4/13/07 NOW: TX/OK

[Jordan Hartley]

Storms have fired in nc Tx and a svr warning for Stonewall Co in NW Tx I think is the first warning of the day. Looks like the show is beginning to start W of Dallas and the warm sector looks very good on the vis sat with plenty of heating taking place. I like the storm near Aspemont right now being its all by itself and ahead of the main line.

Edit: Starting to see rotation with the storm that is now E of Aspemont. Storm taking on a sup look to it on radar and now showing a hook in the last 2 frames.

[Mike Mezeul II]

Currently waiting in Denton for my chase partner to arrive, then I'll be heading a bit west on 380. Good luck to everyone and stay safe.

[Ray Walker]

I am currently west of Fortworth heading west towards mineral wells. I dont know if I should head back towards Waco or keep heading west towards the dryline. Any sugetions?

[Jordan Hartley]

Tor warning for the storm in E of Aspemont in Haskell Co Tx. Storm showing very good rotation. Storm tracking to the NE at 30 mph. Several cells have developed north of the tornado warned storm. They too seem to be trying to rotate as well.

[David Wolfson]

Looks like the show has begun near Aspermont with a little rocket. I'm virtually heading from Ringgold toward Bowie to find a good datastop and watch for awhile. [Ray W. -- Jacksboro is a similar thought in your vicinity with good road options, and gets you away from the congested DFW area a bit?]

[Chris Wilburn]

I would head just a little bit further west and find a nice road option to the south. If you need to head south you can. I would wait for a storm further south down the dryline that you can wait on coming up to you. These storm will get into better moisture soon.



I am currently west of Fortworth heading west towards mineral wells. I dont know if I should head back towards Waco or keep heading west towards the dryline. Any sugetions?

[afischer]

Haskell co. storm looks to have a flying eagle appearance on radar. Synoptic triple point is to the northwest in King county, near Guthrie. Storm should be crossing surface warm front soon and will ingest enhanced 1km SRH. Latest SVS on Tor Warning changed the motion from 30mph to 55mph.

[JP Santiago]

Two tornado warnings for the Haskell Co. storm now.....seems like they're both referring to the same thing, though.....

[Marko Korosec]

This Haskell storm has now a TVS on it! Some impressive rotations seen on the latest scans at all tilts.

EDIT: grammar correction :)

[Ray Walker]

TVS on storm south of crowell.

[Tim Vasquez]

At this point I'm going to call it a sucker storm, departing the warm front into drier, grungy air in the US 287 corridor. Nice shear but updrafts should start weakening in the next 30-45 minutes. The window of opportunity is closing on it. I'd look for more matches & fuses in the congested Cu area around Abilene - Stamford - Albany.

[Donald Giuliano]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when some of these storms interact with the warm front. It appears the models were right about the low-level shear moving well out ahead of the dryline, as the LLS in the warm sector leaves a lot to be desired based on VWPs from DYX, SJT, EWX. If I were out, I'd probably be playing the front hoping a storm could take advantage of the enhanced LLS before going elevated as it crosses the frontal zone.

[Michael Carlson]

TVS Is back for that TW cell, spotters indicated strong rotation!

[Chris Wilburn]

I agree with Tim. This storm is rather impressive, but as it gets further north it will run into a less stable environment and less moisture. I would target something coming up further south on the dryline. Maybe setup north of Abilene where the moisture is good and will likely even increase a few degrees in the next couple hours. A nice supercell will eventually form in this area and track northeast. Just stay of the dryline a little bit so you don't have to play catch up to these storms that are moving fast.

[afischer]

2pm mesonet obs suggest the warm front is "lifting" into far NW TX... so the relatively fast-moving storm may have a shot at tornado-ing.

[Jordan Hartley]

I noticed the warm front had slid north in nc Tx about an hour ago which would only help that sup in Haskell Co. It's lost the flying eagle look and now has taken on a more classic supercell look to it on radar. Rotation still strong with this storm... "It's a Monster" I wonder if that storm has produced a tornado yet, ive notice an rfd gust front sig on radar in the last 2 frames and the core of this storm has gained strength as well.

[Karen Politte]

I can tell you right now if I were within a seven-county radius of that storm I would have a real hard time ignoring it. We've all been there - we've all sat on the horizon of a great storm and for whatever reason *not* gone to look at it's pretty tornadoes. I've resolved not to do so again.

The thing is tornado warned, isolated (attm), and has a nice meso on velocity scans. It is certainly radar eye-candy, and it's the only show in town as of now. I'd be headed towards it if I were chasing - whether it was threatening to cross the front or not.

And then maybe I'd get suckered.

KL

[Tim Vasquez]

I know what you mean, especially since the ABI area isn't doing anything right now. Thankfully though it's still early in the afternoon (and we got that extra hour of heating thanks to daylight savings) :) . I see a few specks appearing on the last few frames east of Haskell - Stamford which might give us round #2.

Tim

[Terry Tyler]

thats the nicest radar structure ive noticed this year...hooks dont look much nicer than that...i bet its going to cause major damage to the south side of seymour...

[JP Santiago]

Indeed, impressive hook signature on the low altitude composite......looks like another one trying to shoot up in NW Jones County......

