SevereChaser.com Storm Blog

April 3 started out with a slight risk of severe weather for all of North Texas. The main threats were high winds and large hail, but the atmosphere didn’t seem very conducive to tornadoes. A squall line was working it’s way eastward during the morning hours, taking it’s sweet time. As it moved through Parker County and approached Tarrant County around midday, small discrete supercell storms were popping up ahead of it down in Northern Bosque County. Those discrete cells quickly moved north into Johnson County and while they looked relatively harmless at first, started to look a bit fishy to me on radar. continue reading…

Another severe storm season is upon us, and I know many of you are wondering about the tornadoes in the Dallas / Ft. Worth Metroplex and the lack of coverage on here. Well I was out doing what I do, chasing and spotting! Unfortunately I was on a storm that didn’t produce in Denton, but it sure was trying. I’ll try to keep up to the best of my abilities this season, so hopefully you all will have plenty to read about! I sincerely thank each and every one of you who keep up with this site, and invite you to comment on stories or drop me a line if you have any comments, ideas, things you’d like to see on the site, etc…  Stay safe this season everyone!

May 24, 2011 Categorical Outlook

This is going to be a HUGE day! A possible historic outbreak of tornadoes is forecast, with the potential for large, long track tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay home on a day like today, the high risk area is right in my backyard. That’s not much of an exaggeration either; relative to size it might as well be in my backyard as the boundary between moderate and high is just 23 miles to my north. I won’t have to go far for this one! The probabilities are pretty high for a tornado, and decently high for EF2-EF5s to show up. Time to do that thing I love to do, so stay tuned to severechaser.com and follow @severechaser.com on twitter to find out when I’m streaming video! As for all my fellow chasers out there: stay safe, have fun, make good reports, and get good footage!

Massive tornado in Tuscaloosa, AL. Photo by Mike Wilhelm (@bamawx)

The weather service said it was a high risk, particularly dangerous situation for parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, but I don’t think even they expected something like this. I don’t remember what forecast office said it, but I remember reading somewhere that one of the afternoon soundings had numbers like they’d never seen before, “off the chart” so to speak. A good portion of the forecasters at the weather service had probably never seen a situation like this before unless they were around and old enough to remember the super outbreak in of April 3, 1974 when 148 tornadoes were spawned in 24 hours, with 30 of those being F4 and 6 being F5.

Monster tornado near Birmingham, AL

The preliminary data has 164 reports of tornadoes for April 27, 2011, but I am sure some of those are different spotters reporting about the same tornado as it moved along. It will take some time to determine how many tornadoes actually touched down and their stats, but some people are already speculating this will rival April 3, 1974. Unfortunately, the number of tornadoes won’t be the only thing approaching super outbreak numbers, so far there are at least 247 deaths confirmed, with many people still trapped or missing. April 3, 1974 claimed 315 people and injured over 5,000; hopefully we don’t get much higher than the current 247.

Monster tornado moving through Birmingham, AL during a Weather Channel live broadcast

The most prominent and probably largest tornado went through 5 states, starting in Mississippi and ending in North Carolina. Two of the hardest hit areas were Tuscaloosa, AL and Birmingham, AL, both being heavily populated areas. Near Birmingham the path of this tornado is reported to be 1 to 1.5 miles wide, with the damage being called “catastrophic” and strong evidence the weather service will deem this EF4 or EF5. The last I heard about this tornado was a track of over 300 miles, but that was also when it had only been in 4 states. Of course, that track is subject to change depending on the weather service survey, it might not have been on the ground the whole time.

Tornado damage in Tuscaloosa, AL. Photo by Wayne Grayson

It’s a terrible situation, and while loads of people were affected in the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham areas, you can’t forget the other areas that were hit as well. Many smaller cities and towns were also hit, such as Hueytown, AL where one report said the “town was gone”. I’ve seen news reports from the Hueytown police station so it can’t be all gone, but you get the idea. Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed, some to the point where there is no evidence of anything ever being there. Public reports near Birmingham say some buildings are just plain “missing”. Hundreds have lost their lives, thousands more injured, and thousands beyond that are now homeless.

The Red Cross is of course already springing into action to help those affected, but after already dealing with out-of-control wildfires in Texas and flooding across several Midwest states, they can use all the help they can get. You can check out all the ways to help on redcross.org, but two ideas that immediately spring to mind are giving blood, and texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. If you can donate more, well you’re just plain awesome. If you can’t donate, that is OK too. Maybe there is a different way you can help. With the death toll rising, public awareness seems to be a key factor during this time of year. Maybe you can talk to your county emergency manager and see about doing a presentation to the community about severe weather, the importance of a NOAA weather radio (preferably with SAME encoding and a tone alert), what to do in case of a tornado, and (as crazy as this sounds) the difference between a watch and a warning. Yes, believe it or not, there are people out there who think a watch is worse than a warning. If you contact your local weather service office I am sure they can furnish you with plenty of material for that type of presentation. Maybe they’ll even send one of their meteorologists out to do the presentation, or at least be there to answer questions after you’re done.

