News DetailPictures of nighttime tornado after the Tulia, TX EF-2
Posted At: April 27, 2007 @ 4:37 PM
Posted By: Reed Timmer
Related Categories: Tornadoes
Here are some video frame captures of the nighttime tornado we saw from SR 285 between Happy and Wayside, TX as it moved through the Palo Duro, Canyon. After observing the tornado, we ran into the damage path on SR 285 a few miles down the road. Telephone poles were knocked over, blocking the road, and cows were wandering outside their fence. This tornado looked very strong!
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Jeez.. That looks like its pretty intense. Last time we went night chasing we about screwed the pooch. You got guts bro lol.
Thats is a much better view than what we had. All we could see was that mass of cloud that is behind the funnel and the whole thing looked like it was on the ground, never could see that funnel behind it. Our view look like a massive wedge. We did see a nice cone about 15 minutes later south of Claude.
My what lovely stuff you caught there. Those have to be some of the scariest twisters. Lightning...there it is...darkness ...where is it....Lightning... its getting closer...darkness lol.
Your camera is pretty amazing to get shots like that! I hope we can see something when we're there over Mem. weekend. I would be excited to see a funnel cloud or some marble-size hail!! Aside from blizzards, I haven't experienced any intense t-storms around here.
CorTney, not Corney. ha ha ! My cat is stepping on my keyboard.
Cats love to do that apparently.
So when is the next possible severe weather threat?
Late next week and the following weekend looks very active right now. A massive western U.S. trough is forecast to develop. It's time for some 5000 CAPE days and softball size hail!
Sweet pics man! I totally screwed up that day and went north into Colorado and I didn't stick with my original target...Tulia, TX. Instead I decided to head to Boise City. Let that be a lesson for you all always stick to your target area!
I cant wait for next week and the weekend after. Need some action. I've had 2 bust recently.
Awesome pictures!!! That will be one to definitely keep :-)
Nice pics, do u have some kind of night vision on your camera? or did the flashes make the tornado appear?
lol, I think from the looks of it, they took those when the lightning flashed.
Btw, what is it called when the cloud reaches the ground like that, and how does that happen?
YOUVEGOTTOBEKIDDINGMEJOEL!!!!!!!
Can't help but put that Reed and Co. Just truly outstanding stuff. If i invest $20k into your business what are my returns mate?
Mike, Darwin Australia.
Was the movie Twister a good movie to you stormchasers? I enjoyed it and saw it a few times in the theater. I just got it on dvd after chit chatting lately with you guys.
And I just remembered a dream I had last night...I was outside with family and friends, but it wasn't in a familiar place. All of a sudden across the street a twister formed. I got totally upset because I didn't have a camera or video cam. All I had was my camera phone. It was too late anyway because the damn thing roped out(right thats what you call it?).
here's hopin this holds true for Tuesday -
..CENTRAL INDIANA INTO SWRN PA...
WARM SECTOR WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER THE OHIO VALLEY AS WARM
FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL EXTEND EWD ACROSS NRN OH INTO CENTRAL PA.
SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY...AIR MASS WILL DESTABILIZE WITH SFC DEW
POINTS ESTIMATED IN THE LOW/MID 60S. NAM SOUNDINGS INDICATE WITH
TEMPERATURES IN THE UPR 70S TO AROUND 80...AND DEW POINTS IN THE LOW
60S WOULD GIVE MLCAPE AROUND 2500 J/KG. WITH WSWLY LOW LEVEL FLOW
AT 30-40 KT ACROSS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY AND WNWLY 30-50 KT MID
LEVEL FLOW...FAVORABLE SHEAR PROFILES ARE EXPECTED SUPPORTING STRONG
UPDRAFTS AND A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG/JUST AHEAD OF THE
SEWD MOVING COLD FRONT TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 7.5C/KM BY AFTERNOON
WITH SFC-3KM STORM RELATIVE HELICITY ESTIMATED TO BE NEAR 250 M2/S2.
THIS ALSO SUPPORTS ISOLATED SUPERCELLS...SO WOULD EXPECT THAT MUCH
OF THIS ACTIVITY MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS DURING
THIS PERIOD.
2500 Cape? sounds great...
But can you explain what helicity means?
Twister is definitely a great movie...even if there are a few inconsistencies/inacuracies in it about storm chasing.
northwesterly flow events are always interesting...we missed some incredible tornadoes by not chasing them. Derechos are often formed in northwesterly flow later in the summer as they ride over the top of a ridge in the central U.S. I experienced a massive derecho summer of 98 in Michigan...over 100 mph winds were reported along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Next weekend looks VERY active somewhere in the Plains...Maybe as far north as North Dakota on Friday...Still a long way out, though.
Hey Chris: Helicity is a measure of the "usable" wind shear by a theoretical storm, relative to predicted storm motions. In meteorological terms, larger helicity values infers larger streamwise vorticity for a storm in the environment. Even if wind shear over a layer is significant, the storm motion could be oriented such that the updraft of a storm does not tilt the horizontal vorticity (spin) into the vertical for an extended period of time. If a storm moves parallel to these theoretical horizontally-rotating tubes (created by vertical wind shear), then they can be titled into the vertical continuously as the storm moves (this is when streamwise vorticity and helicity is maximized). The best way to visualize helicity is using hodograph, which displays vertical wind shear relative to the storm motion. I'll post some hodographs for next week's event along with an explanation. Hope this makes sense!
Ok, it makes a little more sense, but I look forward to those graphs!
Sometimes I feel like I don't comprehend this stuff. lol I'd be calling things doodads and thingamajigs. I will leave the scientific stuff to you guys. I just wanna see these things take form.
I look forward the the hodographs Reed and if you could put a brief explanation of what we're looking at mate. This is one thing which is helpful in locating storms and where they're going!!! Hope you get the shear to assist in the storms also!