[Glen Romine]

I think anyone on this storm is prbably pretty miserable right now. The cell has tracked along a very unfavorable path for chasing - unless you are looney enough to be trying to stay with it on US 277 and likely without a windshield by now. Storm also soon approaching a river, making getting across and keeping up a challenge for sure. Roads get much better east of Seymor, so then the question becomes how much juice is left for this storm before running dry. Given the conditions at Graham have held nicely I think it might still have some life left in it to produce. Along the trailing gust front some other storms look to be trying to get going, but the speed with which winds began veering around ABI makes me wonder if storms won't need to be well east to avoid being undercut / veered out before maturing. Convergent boundaries evident over Albany might be far enough east if a storm can materialize there - putting the Graham area as perhaps the best place to wait and see right now.

Glen

[afischer]

Two golfball hail reports from NWSOUN with the tornado-warned storm. A mesonet ob immediately south of the storm looks VERY nice... ESE winds at 10kt with 73/66. Makes you think the warm front is trying to "cook" as it lifts slowly NWD.

[Terry Tyler]

looks like the rfd is finally catching up to it...

[Tim Vasquez]

I'm guessing we're not going to get many good reports on the Seymour storm as US 277 has remained almost entirely in the core area, with no view of the updraft. The track is horrible from a road network standpoint. Regardless I am impressed by this storm... it's still packing a bite.

(echoing Glen Romine's thoughts)

Tim

[Chris Wilburn]

May need to watch out for cells firing ahead of the main precipitation line. The returns for Jones and Stephens county may be worth keeping an eye on.

[Glen Romine]

Several new echoes appearing from ~ 8 north of Breckenridge to 9 southeast of Baird. These should be the main show within an hour.

[Jody Radzik]

There is a mighty hook echo 52 miles east of Guthrie, TX heading toward Wichita Falls.

[David Wolfson]

On the virtual road from Bowie to Jacksboro. Echos near Graham have legs.

[Chris Hayes]

PDS tornado watch about to be issued and an upgrade to high risk for southern Oklahoma and Northern Texas.

[George Tincher]

PDS tornado watch about to be issued and an upgrade to high risk for southern Oklahoma and Northern Texas.

I believe the high risk will be confined to north-central and central TX, based on the wording of the latest SPC MD.

[Tim Vasquez]

Some impressions as of 1950 UTC:

* The "wall of forcing" has blasted east to Knox City - Abilene. I'm figuring an eastward speed of about 50 mph on this thing.

* Dewpoints are falling off markedly ahead of the front in the Abilene - San Angelo area, and Cu on visible imagery there are definitely higher based.

* The warm front orientation is directly perpendicular to the prevailing flow, so I don't see any cell locking onto the front and producing any sort of corridor outbreak.

It looks like the options are (1) follow the Seymour storm to its demise (which may be starting now), or (2) stake a claim in the Throckmorton - Possum Kingdom area and hope for some pot shots as storms depart the warm front. Hopefully this New Mexico howler doesn't do us all in.

Tim

[Jordan Hartley]

3 echos E of Abilene and n of I-20 showing exploding towers on the GOES-12 Vis Sat. Storms invof Breckenridge & Moran and then down to Cisco & Eastland and then up to Ranger, TX. The nrn echo of the 3 has the strongest looking tower at the moment.

[David Wolfson]

Virtually pulling into Jacksboro now. The cell furthest south near Breckenridge is my fave on radar. While I don't want to get sucked into the metropolitan area, even virtually, I can't resist continuing on toward Graford to be closer if all heck breaks loose.

[JP Santiago]

PDS Tornado Watch issued for the North Texas area centered on a Waco-Metroplex axis. Don't think I can remember the last time I saw the color red on the text of an SPC advisory........

[matt patterson]

pulling in to perin tx now... watching the cell to my west.. looks like its getting a bit more organized....

[David Drummond]

Sitting in Ranger, TX trying real hard NOT to jump to early. I really want to get what pops down here to my SW.

[Bob Schafer]

Anyone else having trouble w/SPC? I'm not getting updated mesoanalysis. Most of the data I'm getting on there is now from 1800Z. (I've hit refresh a couple times, too)

[afischer]

Looks like chasers may face a similar dillema as was present earlier (whether to chase the early storm in Haskell county). Due to the orientation of the "firing line," storms farther north will be more likely to encounter enhanced low-level shear in the next few hours, near the sfc warm front. However, the storms also run the risk of becoming quickly elevated north of the front. It doesn't look like the stratus socked into the DFW metroplex is in any hurry to erode (probably a good thing for the metro), but we'll see what happens. Where the cu are towering farther south along the line, you've got a wider corridor of strong BL destabilation... but weaker 1km SRH and strongly veered 850 flow, unless something pops farther east. Kind of a "delicate" set-up in this regard.

[Karen Politte]

[Prohibited content regarding other people's posts in Target Area removed - See Rule #3 - Staff]

I would have been on the Seymour storm I guess for good or worse. I probably would have lost my windshield and had a few brief glimpses of something nasty happening to my south-west. I sure would like to know what that storm looked like in person.

KL

[David Wolfson]

Now virtually to the west of Matt past Barton's Chapel toward Graford. Looking at radar. Holy moley! Tim's NM howler is bowing this way like a freight train, the storm coming my way near Brad is a definite Feature of Interest and I sense a brisk left turn coming to run east northeast past where Matt is.

