Tornado Number Two! (Or Is It Three?)

This cropped-in image shows Tornado Number 2 (or three if you count the hard to identify wall cloud-to-ground contact east of Felt, Oklahoma earlier in the day on Monday, May 16, 2016). The cone shaped twister image shown here looks WSW from US Highway 385, just north of Dallam, Texas and about 14 miles north of Dalhart. Time is 5:39 pm CDT, and the tornado is about 27 miles distant, just east of the New Mexico/Texas state border.

Another zoomed in view of the tornado at 5:40 pm.

A more accurate size representation of the naked eye at 5:41 pm. The downdraft area at right is particularly evident. The tornado was located on the southwest flank of the supercell and was moving with the storm toward the lower left of the above image. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

A radar screen capture of the moment, with the locations of the tornado, our vehicle, and the storm's overall movement illustrated.

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Buggin' Out Of The RFD

After a short photo op alongside Highway 385, about 1.5 miles north of Oklahoma/Texas state border on Monday, May 16, 2016, it was time to get moving again as a robust RFD (Rear Flank Downdraft) cut was quickly bearing down on us. The above and middle image show our southbound escape from the overtaking storm at 5:25 pm CDT, just .15-mile south of the Oklahoma/Texas border. Fleeing storm chaser vehicles can also be seen in the background. Heavy rain and penny size hail was beginning to fall at this moment.

By 5:28 pm, strong blasts of RFD were swirling across the road from the right-to-left (bottom image), making it difficult and dangerous for me to pass the semi-trailer truck seen in the background, effecting our escape toward Dalhart, Texas. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Ready To Move

Parked alongside Highway 385, about 12.5 south of US Highway 56/64 and about 1.5 miles north of Oklahoma/Texas state border, severe weather was quickly approaching. The top image looks west at 5:21 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016 at an inflow cloud. A minute later (below) the camera looks north, with a portion of the inflow cloud being visible at left, dwarfed by the supercell's leading edge in the background. A long line of storm chasers can be seen pulled over to the side of the highway, maneuvering for the best view. The potential for RFD winds, heavy rain and hail made this a brief photo op. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Uninfected By RFD Cut

After leaving the town of Felt, Oklahoma and the decaying wall cloud north of US Highway 56/64, our chase initially took the east option, staying on 56/64 east of the junction of Highway 385, but reconsidered at the western outskirts of Boise City and backtracked until we turned south on 385, almost directly into the path of the approaching supercell. The leading edge of the supercell, with a strong RFD cut, is seen at right in both images above. Our vehicle is parked alongside the road at 5:21 and 5:22 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016, about 1.5 miles north of the Texas border in Oklahoma. Images look toward the southwest. After capturing these images we were to get quickly on the move again, just being grazed by the high RFD winds and penny size hail. Note the storm chaser vehicles in the images toward the left. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

This radar screen capture shows reflectivity at this moment, our position in relation to it and the storm's movement.

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Tornado Or No Tornado?

This structure--with a funnel-like appendage at bottom center--is the unknown of the chase on Monday, May 16, 2016. Was this a bonafide tornado, a wall cloud lowering or just plain scud? Hard to tell. If it truly was a brief touchdown, it would have made a total of three for the day's chase. Because of the unknown, my personal count was "2 1/2 tornadoes" for the day. All four of the posted images today look north from US Highway 56/64, just east of Felt, Oklahoma, and all were shot while I was driving--an admittedly dangerous practice while quickly trying to get ahead of the storm. The above image was captured at 4:48 pm CDT.

4:49 pm. A very compelling image for the argument of a touchdown.

4:50 pm. The lowering is now beginning to stretch and bow outward. Note the storm chasers in the foreground, blurred by the movement of our vehicle.

4:52 pm. Back to a true wall cloud. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Gust Race

The Felt, Oklahoma wall cloud was now being transformed as it gusted out on the leading edge of the storm system. This image looks north at 4:50 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016, while eastbound (actually northeast) on US Highway 56/64, about a half-mile east of Felt. Note how the close to the ground the lowering is. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

This radar screen capture from the same time shows our position (just east of Felt), with the small black arrow pointing to the area (dark red) corresponding to the top image. The small lavender areas of the radar image correspond to the downdraft area seen in the top image at far left. The white arrows indicate storm movement. We were at this moment making haste to get out and ahead of this pursuing storm!

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Up Against The Wall (Cloud)

The accompanying tornado had expired a minute earlier, but the host wall cloud was still churning--and getting closer to the ground. This view looks north at 4:44 pm CDT, Monday, May 16, 2016, from E0132 Road at US Highway 56/64, about 2.2 miles west of Felt, Oklahoma. A shelf cloud is forming in the front of the growing supercell, and high precipitation can be seen in the background at left.

Two minutes later and now eastbound on US Highway 56/64, about 1.5 miles west of Felt.

4:48 pm and now .3-mile east of Felt. The wall cloud has now become part of the supercell's leading shelf cloud. Hard to say if the appendage at lower right is just scud or a funnel. I later called it "half of a tornado." Hot on its heels at background left is a deluge of rain and hail. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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