3/23/07 REPORTS: NM, TX, OK, KS, CO

[Mickey Ptak]

At 8:30pm on March 23 2007 Chad Lawson and I filmed a large and destructive tornado that hit the south side Clovis, NM. We have not heard of any fatalities but many structures were damaged. Below are a few images of this nighttime tornado.

There was a young man in this pickup truck going south bound on HWY 18. As you can see his truck was crushed by what looks to be some sort of metal frame.

Prior to dark, Chad and I also filmed many rotating wall-clouds and a few funnels. The image below is of an area of rotation just to our west which was on the east side of the RFD and the main meso. This had moderate rotation and was close to producing a tornado but did not. (Jay McCoy was also here with us as well.)

However, before occluding it did form into a cone funnel backlit by a nice CG bolt and sun light.


Here is a wide angle look at the entire low level structure of this supercell. To the right is main meso with what could have been a tornado(?). To the left is the circulation on the east side of the RFD.

As this meso moved off to the north we had to find new routes around the storm. While doing so filmed yet another funnel and large hail.


Chase mileage = 1054 miles
I will have a video blog on this system up as soon as I can.

Mick

EDIT:

****Edit*** I ran into a couple of chasers in a white vehicle with a mesonet on top west of Bledsoe on NM hwy 262 that I had met before but I coulnt think of your names to save my life. If you read this let me know your names. I was in the white explorer with the lights. After the wall moved north you went west and I backtracked east to try and keep up with it. ****

That was Chad and I. This makes the third time we have run into you while filming a tornadic storm. May 2 2006, Feb 23 2007, and of course today March 23 2007.

 

[Randy Denzer]

I left Austin solo at about 9:30 and headed north at a casual speed in the new chase van. Ran out of gas on I-20 just east of Coahoma not knowing the darn gas gauge was a little off and had to walk about a half mile for gas. Finally reached my target of Seminole at about 4:30ish. Chris Howell and Shane Motley were my remote forecasters and after much discussion they agreed for me to catch the splitting cell southwest of Hobbs, NM. I got to Hobbs and shot north through a sea of tumbleweeds to Lovington to get closer to the cell. As I got to Lovington I was able to videotape a short lived wedge to the northwest of town just north of us 82 (tornado #1). I was able to get the funnel roping out before returning to town to head north on 206. As I caught up with the cell again it had reformed the wedge just west of McDonald (Tornado #2). I was taping from SR 206 and was approached by a NM State Trouper to inquire about the tornado’s path. I lead him into Mcdonald, NM while shooting video (A police escort!). The tornado turned into a tube then became rain wrapped and dissipated. I continued up SR 206 through Tatum and eventually caught up with the cell about 1 mile north of Tatum. I was able to pull over and watched as the cell formed another short lived wedge to my west (Tornado #3). I again jumped about a mile ahead and was now waiting for the cell to cross SR 206. The cell had regenerated and was incredibly well defined. The precip cleared the immediate area as the shovepipe formed (Tornado #4). The action at the base of this tornado was incredible and this was by far the best of the tornados I filmed. After this dissipated I moved another mile north and filmed the rope tornado form (Tornado #5). This dissipated and turned into another funnel with light debris as it crossed the road (Funnel #6). It then quickly wrapped into precip. The cell went across SR 206 at Crossroads, NM dropping quarter sized hail and moving into an area with very few roads. Myself and another chase team made a big mistake that took us 8 miles east of the cell trying desperately to find a north road to get back to it. By the time I got back to the cell it was getting dark and I had blown the water pump on my van. I limped into Lubbock to get to the TV station and get some sleep.

The videos will be posted on www.mcwar.org tomorrow

 

[Tim Marshall]

The Marshall's had a great day today observing 3 tornadoes near Tatum, NM. We left Dallas and drove west on I-20, making the critical decision at Big Spring to head west to Eunice, NM. There we saw a pathetic tail-end charlie storm shear over and nearly die twice. But when the storm approached Lovington, the base enlarged and a large wall cloud developed and began rotating fast. However, it took a while for the circulation to tighten as the cloud bases were relatively high. But, when I saw the precipitation core decend behind the wall cloud, I knew a tornado was imminent. The first tornado was a stove pipe as shown by Wesley and we had a great unobstructed view of this tornado before it became wrapped in rain. We got up close and personal with the elephant trunk tornado #2 (also shown by Wesley) that occurred outside the wall cloud and got some great footage/images. The third tornado was a thin rope and only lasted less than one minute. We then came across an accident just north of the town of Crossroads. A woman flipped her SUV in the hail (up to 2 in.) that covered the road. We assisted her until police arrived but that pretty much ended the chase. By that time, it was getting dark and we decided to let the storm go. We saw on the XM, that a bow echo roared in from the west and merged with the supercell near Clovis. The comma head echo went right over the town. TM

 

[Matt Chatelain]

We got on the Lovington storm just as it had developed. It had amazing "LP" structure that lasted for the first hour of its life. We were actually north of the core and could see the entire base. Once it approached Lovington it got its act together rapidly. Our radar went from 55 dbz to a core of 80 dbz in just two scans. Thats when we took SH 206 north and followed the storm as it dropped several tornadoes, from Tatum to Crossroads. We were using Curtis Mcdonald's new HD camera and the video is amazing! I'll post the video on youtube hopefully by today or tomorrow. Best chase so far for me, great day!

Edit - here is the video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6bm_kWwtRDA

 

[Randy Denzer]

All those reporting Chase reports for the Hobbs NM Cell please contact me if you are interested in putting together a chapter for the "Storms of 2007" DVD. I would need your complete log, media and anything you would like to add to a story about this day. You can contact me at [email protected]

Thanks and what a fun day!

 

[Scott Olson]

Full report and pictures at:
http://axisofnature.com/2007/?p=26

 

[Jody Radzik]

The Tatum supercell early in its life

I've got a very sad story to tell you all. On Friday, March 23, I was about 30 miles southeast of Carlsbad when I spied a nice supercell spinning up over the WIPP facility. I stopped off the highway and got these photos:

http://nmupdraft.blogspot.com/2007/03/chase-two-mistakes-were-made.html

As far as I could tell, this cell occluded itself. Thus, it appeared to lose its power. I figured that was it and went to futzing about online as I waited on cells to come up behind it.

As you all probably know, it merely reformed itself northeast and rolled toward Texas, dropping the Tatum tornado and 2-inch hailstones. When I finally finished dilly-dallying, I went north on NM 203 from Lovington toward Portales. There I came upon a load of big hail on the road and the other, smarter chasers who got to see the tornado. I was so distraught that I didn't stop to socialize, thinking that I may get lucky and see something up ahead (or maybe I was just too embarrassed to have been so close yet still missed the thing.)

Valuable lessons were learned on this chase, my third during a severe weather outlook. One was to keep chasing even if it looks like a cell is dissipating. It may just be reforming. The other is to get a 2-meter radio and license so I can hear what the other chasers are seeing.

Jody Radzik
nmupdraft.org