[Marko Korosec]

Anyone else having trouble w/SPC? I'm not getting updated mesoanalysis. Most of the data I'm getting on there is now from 1800Z. (I've hit refresh a couple times, too)
hmm funny thing...I already saw 19z s3 sector analysis, but now I see 18z...not sure whats wrong, they're not updating regularly to me neither.

PDS watch is issued over e-ne TX as expected. I guess it canot be quite a good feeling for DFW citizens this time, having PDS watch over there in HIGH risk on the Friday 13th..if they're superstitious.

Dryline is easily seen on the radar for some time now.

Good luck to everyone out there today, stay safe!!

[Glen Romine]

Storms seem to be struggling some to get going - which surprises me some. Yes - the shear is incredible - but the instability would seem to be reasonably matched and yet storms are still having a hard time holding on. The boundary is sneaking up rapidly on the line of storms - particularly across northern Stephens county. No obvious areas further east looking to shape up in the short term based on vis sat.

[Verne Carlson]

Tony Laubach called me 30 mins ago to report they had a wedge cross the road 200 yards in front of them south of Seymour, TX. The storm is weakening and they are moving southeast. Amos Magliocco and Eric Nguyen also witnessed it.

[Andrea Griffa]

Storms seem to be struggling some to get going - which surprises me some. Yes - the shear is incredible - but the instability would seem to be reasonably matched and yet storms are still having a hard time holding on. The boundary is sneaking up rapidly on the line of storms - particularly across northern Stephens county. No obvious areas further east looking to shape up in the short term based on vis sat.

I was thinking the same thing,Glen..It sounds a little strange. I think shear is more impressive than we were thinking. Anyway I'm keeping an eye on the breckenbridge storm that is mergin just now.

[Rick Smith]

Tony Laubach called me 30 mins ago to report they had a wedge cross the road 200 yards in front of them south of Seymour, TX. The storm is weakening and they are moving southeast. Amos Magliocco and Eric Nguyen also witnessed it.

Any other details on this would be greatly appreciated!

Rick

[Tim Vasquez]

I think right now we've reached a crossroads for convective modes, as the Roswell Express has caught up to all of the remaining convection (perhaps outrunning the upper support), and there has been a profound lack of initiation elsewhere.

Unless there's something I'm not seeing in the data, I really think we're looking at a line of outflowish junk from here on out. Gusty winds are a given, due to postfrontal winds coupled with storm outflow. However I'll cross my fingers for some sort of surprise, providing it stays out in the hay fields around Fort Worth, and maybe the system will teach me what a fast-moving front can do. This system could turn out to be like 4/25/94 with the Lancaster TX tornado, but when that happened we didn't have any 50 mph front involved. I'm really curious to see how this pans out.

Tim

[Glen Romine]

Well, the warm sector could start to zipper closed in rather short order leaving an elevated squall line ripping across the north. Sunshine is working the air over the DFW area - though the clearing maybe is from some subsidence leading the current convection as the cloud streets look rather stable. maybe it just needs more time - but not too much more with that surface 'jet' of cold air coming.

Edit: I see Tim and I are battling banjos today - see above.

[Glen Romine]

I'll add that the cell in southeast Stephens county has turned right strong enough that it *may* have just enough rightward motion to keep it ahead of the front for a little while. There is probably a boundary in there somewhere between SEP and MWL - so I give this the best shot right now.

[edit]Ok - nevermind - it looks undercut too. And as for below - Wowser.

[Tony Laubach]

http://www.tornadoeskick.com/images/2007/070413_12.jpg

Wedge tornado 3 miles southeast of Seymore, TX at 2:40pm CDT.

[John Peters]

Tony, that tornado looks rather large (massive). Does this correspond to the NWS storm report of a brief touchdown 9 miles northwest of Haskell?

[Karen Politte]

Congrats Tony and nice to think that I was - at least - virtually there on the storm. It wasn't just radar eye-candy......

If anybody has any radar grabs of this storm - could you please post them somewhere or e-mail me them?? I took some grabs while at work so I could salivate over them at home here, and then promptly forgot to send them to home before I left the office.

KL

[Terry Tyler]

thats an outstanding shot, tony...i knew there was something like that down there from the look of those reflectivity scans...

[Trey Atterbury]

Just letting everyone know im on the storm near Palo Pinto hoping it gets its act together.

[Jordan Hartley]

All I can say is wow. It looks like the meso was so loow you would of had to be that close in order to see the actualy tornado itself. The storm looked incredible on radar the whole time.

[David Wolfson]

Wow! Good catch, Tony! Anyway... am virtually heading south toward Mineral Wells after camping awhile in Perrin. Giving up on the linear stuff further north. The storm southwest of me near Caddo looks like it's better rooted and moving a bit right.

[Tim Vasquez]

Some notes as of 2130 UTC:

* The Roswell Express is losing steam... postfrontal winds are down to 25 kt from 35 kt earlier. This is a positive development (well, positive for storms).

* My analyses from earlier suggest that the Seymour storm (great catch) was being fed by 60-61F dewpoints. Currently, dewpoints are 66F at MWL and 64-66F in the metroplex. So the DFW area certainly remains at risk.

