04/09/08 NOW: OK/TX/KS/AR

[HAltschule]

FYI...Sanger, TX firefighters on the streaming FD scanner are reporting a tornado on the ground in Northern Denton County.

 

[Brandon Goforth]

I missed the Breckenridge tornado by less than 5 minutes. I was coming in from the west side and I was stuck in town for 15 minutes because every road out was blocked. I couldn't see the tornado because of the rain wrapping around the backside. I did see a rope dissipating to the NE of town. We drove around much of the town on the SE side and a few houses had severe damage, and the damage path was quite wide through the SSE side of town. Chased this thing to Decatur and I gave up. Never saw a tornado, but it did come close a few times.

 

[Alex Lamers]

Mid-level lapse rates are really steepening per 01z mesoanalysis in W TX, associated with strong height falls in advance of the approaching wave. I would expect an increase in storm intensity over perhaps the next 1-2 hours in that area.

AJL

 

[Kory Hartman]

(8:50 pm) Currently feeding storm and damage video from a couple hours ago near Breckenridge, TX.

Craig Curlee feed on home page: www.severestudios.com

Thanks!

 

[Tyler Yarnell]

WARN6 spotte reports funnel 3/4th down to the ground just SW of McCurtain


EDIT: Reporting power flashes now

 

[Bob Schafer]

There is now a report posted on Spotter Network regarding Breckenridge from Blair/Fritcie:

"Tornado lasted for 3 minutes. Occasionally was fully condensed. Well defined debris whirl. Observed from inside the notch along HWY 180, with tornado just N of road. Time ~5:33 PM CDT. 5 E Breckenridge. Wind gusts up to 60 mph were measured via mobile mesonet."

 

[Karen Politte]

Mods - pls add AR to this thread, in view of the TORs beginning to move into the state from OK and TX.

Large supercell with a broad, large couplet has just moved over Altus and the wine country in Franklin Co., AR.

KP

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

It's well into the cool air - can't imagine it'd last long enough to be a threat let alone drop a tornado through the stable layer.

And I'm not too sure, either, what exactly is being seen here in this area, but they're continuing to warn this cell; Throckmorton is now under the gun. Looking at the parameters, it's hard to imagine a tornado threat for anything other than an orbiting space station or something.

Stuff is starting to launch at the dryline - located way, way back in New Mexico and down through west of the KMAF area. Storms are picking up severe-quality hail signatures right out of the womb near Odessa.

 

[Eddie Natenberg]

Ilya is reporting a tornado on the ground 4 N of whitesboro. He is reporting it to the authorities now.

 

[Bob Schafer]

Damn. What a mess out there now from W TX to AR.

A lot of chasers are going to have a rough time of it getting to safe harbor for the night. Nowcasters, please remind your "guys" to be VERY wary of flooded roads, hail fog, hail, and every other nastiness that a night like this creates for driving conditions. And don't you call it a night just because your guys have quit "chasing". It ain't over yet.

 

[Eddie Natenberg]

Ilya said the tornado has lifted (he described it as a nice thin cone) he is going back to I35 because the roads are not good in NE TX and its kinda a mess to chase right now.


Eddie

 

[Brian Stertz]

Looks like the 700mb cap and some fairly widespread subsidence is moving into much of NW/WC/NC Texas. This may give the airmass a time to retool for later on when the main wave comes crashing in. Things could get much wilder in the early morning hours looking at all the juicy air sitting untouched east of the dryline across WC/C Texas and along the sw-ne boundary into NC/NE Texas...SE Oklahoma...and WC/SW Arkansas. This may be the running board for later supercell action...once the cap gives way.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

A cell near Mena, Arkansas is picking up rotation and a TVS on both the GR3 and GR2. Since the area is currently severe warned, I would not be surprised to see this upgraded to a TOR soon.

 

[Aaron Moody]

A cell near Mena, Arkansas is picking up rotation and a TVS on both the GR3 and GR2. Since the area is currently severe warned, I would not be surprised to see this upgraded to a TOR soon.

I noticed this too, but it seems like the rotation has weakened slightly, and the storm has become a bit less organized in the past few updates.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

I noticed this too, but it seems like the rotation has weakened slightly, and the storm has become a bit less organized in the past few updates.

I have noticed an erratic trend with this storm. I've included pictures of the signature and the couplet here for analysis.

**NOTE: I just began using the GR2 with trial, so I am not sure how to get rotation, shear markers, or anything else with it. Additionally, I've returned to my childhood standard of labeling SVR with yellow and TOR with red, so I apologize in advance for difficulties reading the shots.

**Edit: of course as I write this the rotation has disappeared; the shot is nonetheless interesting.