Of course watch this site for updates and related posts as more information becomes available. I’m sure I’ll be updating this post as I collect my thoughts better, but I wanted to get something out there for everyone to read. I’ll try to keep on top of it as much as I can, but we’re nowhere near done with severe weather season yet, so we’ll see what happens. Happy chasing!

KGWX Radar April 27, 2011 15:56:38 CDT

Speaking of textbook hooks, check out this one! Not as large of a storm as the previous post, but it’s definitely there and causing damage according to spotters! Beautiful return on radar, just hope everyone had enough warning!

Here’s locations and times for this tornado:

Berry, Bankston – 4:25 PM CDT
Boley Springs – 4:30 PM CDT
Oakman – 4:40 PM CDT
Parrish – 4:45 PM CDT
Jasper, Cordova – 4:50 PM CDT
Lynns Park, Sipsey, Curry – 4:55 PM CDT

Other areas without times: Moore’s Bridge, New Lexington, West Corona, Corona, Gamble, Manchester

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SEEK SHELTER NOW!!!

Warning text below, click the radar thumbnail for the textbook hook in all it’s glory.

WFUS54 KBMX 272100TORBMXALC057-107-125-127-272200-/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0106.110427T2100Z-110427T2200Z/
BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL400 PM CDT WED APR 27 2011
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…  SOUTHERN FAYETTE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…  NORTHEASTERN PICKENS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…  NORTHWESTERN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…  WALKER COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA…
* UNTIL 500 PM CDT
* AT 356 PM CDT…STORM SPOTTERS AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  WERE TRACKING A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO NEAR REFORM.  DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS TORNADO MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…  BERRY AND BANKSTON AROUND 425 PM CDT.  BOLEY SPRINGS AROUND 430 PM CDT.  OAKMAN AROUND 440 PM CDT.  PARRISH AROUND 445 PM CDT.  JASPER AND CORDOVA AROUND 450 PM CDT.  LYNNS PARK…SIPSEY AND CURRY AROUND 455 PM CDT.
OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THE TORNADO INCLUDE MOORES BRIDGE…NEW LEXINGTON…WEST CORONA…CORONA…GAMBLE AND MANCHESTER.

KGWX Radar April 27, 2011 15:19:44 CDT

KGWX Radar April 27, 2011 15:24:23 CDT

Look at the reflectivity and storm relative velocity on this beast! Amazing radar returns, completely textbook. Unbelievable how well it is wrapping and how distinct the hook is on radar. As a weather enthusiast I know this is an extremely dangerous situation, likely causing loss of property (but hopefully not life), but I am super excited about this monster!

On to the serious stuff: NWS says this is a large and extremely dangerous tornado near Trebloc, MS moving NE@55 mph. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR AMORY OR OKOLONA YOU NEED TO GET TO SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!!! THIS THING IS ABOUT TO PUNCH YOU RIGHT IN THE FACE!!!

Warning text below, click the super amazing thumbnails for full size jaw dropping images

WFUS54 KMEG 272021TORMEGMSC017-057-081-095-272115-/O.NEW.KMEG.TO.W.0125.110427T2021Z-110427T2115Z/
BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN321 PM CDT WED APR 27 2011
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…  EASTERN CHICKASAW COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI…  SOUTHERN ITAWAMBA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI…  SOUTHEASTERN LEE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI…  NORTHERN MONROE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI…
* UNTIL 415 PM CDT
* AT 319 PM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING  A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO NEAR TREBLOC…OR 6 MILES   EAST OF HOUSTON…MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. THIS TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND SOUTHEAST OF HOUSTON. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PEOPLE LOCATED IN OKOLONA AND AMORY  NEED TO TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO AMORY AND  OKOLONA.

KFWS Radar April 26, 2011 17:33:12 CDT

Yeah, I’m falling behind. Too many tornado warnings coming for one person to handle! Well I suppose I could handle them if I just did a direct copy paste of warning text and offered no original insight whatsoever, but what’s the fun in that? I’ll be watching this storm VERY closely though, I have a friend in the path of this one.

As far as the warning goes, nice appendage on reflectivity, velocities I’m not so sure about, but definitely warrants a warning. Locations and times:

Frost – 5:40 PM CDT

Blooming Grove – 5:50 PM CDT

Barry – 6:00 PM CDT

Emhouse – 6:05 PM CDT

Retreat, Corsicana, Mustang, Oak Valley – 6:15 PM CDT

Warning text below, click radar thumbnail for full size.

