Dan Robinson
EF5
Tony Laubach's latest video reminded me of the question of if the Texas panhandle storm along I-40 near Groom on May 29, 2001 produced a tornado. This LP produced several instances of blowing dust on its RFD, but some of this possibly could have been tornadic. From our viewing location, it was inconclusive.
Most chasers this day were on the southern of three supercells in the Texas Panhandle, the one tracking from Turkey to Childress with top-tier structure:
From Chris Kridler:
www.chriskridler.com
From Roger Hill:
A small number were on the White Deer storm, which produced the biggest tornado of this day:
From Sam Barricklow:
The (arguably) best storm was in Lamar, Colorado, producing photogenic tornadoes with very few chasers on it:
From Eric Treece:
Our storm was along Interstate 40, about halfway between the White Deer and Childress supercells. It was a structured LP:
The only other chase log I remember seeing of this storm was from Shane Adams.
That day (as recorded in my chase log) I seem to have been convinced that we in fact did see a tornado. But at the time, I was a rookie to the Plains. It was my first chase trip out there, and I'm not very confident in my ability back then to accurately diagnose what we saw. I eventually decided to call this one a question mark and not officially 'count' it as my first tornado. That label went to the Sharon, KS tornado on May 12, 2004.
I'd love to take another close look at this with the benefit of 25 years of experience. I know it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but if anything it would be a fun exercise to figure out if I actually did see my first tornado 3 years before the one I officially counted as such.
As with most chase logs from that era, there are none left on the internet from that storm other than mine. Is there anyone still on Stormtrack who was there and can offer their perspective?
Most chasers this day were on the southern of three supercells in the Texas Panhandle, the one tracking from Turkey to Childress with top-tier structure:
From Chris Kridler:
Chris Kridler | Sky Diary Productions | Storm and sky photography
Chris Kridler is a photographer, writer and storm chaser based in Brevard County, Florida, who travels to Tornado Alley and captures images of supercells, tornadoes and lightning. She also photographs people, events and more.
From Roger Hill:
May 29th, 2001 Childress, TX Tornadic Supercell -
May 29 was a day with tremendous tornadic potential in the Texas panhandle. Incredible shear, instability, CAPE and a boundary existed. SPC issued a PDS tornado watch box for the panhandle by early afternoon. We sat in Amarillo till the initial storm developed near Tulia. This storm took a long...
www.silverliningtours.com
A small number were on the White Deer storm, which produced the biggest tornado of this day:
From Sam Barricklow:
The (arguably) best storm was in Lamar, Colorado, producing photogenic tornadoes with very few chasers on it:
From Eric Treece:
Our storm was along Interstate 40, about halfway between the White Deer and Childress supercells. It was a structured LP:
The only other chase log I remember seeing of this storm was from Shane Adams.
That day (as recorded in my chase log) I seem to have been convinced that we in fact did see a tornado. But at the time, I was a rookie to the Plains. It was my first chase trip out there, and I'm not very confident in my ability back then to accurately diagnose what we saw. I eventually decided to call this one a question mark and not officially 'count' it as my first tornado. That label went to the Sharon, KS tornado on May 12, 2004.
I'd love to take another close look at this with the benefit of 25 years of experience. I know it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but if anything it would be a fun exercise to figure out if I actually did see my first tornado 3 years before the one I officially counted as such.
As with most chase logs from that era, there are none left on the internet from that storm other than mine. Is there anyone still on Stormtrack who was there and can offer their perspective?
