STORM TRACK: July 31, 1985 (Volume 8 Issue 5)

An unknown correspondent from Dallas sent a news clipping from the Dallas Morning News, Monday, April 22, 1985 on the April 21 tornadoes, which were somewhat lightly treated in the last newsletter -- watched but unphotographed by an over-awed ST observer near Throckmorton. Storm Track now dutifully reports the grimmer side of that day -- of which it was unaware at the time. Less than 15 miles northeast of this town, near Elbert, three members of one family (A.K. Curtis, 88; his wife, Beulah, 85; and their son, Malcolm, 64) were killed "when a tornado demolished their isolated ranch house and barn" about 6:15 PM. ..."Deputy Smith was one of the first to arrive ...'When I first drove up, it looked like a bulldozer had plowed down everything. ... Everything was in a shambles. Trees uprooted and scattered everywhere. The house and barn were leveled. All that was left standing was the foundation of the house. It must have struck with tremendous force. ... There was no evidence that a house was even there, except that the debris was scattered all over the pasture where the three bodies were found.'" (Ed.: A little later in this newsletter Feature the ST observer of this tornado will recount his chase experiences on this dynamic storm day).

Patrick Market writes from Newcastle, Pennsylvania that the deadly May 31 eastern U.S. tornado outbreak just missed his area: "Miraculously, every county around mine (Lawrence) had some tornadic activity. ... Things began between 5-6 PM. I didn't comprehend the effects until about 9 PM. By then, it dawned on me that our world had, indeed, been 'turned upside down'. A shopping plaza that I had often frequented was wiped out by a 1/8 to 1/4 mile wide tornado. I was shocked to know it happened here! It had always been somewhere else. It just goes to show that all tornado outbreaks aren't in Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, etc. This is what we locals call 'totally awesome'."

Roy Britt, who has done substantial research on this May outbreak, sent a copy of the preliminary National Weather Service report, prepared by its survey team. He also included an annotated map, identifying 21 tornado locations, which is adapted here for ST. NWS report:

"The outbreak of tornadoes which lashed areas of Pennsylvania and Ohio and touched down in southern New York May 31, among the most widespread and violent on record nationally, spun along 21 well defined tracks; one as long as 56 miles. There were also eight tornadoes in Ontario, Canada ... and a number in central New York. The most violent twister ran from Ravenna Arsenal, Ohio (northwest of Youngstown) 41 miles to Mercer, Pennsylvania. It generated indicated winds of 300 miles per hour in Niles, Ohio and Wheatland, Pennsylvania." The NWS survey team "found that these tornadoes stayed on the ground continuously for as long as 50 miles... their paths varied in width from a few yards to 2.2 miles...and they moved at speeds from 35 to 60 MPH. Tornadoes are classified according to intensity of the internal winds they generate...On a scale of ferocity from zero to five, eight of the recent tornadoes were in the F4 catsgory (internal winds up to 250 MPH) and one was F5, about 300 MPH." The following is a brief listing of these tornadoes by path length, width and intensity: (length and width are in miles, unless otherwise specified)

Rocky Raskovitch recounts a rare hail fall near Palm Beach, Florida, around the 28th or 29th of May 4-5 PM between Lake Worth and Lantana (reported in the Palm Beach Post Times). Golf ball and larger hail fell, breaking carwindows, causing widespread damage and accumulating 2-3 inches in depth. Thereafter, the storm quickly dissipated in 15-20 minutes, then the sun came out. With almost no wind, a dense ground fog quickly covered the new hail carpet, as the warm ambient air settled over it (transforming a central Florida coastline into a ghostly Transylvanian landscape). Several tornadoreports were received (roaring heard), but none could be confirmed.

Robert Beasley wanted to reply to ST's lightning article, concerning Gene Moore's experience near Katie, Oklahoma. "Unfortunately, I had a similar experience while watching a thunderstorm at my parent's house in McKinney, Texas last year. I was awakened about 4:30 AM, August 7 by very loud thunder. I went out on our driveway, which is quite open, to get a better view. An intense but isolated nocturnal thunderstorm was located to our west and northwest. The storm contained intense cloud-to-ground lightning, especially on the leading edge. As is so often the case in the summer months, and especially in Texas, the upper flow is weak. Therefore, the storm showed little movement; perhaps a slight drift to the southeast. For the next 30 to 45 minutes, the bulk of the storm remained to the northwest and west of my house, and throughout that time we only had a few brief but heavy showers. However, by 5:15 AM the showers were becoming more numerous and heavier. Also, at this time, a large cumulonimbus was developing overhead. The cloud-to- ground lightning was very close at this time, with each bolt followed by sharp cracks of thunder. At 5:30, while standing on the driveway and holding an umbrella to keep dry, everything lit up around me.

