun set and the atmospheric instability yielded to a temperature inversion. I headed back to my hotel in Amarillo for the night, to prepare for sight seeing the next day.

View the complete photo galleries here!

NEW as of 10/22/11: View the complete video compilation of this chase below…

Tornadoes over central Oklahoma!

Sean Toner — Thu, 20 May 2010 07:32:41 +0000

Check out some of these pictures and videos of a storm chase I performed on May 19th, 2010. These storms were relatively easy to chase as they moved at about 30mph due east. This allowed me to easily catch up or outrun the storms, as well as being able to stay on the same road for the entire chase.

Chase Mileage: 660 miles
Number of tornadoes seen: 2

I departed from the Dallas Metroplex headed twards Lawton, OK. A new day 1 outlook from the SPC was then issued, which included a ‘High’ risk of severe storms. The high risk area was further north and east of my original target area. I changed my target area to a storm that had initiated and was moving towards Hennessey OK. This was the correct decision, as I arrived in Hennessey just as the storm popped down a large cone tornado! (the video will be forthcoming later).

Next I decided to stay with this storm and travel east along SR-51. This also ended up being the best decision, as the storm ultimately put out a large funnel cloud near Stillwater, OK but didnt quite make it to the ground. Unfortunately I did not see the tornado that damaged mobile homes in Stillwater however. The rest of the chase was spent driving around attempting to target a few other storm cells, but ultimately I was either too far away or the storms sucked in too much cold air.

Either way, it was a good day for tornado viewing. For now, a few videos I was able to get online quickly. I will get the Hennessey OK tornado video online soon.

View the complete photo gallery by clicking here!


Taken at Latitude/Longitude:35.710027/-97.018004. 2.96 km North-West Warwick Oklahoma United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_35.710027_-97.018004.html"> (Map link)</a>19-May-2010 19:46Canon Canon PowerShot SD10, 2.8, 5.8mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 200	Taken at Latitude/Longitude:36.119742/-97.898945. 1.17 km North Hennessey Oklahoma United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_36.119742_-97.898945.html"> (Map link)</a>19-May-2010 16:43PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 7.1, 50.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 100	Taken at Latitude/Longitude:36.119792/-97.899009. 1.18 km North Hennessey Oklahoma United States <a href="http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_36.119792_-97.899009.html"> (Map link)</a>19-May-2010 16:45PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.0, 50.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100

Fort Worth Tornadoes – 10 years later

Sean Toner — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:41:48 +0000

10 years ago today a pair of tornadoes struck heavily populated areas in Fort Worth and Arlington, killing two and injuring 80 others. The first tornado developed quickly and moved through downtown Fort Worth, causing severe damage to numerous high rises along with other structures and vehicles. A significant hailstorm also affected areas north of Fort Worth like Lake Worth and Saginaw, causing significant damage to roofs and vehicles.

(KFWS 00:25 Zulu Base reflectivity/Velocity)

The above screenshot demonstrates the storm as it was passing over downtown Fort Worth. The storm briefly produced F3 damage to the Cash America building, and F2 damage along a substantial part of its track.

(KFWS 01:05 Zulu Base Reflectivity/Velocity)

This image shows the second tornado with the strongest radar velocities near Arlington along I-20. This tornado tracked just south of I-20 for a few minutes before turning left and dissipating.

Below is a summary developed by the NWS about the tornadoes and the impact they had on the region.

NWS March 28 Fort Worth Tornado Summary