* The warm front is aligned from Huntsville - Hillsboro - Glen Rose - Palo Pinto, remaining completely perpendicular to the prevailing flow.

* The storm over Possum Kingdom Lake approaching MWL is right on the warm front. I am not sure how it will hold together as it departs the warm front without a boundary (except the one shoving it eastward), but that cell and anything south of it will bear watching.

So from what I can tell, the metroplex is still under the gun, as is the area to the south (Johnson, Ellis, and Hill County).

Tim

[Terry Tyler]

got a grip of good webcams set up in DFW...thats my "virtual" chase spot...

[Angie Norris]

What a great catch, Tony...big congrats!!!!!!!

[Michael O'Keeffe]

Sweet tornado Tony! Congrats!

I have many family members throughout the DFW metro and they are all aware of the potential situation at hand. I told all of them to get their cameras ready.

[David Wolfson]

My virtual route seems to be trending generally toward the intersection of TX114 and I-35W in about two hours, if you get my "drift"....

[JP Santiago]

My virtual route seems to be trending generally toward the intersection of TX114 and I-35W in about two hours, if you get my "drift"....
Right at the Texas Motor Speedway......

If you want a good variety of webcams, you can use the traffic cams in the DFW area here: http://dfwtraffic.dot.state.tx.us (http://%3Cfont%20size=%22-1%22%3Edfwtraffic.dot.state.tx.us%3C/font%3E)

[Trey Atterbury]

On the tornado warned cell right now in Palo Pinto

[Terry Tyler]

line is getting closer to the metroplex...the window for a tornado there appears to be closing...

[Danny Neal]

Warm front has recently passed through DFW, last hour, fog 67 East wind at 13, now, partly sunny 76 SE wind at 18. Might be too little too late though....Line seems to be moving more of to the NW of the metroplex rather than through it....I suspect that leaves the window wide open until, at least, the whole convective system passes by, whether through or just north of metroplex. I look toward the Waco area for development. Area has been sunny and in the 80's for a while now. Something tells me that the New Mexico Express wont be the only show today.


EDIT: I lied, southern end of the line has fired up.....still think from dallas to waco to tyler, is under the gun.... Backed winds, growing instability, and upper low continuing through the area.

[Lance Maxwell]

A brief look at the radar tells me that a portion of the line has already become outflow dominant to the west of D/FW. Unless something can form discrete characteristics in the next hour or so, the metroplex will be spared.

[David Wolfson]

Waal. The RUC and Tim's expert eyeballs both point to the better backed surface winds as you approach the metroplex. The bow seems to be holding its inflow and is showing multiple teeth on radar to my non-expert eyeballs. I'm pretty sure structures like this can and do produce significant tornadoes.

[Tony Lyza]

Waal. The RUC and Tim's expert eyeballs both point to the better backed surface winds as you approach the metroplex. The bow seems to be holding its inflow and is showing multiple teeth on radar to my non-expert eyeballs. I'm pretty sure structures like this can and do produce significant tornadoes.
10/24/01. LEWPS/embedded supercells dropped giant tornadoes in north IN, srn lower MI, and NW OH. They were up to a mile-wide and F3 intensity.

With that said, I think that DFW metro is far from out of the woods as long as the storms that are aimed for the area can stay ahead of the warm front. There are some very impressive 0-1km SRH values, and it's in a region of lower LFCs.

[Bill Hark]

I love Tony's shot of the wedge. Awesome pic! The storms west of Dallas are lined out but maybe something on the southern end will become more isolated. That big NASCAR race in the Dallas area will still be hit with high winds and large hail.

Bill Hark
http://www.harkphoto.com

[Terry Tyler]

i like that little notch on the line seg in parker county...

[Austin Ivey]

Don't forget you can watch live radar in Google Earth:

http://wdssii.nssl.noaa.gov/geotiff/

[George Tincher]

It appears the storms on the SRN half of the line are becoming better organized. They also have much better seperation. The linear storms will likely move to the N of Ft. Worth anyway. But these more isolated cells farther SW still pose a major threat to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as they move NE and E. The Metroplex is by no means out of the woods yet. It appears the most potentially dangerous storms are really just beginning.

[Scott Weberpal]

The FWS VAD does not paint a pretty picture for any long-lived mesocyclones. Nearly unidirection flow from 1-4 KM is not exactly good for deep meso's.

The cold front appears to be wreaking havoc as well. The storms/line segments are moving northeast while the CF is crashing ESE. At first I thought it was a big ol' gust front from Mineral Wells to north of Junction, but it actually appears like the cold front is initiating storms then immediately undercutting them. Best bet would be further south where the eastward movement of the front is not as drastic.

[Danny Neal]

Pretty nasty bow heading for Denton area in a few hours. Like previously mentioned. Ft. Worth to Tyler to Waco, I find primed for Supercell development. I look for the storms south of I-20 between Brownwood and Fort Worth to begin taking on supercell characteristics, given the already sufficient parameters in place, and shear/instability further east.

[Terry Tyler]

look at the embeded sup near dublin...

[Matthew Havin]

I am looking at that Terry. I would not be suprised to see a Tor Warn going out for Erath Co. as the cell tracks NE. This cell is moving into a ripe environment, with the 5 PM SPC Mesoanalysis showing 4-7+ STP to the NE of these cells. This cell has more separation than the line to the north as well.

