Trentham Stormchasers

'Going to Extremes' 2011 USA Roadtrip

Report: Clyve Herbert

Photography: Jane ONeill / Clyve Herbert

21st April 2011

Day 5:  Durant, OK to Abilene, TX - The Snyder - Sweetwater Supercell, Texas

We awake to fog and drizzle in a pre warm front easterly breeze, temperatures struggling in the mid 50'sF/ 13C. We start our day in Durant and head south into Texas. Isolated storms are expected in the north central and western Texas areas late afternoon and evening. It's a bit of an offchance, but if a storm gets going today in that area it will feed off high Gulf moisture and strong surface heating. We suspect a dryline will be located across western Texas mid afternoon.

We finally reach Hway 82 at Sherman and head west...branching off to Hway 59 through Jacksboro and then onto Breckenridge. All the time we are enveloped in fog, drizzle and low cloud. Temperatures were in the low 60'sF/17C. A warm front is moving northwards through central Texas and we head south to coast along its boundary. We are not used to warm fronts in Australia and here in Texas the transition from the cool sector to the warm sector can be startling. The low cloud and murk changes to hazy sunshine and the temperature rockets to the high 80'sF/28C. Already, ground based convection has started, but the cap is strong today. We decide to head west and eventually end up in Brownwood. Today's progs had storm breaking out in central and NE Texas however as usual, the weather thumbs its nose at predictions and a supercell develops near Fort Stockton in the Texas Big Bend region. The cirrus shield from this storm is spoiling convection to its northeast, but we spot what looks like a dryline convergence to our west, and we eventually end up at Bronte along Hway 158.

We continue west to Robert Lee where we sit under the dryline. Turkey cumulus breaking the cap struggle but we notice better development ot our NW around Snyder. It's getting late and as usual the first larger development along the dryline is becoming dominant very quickly. We race north across the I-20 and for the next 2 hours we follow a spectacular supercell dropping funnels, golfball and tennis ball hailstones, flash flooding and tremendous vistas of the storm backlit by the setting sun.

 

2104jon006d.jpg (46808 bytes)

Pre warm front fog & drizzle - N Texas, Hway 82

2104jon025d.jpg (126422 bytes)

Township of Breckenridge, west of Dallas

2104jon034d.jpg (117211 bytes)

Western Texas is experiencing one of its worst droughts on record.....

2104jon055d.jpg (93114 bytes)

Downtown Robert Lee

2104ch007d.jpg (58661 bytes)

Cap breaking, S of Colorado City, Texas

2104ch021d.jpg (37071 bytes)

Splitting supercell, Snyder

2104ch024d.jpg (41744 bytes)

Flanking line of the Snyder / Sweetwater supercell

2104ch027d.jpg (59287 bytes)

Hail shaft E of Snyder, Hway 180

2104jon094d.jpg (41251 bytes)

Illuminated hail shaft, NW of Sweetwater, Hway 180

2104jon097d.jpg (51859 bytes)

Almost!! Funnel descends form wallcloud, NW of Sweetwater

2104ch030d.jpg (40029 bytes)

Western edge of Snyder / Sweetwater supercell

2104jon099d.jpg (51956 bytes)

Watching the power - studying the storm

2104jon112d.jpg (64292 bytes)

Rock hard golfballs NW of Sweetwater

2104jon113d.jpg (54791 bytes)
2104jon114d.jpg (59788 bytes)

Hail structure - this stone was cracked in half

2104jon120d.jpg (45552 bytes)

Hail covering, N of Sweetwater

2104jon124d.jpg (78814 bytes)

Golfball carpet, N of Sweetwater

2104jon129d.jpg (70278 bytes)

Flash flooding paddocks along Hway 180

2104jon170d.jpg (49642 bytes)

The business end of the Snyder / Sweetwater supercell. These images show the RFD and rotating wallcloud.

2104jon179d.jpg (51819 bytes)
2104ch054d.jpg (48481 bytes) 2104ch065d.jpg (50954 bytes)

Rapidly rotating wallcloud NE of Sweetwater

2104ch045d.jpg (53606 bytes) 2104jon196d.jpg (52585 bytes)
2104jon231d.jpg (50572 bytes)

N of Abilene - funnel spins in the meso overhead

2104jon207d.jpg (52006 bytes)

West Texas storms decay as fast as they form - leaving behind a brilliant rounded anvil

 

 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode...

Back to Australian Sky & Weather