This 'chase' was so poorly executed, that I'm reluctant to create a Report thread for it. I was aware of the potential for severe weather today, but since it was a work-day I didn't give it much thought the night before. Tornado warnings were stacking up just ten miles west of town, and I couldn't resist, so I requested to take the morning off and headed west toward Bellemont.
No understanding of the overall setup, no data, towering ponderosas packed against 90% of any given roadway, very low cloud bases, storms moving at 40 mph, and a sparse road network that forces you to commit to a destination with no options for fine-tuned adjustment made for endless frustration.
I spent most of the time in drenching rain and pea-sized hail or looking up at racing clouds from inside a canyon of trees. As I cruised along I-40 at one point, a cooperative gap in the trees gave me about a 3 second glimpse of a nicely flared rain free base on a storm that had been tornado-warned near Sedona. I wasn't able to re-acquire it. Just too much terrain. Hindsight: I should have worked south on I-17...once the storm train started to nudge eastward they lost their punch after moving north over the rim.
The Bellemont truck stop is situated in a nice, open prairie landscape, which provides a better visual if that's where a mesocyclone plans to traipse. Which, none did while I was sitting there without data.
If I had been there several hours earlier, it would have been a completely different situation. One confirmed tornado, and likely some serious straight-line winds were unloaded and wreaked havoc with this little community between 6:00 and 7:30 this morning. As I drove around looking for an open vantage point to watch the incoming storms, DPS was everywhere. Several rail cars were laying on their sides, demolished semi frames were in the median of I-40, buildings had their roofs and siding peeled away, and an RV lot looked like gravity had suddenly shifted, toppling and bursting random campers open. Fortunately, there were no fatalities; however seven were reportedly injured.
Derailed train--all toppled cars I saw had fallen the same direction (northward as per storm motion)...although I may have missed seeing others:
Damaged RV lot:
This was about as good as it got for views of incoming cells if you were anywhere near my car.
Larger images plus a couple additional ones here:
Flagstaff Chase/Damage - OCT 6, 2010