[Danny Neal]

Tor warning for Wise county.....looks to be embedded for sure, looks like it has its eye on Denton. Might be along or just north of warm front....I would definitely look out for that one!

[matt patterson]

Siren sounding in N Ft W,

[Terry Tyler]

effective helicity values well above 400 m/s2...

3000 sbcapes...

68+ Tds...and a high risk

when are these individual supercells going to start firing?

i really think the real action is going to be south and east of the high risk area...

[Scott Weberpal]

Tor warning for Wise county.....looks to be embedded for sure, looks like it has its eye on Denton. Might be along or just north of warm front....I would definitely look out for that one!

I'd be very, very surprised to see any tornadoes out of that storm segment. The northern half of the line is still showing a strong cold pool on the leading edge. Just got word from a chaser that the north end of the line looks terrible and the cold pool just caught up with them...south south south...it's the only decent possibility right now.

[Tim Vasquez]

With a big squall line configuration, the question is what's in the warm sector. There are two boundaries; one the original warm front from Huntsville - Italy - Weatherford, and the old Red River front near Mt Pleasant - Commerce - Melissa - Valley View - Bowie. The northern front is actually looking pretty decent for a severe weather event... a storm can easily pick that boundary up, and as others have noted, the DFW area has primed up. So I do see potential with the cell that's coming into Denton County.

Further south it's not so clear, and the boundary orientation still looks bad, but you can easily go back to Moller's basics and chalk out an action area in a box east of Mineral Wells to Hillsboro and west of Palestine to Dallas. The triple point currently south of Weatherford (shifting SE) and where the moist axis and slightly backed wind impinges on the squall line (Fort Worth) will be the key areas, and those will shift SE as the line advances. Some of the cells west of Johnson County aren't looking all that bad, though the outflowishness is annoying.

Tim

[mcrowther]

http://www.tornadoeskick.com/images/2007/070413a.jpg

Wedge tornado 3 miles southeast of Seymore, TX at 2:40pm CDT.


Was this tornado called in? I see no mention of it in the SPC log...

[Jordan Hartley]

Anyone have any live feeds out of Dallas/Ft.Worth? NVM found one... http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=57422&live=yes

[Danny Neal]

I'd be very, very surprised to see any tornadoes out of that storm segment. The northern half of the line is still showing a strong cold pool on the leading edge. Just got word from a chaser that the north end of the line looks terrible and the cold pool just caught up with them...south south south...it's the only decent possibility right now.


No question about it, south is the way to go. I figure the "spotter report" could be a false spinup on the gust front. It does not look impressive, had a little notch in it for a few scans. But given the stablility of the atmosphere north of DFW anyone would be shocked to see anything really NOTEWORTHY coming out of that line. I like to growing prospects of the embedded supercells from FW to Brownwood. This atmosphere is just to good to waste!!!

EDIT: Tor warning for Tarrant county.....strong rotation indicated and spotters indicate a tornado developing just north of downtown Ft Worth

[Terry Tyler]

they got a live webcast...http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=57422&live=yes

[Matthew Havin]

Tornado Warning for Ft. Worth just issued........ valid until 6:45 PM.
(Developing tornado reported by spotters........does that make it a funnel cloud?!?)

[Scott Weberpal]

I certainly wouldn't expect any long-lived, deep mesocyclones on the northern end of that line...except any storms moving along the boundary.

It's good to see there was at least one good tornado earlier on over open country.

*Edit - I recind any and all previous statements about the north end of the line ;)

[Jordan Hartley]

Anyone watching the live feed see that funnel? They were doing a live feed in downtown Ft. Worth And I saw a funnel. They had the camera looking up into the meso as it passed over downtown... AMAZING!!! Rotation meso hoovering over Ft.Worth right now moving due east. Tennisball size hail reported just north of downtown.

Edit:There has to be at least a small tornado on the ground right now.

[Terry Tyler]

people in DFW are making a big deal about this squall..."running for cover" acording to the webcast...

[mark plate]

fwd radar at 2313 appears to show possible major tornado developing just ne of fort worth. this looks really bad.

[Danny Neal]

well defined hook as per TV radar from Fort Worth. Unconfirmed tornado in Hurst(sp)

[Jordan Hartley]

You guys the funnel formed right over downtown Ft. Worth during a live report. 3" i The hook keeps getting stronger on radar.

EDIT: Tornado confirmed on the ground.

[Terry Tyler]

it wont last long with that line...police dept reported

[Scott Weberpal]

Terry, that's no longer a line. That's a nice isolated supercell...

[Terry Tyler]

i see...very nice hook...

[Billy Griffin]

I don't think that line if making much of a difference on this cell at DFW. It's taking off on its own now.

[Mark Farnik]

Storm spotters are apparently tracking a large tornado moving through the northeastern sections of Fort Worth right now near the junction of Loop 820 East and I-30 in Richland Hills. The couplet is getting crazy intense and continues to intensify with each successive velocity scan. I'm afraid we may very well have a strong or violent tornado tearing through the northern sections of the Metroplex as we speak.:eek:
Also, the previously linear cells southwest of the Metroplex are beginning to become more isolated in the last few scans... the outbreak finally appears to be underway.
DFW and all of north central/northeast Texas might be in for a very, very long evening...