WFUS54 KFWD 262233TORFWDTXC217-349-262315-/O.NEW.KFWD.TO.W.0049.110426T2233Z-110426T2315Z/
BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX533 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2011
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…  EAST CENTRAL HILL COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS…  CENTRAL NAVARRO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS…
* UNTIL 615 PM CDT
* AT 533 PM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A  DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR MERTENS…MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…  FROST AROUND 540 PM CDT…  BLOOMING GROVE AROUND 550 PM CDT…  BARRY AROUND 600 PM CDT…  EMHOUSE AROUND 605 PM CDT…  RETREAT…CORSICANA…OAK VALLEY AND MUSTANG AROUND 615 PM CDT…
THIS WILL IMPACT I-45 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 218 AND 237.

KFWS Radar April 26, 2011 17:24:00 CDT

If these things keep going tornadic I don’t know if I will be able to keep up! I’ll do my best though, as long as I don’t go chase or life gets in the way. If that happens, well this shouldn’t be the only source of weather info for you anyway

Anyway, the newest warning in TX: Ellis and Navarro Counties. Velocities look good and the reflectivity shows a nice little appendage, so this one is more than likely there. If it’s not on the ground then it sure is trying. Locations and times:

Emhouse, Ennis – 5:40 PM CDT

Alma – 5:45 PM CDT

Rice – 5:50 PM CDT

Warning text follows and of course you can click the thumbnail for full size radar image.

WFUS54 KFWD 262225TORFWDTXC139-349-262315-/O.NEW.KFWD.TO.W.0048.110426T2225Z-110426T2315Z/
BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX525 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2011
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…  SOUTHEASTERN ELLIS COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS…  NORTH CENTRAL NAVARRO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS…
* UNTIL 615 PM CDT
* AT 526 PM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A  DEVELOPING TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BARDWELL…MOVING EAST AT  35 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…  EMHOUSE AND ENNIS AROUND 540 PM CDT…  ALMA AROUND 545 PM CDT…  RICE AROUND 550 PM CDT…
THIS WILL IMPACT I-45 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 234 AND 251.

KFWS Radar April 26, 2011 17:05:37 CDT

This one is a brand new warning, popped up while I was posting about the tornado near Mabank. Spotters are seeing this one so if you are in the path you need to be seeking shelter NOW! Locations and times:

Rosser – 5:20 PM CDT

Cottonwood – 5:25 PM CDT

Grays Prairie, Oak Grove, Kaufman – 5:30 PM CDT

Kemp – 5:35 PM CDT

Warning text below, click thumbnail for full size radar image.

WFUS54 KFWD 262209TORFWDTXC139-257-262300-/O.NEW.KFWD.TO.W.0047.110426T2209Z-110426T2300Z/
BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX509 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2011
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…  NORTHEASTERN ELLIS COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS…  SOUTHERN KAUFMAN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS…
* UNTIL 600 PM CDT
* AT 509 PM CDT…STORM SPOTTERS AND DOPPLER RADAR OBSERVED A  DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR PALMER…MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…  ROSSER AROUND 520 PM CDT…  COTTONWOOD AROUND 525 PM CDT…  GRAYS PRAIRIE…OAK GROVE AND KAUFMAN AROUND 530 PM CDT…  KEMP AROUND 535 PM CDT…
THIS WILL IMPACT I-45 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 251 AND 263.

KFWS Radar April 26, 2011 16:51:48 CDT

I know the weather service hasn’t put it in the warning text yet, but 2 reports just popped up on spotternetwork and I watched the thing from a chaser’s live stream. Trust me, it’s there. If you are in the following locations you need to seek shelter IMMEDIATELY!

Eustace, Log Cabin – 5:00 PM CDT

Purtis Creek State Park – 5:05 PM CDT

Canton – 5:15 PM CDT

Murchison – 5:25 PM CDT

Brownsboro, Van – 5:40 PM CDT

Edom – 5:45 PM CDT

Ah and just as I am about to post, I checked the warning text one more time and now the weather service mentions it, so here’s your updated text!

WWUS54 KFWD 262203SVSFWD
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX503 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2011
TXC213-257-467-262245-/O.CON.KFWD.TO.W.0045.000000T0000Z-110426T2245Z/VAN ZANDT TX-KAUFMAN TX-HENDERSON TX-503 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2011
…A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 545 PM CDT FOR NORTHERN HENDERSON…SOUTHEASTERN KAUFMAN AND SOUTHERN VAN ZANDT COUNTIES…
AT 503 PM CDT…STORM SPOTTERS AND DOPPLER RADAR OBSERVED ADEVELOPING TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR PURTIS CREEK STATE PARK…MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.
THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…  CANTON AROUND 515 PM CDT…  MURCHISON AROUND 530 PM CDT…  EDOM…BROWNSBORO AND VAN AROUND 545 PM CDT…
THIS WILL IMPACT I-20 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 518 AND 542.