Texas’ Northern Panhandle has several large, modern cities including Amarillo and Lubbock. It also contains many smaller communities whose fortunes ebb and flow with the vagaries of farming and petroleum production. Many of these small towns border on becoming ghost towns as these photos taken in Matador, TX (population around 660) testify.
More photos from my second week of storm chasing.
Sunset just south of Colby, KS on June 14.
A grain elevator towers overhead in Goodland, KS.
On Thursday, June 14 we intercepted an amazing supercell storm. Outflow from this storm generated winds of 70 mph plus and created a huge dust storm. While repositioning to escape the dust and high winds, this large gustnado crossed the highway in front of us.
I’ll be posting more photographs and video from my 2012 storm chasing season.
A dark, stormy sky forms the background for wind turbines in northeastern Colorado.
Storm clouds fill the sky along I-70 in eastern Colorado.
Two of the things that storm chasers dread, road work delays and flat tires, happened today. While in pursuit of developing storms in northeastern Colorado, we hit highway construction which stopped us for about 20 minutes. Since we were stopped adjacent to a huge wind farm, I made the best of it by taking several photos of wind turbines. Later, on our way to Denver the right rear tire on our van went flat. While the tire was being changed, I again had time to take some more photos of the surrounding High Plains country.
Today is the last day of storm chasing for me this year; however, keep checking in as I will continue to post more sights and sounds from my storm chasing adventure.
Changing a flat tire along I-70 in Colorado.
From Goodland, KS, we drove to our target area around McCook, NE. Storms initiated around 3:00 p.m. and the chase was on. One storm absorbed the storms around it and grew into a beast. A large wall cloud formed and the storm’s overall color and structure was amazing. Eventually, the storm became outflow dominant and generated a massive dust storm. Winds at ground level reached 60 to 70 MPH. While fleeing away from the oncoming dust, we were hit by several large hail stones. As the dust blew across the highway in front of us, we noticed a huge gustnado on an intercept course with our vehicle. We had no choice but to drive into it as it crossed the road. Fortunately, I shot video of the intercept and will post it after I return home. It was awesome!
By day’s end, we were in Colby, KS where we were treated to a beautiful display of clouds and lightning. This has been the best day of my storm chasing outing so far. There is promise of more storms tomorrow.
The edge of a supercell storm approaches our location.
Not much to report today. Severe storms failed to form due to warm temperatures in the mid-levels of the atmosphere. The day was spent driving to Goodland, KS to get into position for Thursday.
A storm forms near Lamar,Colorado but a strong cap (warm layer in the atmosphere) prevents it from gaining severe status.
The chase is on near Midland, TX.
a spectacular display of crepuscular rays was a highlight of today’s chase.
Sometimes it’s hard to know which way to go.
From Plainview, TX, we drove southwest to the Midland/Odessa TX area. By late afternoon, a promising storm formed near Midland and the chase was on. Although the storm never became a supercell, it did offer some opportunities for photographs. We continued the chase until well after dark and were rewarded with a terrific lightning display. Our day ended in Lubbock, TX after 424 miles on the road.
Our target area for today was the Texas Panhandle. Along the way we passed through communities large and small: Oklahoma City, Lawton, Altus in Oklahoma; Childress, Paducah, Matador, Floydata, Plainview in Texas. Our over 400 mile journey was a dry run. No storms materialized, so we stopped for the day in Plainview. Plainview was named for its brilliant view of the Plains, which is Texas-speak for a 360 degree view of absolutely nothing.
At the Texas/Oklahoma border.
Alien cactus?
Leaving Denver, we intercepted a line of storms in central Kansas around 7 p.m. One of these became the dominant storm at the expense of the others and began to rapidly intensify and take on the characteristics of a high precipitation (HP) supercell. Although rotation within the storm was clearly evident at times, the storm just didn’t have what it takes (and no one is really sure what that is) to produce a tornado. However, the storm took on a classic “mothership” appearance and treated us to a fantastic lightning show after dark.
We drove 640 miles today and finally checked into a motel in Blackwell, OK about 1:30 a.m. It was a long day.
Our storm begins to take on a layered appearance.
Storm Chaser 