[George Tincher]

Wow, did that storm ever change character fast or what? It went from a very crappy looking storm (sorry I could not think of a better description for it), to a very well organized and massive supercell in a matter of a few radar scans. This thing could pose a serious threat to the Dallas area as it tracks that direction.

[Matthew Havin]

Wow. What a mess! Multiple reports of a significant tornado....and 23Z RUC Mesoanalysis shows a very ripe environment for this supercell. With STP 4+, and rightward deviant storm motions, this supercell could produce a long-tracked violent tornado.

[Billy Griffin]

Wow, this is really looking bad. Looks like WFAA is having trouble getting "ground truth" confirmations on it, due to logistics with DFW air traffic, but as far as radar signature goes, this thing looks very impressive and I fear the worst for the DFW metro area.

[Mike Mezeul II]

CBS 11 news reporting significant building damage in east Ft. Worth

[Andy Wehrle]

Couplet doesn't look so well organized now. Could be just a cycle though.

[Danny Neal]

RFD gust front on the southside could move into dallas?????

[Jeff Miller]

Could very well be cycling. Don't see much evidence of south-flank eating development impeding the supercellular nature of this storm and this weakening of the couplet is by no means an all clear. Storm is continuing in a highly sheared and unstable air mass with nothing to impede tornadic development that I can see.

[Billy Griffin]

Yep - RFD on south side seems to have allowed the storm to briefly weaken. Looks to be cycling again.

[Terry Tyler]

coming into dallas now...look at that hook

[Billy Griffin]

Do we have a cell "split?" Looks like the one north of the original cell now is taking off as well.

[Doyle McIntosh]

Looks like its starting to split.

[Billy Griffin]

I get the feeling we're about to see 2 or more very discrete, very intense supercells continue to rake NE Texas in a north~south oriented line!
I sincerely hope the radar signatures, which show some weakening, continue to weaken and go more linear. It's getting late and this has already caused some significant damage in the DFW metro.

[Mark Farnik]

I believe you're right, Billy- the cell just north of the DFW monster is quickly taking supercellular characteristics. Speaking of which, when cell splits occur, doesn't the southern most of the two tend to move to the right of its previous motion? Because I think the monster tornadic cell is beginning to turn east... which could take the couplet near or right over downtown Dallas in a few minutes.:eek:
This is looking extremely dire for the Metroplex, without a doubt.

[B Doss]

I saw some feeds of the footage in NE FTW, relatively minor so far but definately tornadic. SH 121 and Beach around Haltom City, roof partially removed from a grocery store and some a/c units tossed around.

[Chris Allington]

Pretty good live shots of the base of this thing recently... you could actually see fairly decent motion in the wall cloud. Near Baseball sized hail reported at DFW with this storm. Pea sized hail at the studio.

[Mark Farnik]

Couplet is beginning to rapidly reintensify over Irving, TX, just northwest of dowtown Dallas. The cell has now turned right and is hauling east at 40 mph. We will likely have a tornado on the ground again shortly, moving into the northern suburbs of Dallas such as Garland and Mesquite.

[Terry Tyler]

rfd appears to be coming in again

[Matthew Havin]

I know everyone is focused on the DFW cell, but there is also a Tor Warn on the Hamilton Co. cell now, and looks to be improving over the past several scans.

[Terry Tyler]

roof damage doesnt look like tornado damage to me...if youve been following the webcast

EDIT: look at that halthom city damage

[Mark Farnik]

The Hamilton Co. cell is starting to look fairly interesting. It is moving east at 40 mph, and should pass near or north of Waco in the next hour to hour and a half. Will be something to watch closely.

Edit: Hey, just saw this...several NICELY isolated supercells are exploding in south Texas... one of them is tornado warned in western Kerr County, moving toward Kerrville. All moving in the general direction of San Antonio/New Braunfels/Austin. The area is covered by Tornado Watch #138. Will be very interesting to watch these cells as they progress eastward.

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

Chasing this thing from my desk - Ofourse, wish I was there live in TX.

It probably does not matter if this storm even produces a tornado or not over DFW or nearby - Hopefully it wont.

HP supercells, like the way this looks like on radar right NOW, can produce destructive winds and giant hail that can do incredible amounts of damage. A strong tornado will be what DFW needs like "salt in a wound".

I am hoping this event does not unfold worse than it already has ... This would have been much more "pleasant" over fields / the Caprock ;-(

[Doyle McIntosh]

Looks like the couplet is getting its act together on the east side of Dallas. NBC Dallas Radar shows the hook the best.

http://www.nbc5i.com/videostream/5822263/detail.html

[Mark Farnik]

Reports of a violently rotating wall cloud over downtown Dallas coming in now... couplet appears to be centered directly overhead attm. This would be a VERY BAD time for this cell to drop another tornado...

[Terry Tyler]

storms coming into lee county MS...got some good lighting...im going out...

[cstrunk]

Lots of shear markers on the north side of Mesquite, heading towards Heath. The hook is definitely wrapping up now, I wouldn't be surprised if it is beginning to drop a tornado in that area.