I saw a spark accompanied by a loud cracking sound travel from the end of my hand to the driveway! The main bolt was somewhat to the east, so I was fortunate that nothing more happened. My hand had a tingling sensation for the next couple of hours. The main thunderstorm, throughout the entire event (4:30-9;00 AM), remained just to the west of my house; but we did manage to get nearly 2.50 inches of rain from it. The lightning continued very intense and was in all directions from my house, except to the east. I really don't think the storm moved much at all, because the WSR-57 radar pictures from Oklahoma City showed a 55,000 foot top storm centered along the Denton, Collin County line (about 8 miles west of my house) and extending about 15 miles east from that location. ... One is never really safe from lightning. My brother had lightning travel between two walls in his house when he lived in Gainesville, Florida."

Gary Livingston, from Arkansas, had a good question about how to tell when a severe storm was more likely to be a "hailer" than a tornado producer. He had read about this characterization both in earlier Storm Tracks and in a newspaper account about early assessments of the May 31 Pennsylvania storms by local meteorologists. --- Basically, a storm system that develops in a line, where towers build close together along a band 50 or more miles in length, is likelier to produce only hail, heavy rain and high wind. However, if the towers build in an isolated cluster or widely separated clusters, 30 or more miles apart, they are more likely to produce tornadoes. Isolated clusters or solitary, large cells don't have to compete with nearby adjacent cells for inflow winds and can develop their own structure. Storm cells close together will be limited in sine and will lack good, deep rotational organization. Also, storms that develop early in the day, say before 2 PM, are more likely to be "hailers." This is because convection has taken place too soon -before enough low level heat, and moisture could collect beneath the inversion "cap." A later storm will have more latent instability to draw upon. Also, anvils from an early storm line may already cover half the state, suppressing maximum temperatures beneath and ahead of it -and defusing at least one ingredient (heat) in destabilizing the atmosphere. Of course, there are many other characteristics to producing severe weather, and this is only a shorthand sketch of some of the visible features that are usually good indicators. In summary, a line storm, especially one that begins early in the day, is likely to be a "hailer."

Michael Rowland from Texas asks what is a "pendant" funnel? My understanding is that a pendant funnel is one extending below, or hanging from, a cloud base. It is somewhat redundant, since by definition almost all funnels are attached to and extend down from a cloud base. A very few small ones can form, completely detached, in clear air ahead of a vigorous cell or storm line. A larger minority can also form from the sides of cumulus towers (I have photographed several). Therefore, a "pendant" funnel is more formally correct, but the exceptions are so few as to make the term almost archaic, and unnecessary in normal usage.

Michael continues: "Recently, I went on my first storm chase. The thunderstorm that I was chasing was severe, producing large hail and funnel clouds, which I did not observe but heard about on the scanner-receiver in my car. ...While under the rain-free base, I observed a light, circular area surrounded by the dark clouds at the base. This area was 300 to 600 feet in diameter and northeast of my position. The light circular area was expanding and contracting in diameter. I would appreciate an answer in Storm Track regarding what it was that I saw."

--- It is believed that Mr. Rowland observed the core of a developing tornado vortex, that did not fully form, possibly extending upward to near an outer and lighter wall of the tower overhead. This is at variance with the Editor's earlier view that it was the core of a mesocyclone. My understanding is that a meso-cyclone can only develop deep within a cell and is normally found surrounded by dense, precip laden cloud mass. Therefore, to develop a clear opening would suggest an unusually strong meso-cyclone, extending 40,000 feet or more almost to the storm's top, with an even rarer, mostly rain free core, opening all the way to the storm's base. Such a monster should have produced more than just a few funnels as this one did. Likelier, it was an incipient tornadic core, perhaps even with small funnels along the light/dark boundary, observable at a distance but unseen when looking up into the dark cloud base. Other reports exist in the literature of open holes in storm bases that were beginning tornadoes, sometimes accompanied by hissing or buzzing sounds. This is far likelier than that it was a meso-cyclone. Perhaps Mr. Rowland is even fortunate to be writing to us at all. He is certainly advised to try future observing at a slightly greater distance, if he wishes to continue/survive such a pastime.

(The Editor has taken somewhat longer on this section than originally planned, since it won't be possible to really get into the May account until the next ST. A letter was recently received, which has become the Feature for this issue and has, necessarily, bumped some of that material. However, I think you will find it absorbing, exciting and timely, regarding a key story in the last issue.)