Jeremy Perez
Supporter
Chasing a beautiful, isolated Kansas LP cell a couple days earlier had me excited to witness some hopefully explosive development on March 16th. MLCAPE values from 2000-2500 j/kg were forecast along the dryline in western Texas with openings in the cap by mid afternoon. With a mid-level impulse yielding potential for 50 kts of bulk shear, mid-level lapse rates approaching 8.5 c/km, and directional shear supportive of rotating updrafts, it looked like severe storms were on tap with large hail, and a slight tornado risk as the LLJ strengthened by early evening.
HRRR suggested two areas for convection to break out--near Lubbock and south of Midland. The reflectivity forecast hinted at the southern target being choked off soon after forming, so with a bit of relief at the shorter drive, I targeted the dryline in the vicinity of Lubbock.
As we neared Post, Texas, storms were firing along the dryline. A strong cell south of Midland had gotten the attention of the SPC as severe watch areas went up from southwest Texas to western Oklahoma. Storms near Lubbock were looking good to me, and we targeted a cell that was essentially moving over Lubbock--it soon picked up a severe warning. As we paced the storm and watched it develop while keeping the rental car out of the hail, the storm started to develop inflow bands and what looked like a bobbed beaver tail.
Panorama of severe warned storm near Lubbock, Texas
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RFB Struggles to get organized
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Base getting strangled
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Unfortunately, it didn't take long for a flurry of developing storms west and southwest of our storm began interfering with it and with each other until the whole mess essentially disintegrated. The remains of dissolving storms still present great photo opportunities, and we made a few stops on the way back to Elk City to take in the pleasant views.
Panorama of interference from storm with sturdy inflow tail choking off our cell's inflow
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Dissipating storms paint the sky for our drive back to Elk City
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Sunset Image
HRRR suggested two areas for convection to break out--near Lubbock and south of Midland. The reflectivity forecast hinted at the southern target being choked off soon after forming, so with a bit of relief at the shorter drive, I targeted the dryline in the vicinity of Lubbock.
As we neared Post, Texas, storms were firing along the dryline. A strong cell south of Midland had gotten the attention of the SPC as severe watch areas went up from southwest Texas to western Oklahoma. Storms near Lubbock were looking good to me, and we targeted a cell that was essentially moving over Lubbock--it soon picked up a severe warning. As we paced the storm and watched it develop while keeping the rental car out of the hail, the storm started to develop inflow bands and what looked like a bobbed beaver tail.
Panorama of severe warned storm near Lubbock, Texas
Large Image
RFB Struggles to get organized
Large Image
Base getting strangled
Large Image
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for a flurry of developing storms west and southwest of our storm began interfering with it and with each other until the whole mess essentially disintegrated. The remains of dissolving storms still present great photo opportunities, and we made a few stops on the way back to Elk City to take in the pleasant views.
Panorama of interference from storm with sturdy inflow tail choking off our cell's inflow
Large Image
Dissipating storms paint the sky for our drive back to Elk City
Large Image
Large Image
Sunset Image