[Glenn Dixon]

After perusing the various news web sites in the D/FW area I have not yet been able to find any news verifying tornadic activity. Some isolated wind damage, yes. Not much else so far.

[EDIT - wfaa.com has some pics and video that could be tornadic damage]

[Danny Neal]

Reports of a violently rotating wall cloud over downtown Dallas coming in now... couplet appears to be centered directly overhead attm. This would be a VERY BAD time for this cell to drop another tornado...

The storm has been out of downtown for 15-20 minutes already? Where are these reports coming from? I am curious to know. All I am hearing is intense wind damage and perhaps a brief touchdown back in Halthom City.

[B Doss]

I will be interested in seeing what occured in NE Dallas just inside and across 635. The roof damage was in Haltom City. Not sure what feed you're watching but RFD does not pick up and stack tractor trailer rigs.

[Dustin Wilcox]

One news station is showing Helicopter video of a tractor trailer and RV lot that got hit, with RV's and Tractor Trailers tossed and piled up.

[beaudodson]

Video of a tornado on the ground near or in Fort Worth - now being shown. This was the storm that caused the damage we are all seeing now on the news.

I grabbed this still image

http://www.usawx.com/tornadoongroundapril13thaa.png

Some other images and damage photos on this ongoing thread
http://www.easternuswx.com/bb/index.php?showtopic=131362&st=680&gopid=1904745&#entry1904745

[Dustin Wilcox]

New warning text mentions Storm Spotters and Radar indicate a Tornado near Rowlett

[Bart_Comstock]

The Real/ Kerr Co., Tx storm is looking decent aswell, areas between Austin and San Antonio, Tx will be under the gun. While this cell is not the most impresive it is still note worthy, also the cell to the SW of it is also something to watch closely.

***EDIT: The storm now is Tor Warned***

[Billy Griffin]

Undoubtedly, this thing (the DFW storm) is rain-wrapped and continues through the DFW metro (east side). At least the reports I've seen ( SO FAR ) have been relatively weak to moderate damage.

I cannot imagine the logistical nightmare of trying to chase in all that... traffic, terrain, etc.

Argg... just gotta vent... did you just hear the interview of the woman who said when she heard the tornado warning on TV, she ran OUTSIDE and then had to take shelter? Again, those are always the ones that claim, "we had no warning." End "vent." I'm off topic - sorry.
Still an impressive signature on the DFW storm!

[Mark Farnik]

Appears there is another cell split occurring on the northern side of the Rockwall County tornadic beast... the new cell is splitting northeast, into southern Collin County.
Tornado continues to be reported by spotters in central Rockwall County; the couplet should moving into the city of Heath momentarily...

[Bob Schafer]

I just got off the phone with Evan Stubbart, for whom I had been nowcasting. I had become worried about him because I hadn't heard from him in a couple hours. It turns out that as he was going E on US180 from Mineral Wells to Weatherford on the hail-slickened road (about quarter-sized), a car crossed the median going around a curve and struck an oncoming car head-on. Evan says this was about 5 or 6 cars in front of him. One fatality and Evan believes the other driver to have been in critical condition as he/she was carried away by ambulance.

[jason kissam]

watching live video feed http://www.nbc5i.com/index.html from texas lots of damage reported and huge tornado that was shown on video

[Kevin Bowman]

watching live video feed http://www.nbc5i.com/index.html from texas lots of damage reported and huge tornado that was shown on video

http://www.nbc5i.com/slideshow/news/11868335/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=/news/;dm=ss;w=400

pictures 21 and 22 show a tornado though i dont know where it was

[Mark Farnik]

From what I've heard and seen thus far, it looks like the Metroplex was largely spared from what could have been a huge disaster. Damage is widespread across DFW, but haven't heard of any severe tornado damage or injuries/fatalities as of yet.

[Van DeWald]

There's no doubt that the Haltom City damage is the result of a tornado.

[jason kissam]

http://www.nbc5i.com/slideshow/news/11868335/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=/news/;dm=ss;w=400

pictures 21 and 22 show a tornado though i dont know where it was

yeah thats what they just showed. i believe it was outside fort worth.

Amazing damage. grocery store facade hanging from power lines.

[Patrick Martin]

The tornado pics on nbc5 is from Haltom City, the same from the area WFAA was showing pics of RV's and big rig trailers that had been tossed around. Also showing sig damage to a grocery store.

[HAltschule]

2.50-3.00" Hail confirmed at DFW. That likely did some major damage to the planes and windshields.

Also, several tornadoes confirmed with the same storms moving through Kaufman County, TX.

[Sam Shamburger]

here's a link to a picture of the tornado in haltom city/east fort worth and hail pics from the dfw area:

note: you may have to register at dallasnews.com to see this page

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/pix/weather/index.html?&category_id=&startPage=0&image_id=109174

[HAltschule]

Ham Radio reports significant structure damage in Royse City, TX.

[Mark Farnik]

There are pictures of a significantly damaged brick church building in northeast Tarrant County on NBC 5's storm photo slideshow:
http://www.nbc5i.com/slideshow/news/11871190/detail.html

The roof was completely torn off and one of the exterior walls collapsed. Significant damage was done to the interior walls as well. Trees around the church were severely damaged with some partial debarking in places. Looks like low to mid EF-2 type damage to me. All the other damage in the slideshow looks mid to high end EF-1.

[B Doss]

First fatality reported in Haltom City, WFAA.

Edit: Don't see a whole lot of damage out of the east side of town in Dallas. Shifting my attention way down south to the San Antonio area, figuring two tornado warnings to be issued some time soon, still a ways out.

[Matthew Havin]

May be a bit early......but keep an eye on the supercell forming west of San Antonio. This cell is move ESE.....and into a more favorable environment. At the current rate, it will be over the metro in the next hour to hour and a half.

It would be wild to have two major cities with over a million people to be hit in the same day.

Edit: Uvalde Co. cell coming close to exiting the Hill Country into the south TX Plains. 0100Z SPC Mesoanalysis has STP 4-5+ over San Antonio. With rightward-deviant storm motions and flatter terrain, I see no reason why this storm won't go tornadic.

[Ray Walker]

I had a long chase day, a frustrating one. But anyways that is for another thread, The supercell That moved through dallas looks to be weakening and becoming more of a line segment. I thought today would have been a much more volatile day, Thank god it wasnt as bad as it could have been.

[Mark Farnik]

I agree with Matt; the Uvalde Co. supercell does indeed bear close watching as it moves towards San Antonio. Once it clears the hill country, it should go tornadic rapidly. I would not be surprised if this cell turns cyclic, it being a right mover and in an extremely favorable environment. The paramaters are definitely in place for potentially significant tornadoes.
San Antonio needs to be on alert; this may turn into a very dangerous situation for them in the next hour or so.

EDIT: The storm has developed a nice, tight hook in the last few scans, a very tight couplet devloping on the SRV scan and has a 70 dbz hail core... and is yet to be tornado warned. Expect this will change very shortly.

[Brian Stertz]

NO LSR either from OUN on the tornado...very strange....certainly Tony's picture speaks volumes but nothing on the official record in print yet. I had quite a crowd around my desk watching radar as it moved from N.Haskell Co., into Knox and Baylor Counties ...this big tornado may have been down for a fairly long path across very rural areas of these 3 counties. It was a real beauty on radar for sure.

[Bob Schafer]

The storm W of SAT now has a big hook to go with serious rotation. TOR should be forthcoming. (oops, Mark already said that...)
edit... latest scan looks like reflectivity may be seeing a bit of debris.

[Terry Tyler]

incredible cloud to ground lightning show going on in north mississippi...wish i had a decent camera!

EDIT: caught one!

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n9/wxchaser420/IMG_0004_1__0001.jpg

[Matthew Havin]

The SAT supercell is looking better on the last scan. The southern appendage of the cell will be moving over a lot of southern San Antonio suburbs over the next 20-30 minutes. Hopefully it does not produce a tornado.

[Mark Farnik]

Looks like we may have a tornado moving into the western portions of the San Antonio metro area in the next fifteen minutes or so. :eek:
If nothing else, the metro area is going to be in for one hell of a hailstorm... that sucker has a persistent 70 dbz hail core!
Also, central and western Lousiana is lighting up like a Christmas tree - beautiful, isolated supes exploding all over the area. The most impressive one attm is located in Winn Parish in the west central part of the state; KPOE (Fort Polk) and KSRV (Shreveport) radar have pretty good views of it. It has a 70 dbz core and a rapidly strengthening shear couplet. If any cell is going to drop strong/violent tornadoes tonight, that cell might be the one to do it.

[Bob Schafer]

If there is indeed a tornado, it will pass S of SAT. S of the 410 loop. That looks rural and largely unpopulated from what my DeLorme says. Hope so. Even the worst of the hail should be S of 410. Highest dbZ attm are 60, too. Good news.

[Ryan McGinnis]

It might produce, but it's got a little while to go still. There is still no velocity couplet on SRMV, though the BWER is quite prominent. Fortunately, the storm is very close to the radar, so I suspect they have a great view of it. :)

[Tony Laubach]

We did call in the tornado; in fact, the police department actually called me back several minutes later to let us know a woman east of Seymore had also called in the tornado as it was passing just north of her house. We lost the tornado not long after the still I posted due to the RFD slamming us. We fought our way through hail-covered roads in Seymore to try and get back on it, but nevr saw it again.

But yes, the report was relayed via 9-1-1... not sure what happened with it after that.

[Matthew Havin]

For being Friday the 13th, Texas has sure been lucky with this High Risk! Two supercells over two major metro areas today, and so far damage has been relatively minimal. It could have easily been much worse.

Tornado threat seems to be decreasing, with threat shifting to E TX/LA.

[Danny Neal]

I have been waiting for some discrete development over LA, the low level jet has been fairly convective right into AR. Seems like a lot of people lucked out today. Of course anyone that did receive damage cannot say this. I feel for those people, but for the most part they knew it was coming and what to do during it. The KFAA coverage they had earlier tonight showed the Ft. Worth Streets virtually empty before and during the storm. I am beginning to feel like a good old fashioned squall line will intensify once interaction with the LLJ begins and that already looks like its happening along the TX and LA border. Earlier storms are fizzling while others further south and east are cranking up. Tomorrow looks like a tornado event along the gulf coast. Unimpeded flow from the Gulf, warm moist air. I feel it will be more active than today. Usually is .