Day 11 Discussion

[Paul Sherman]

Last day for our intrepid tour members, and Thunderstorm risks look limited, so we will probably take in one of the Canyons or National Parks and if a Thunderstorm comes along then thats a bonus. Looks like the weather pattern had this in mind all along, the guys head back on Friday.

Paul Sherman

[Paul Sherman]

We ended up visiting Lake Murray on the Texas/Oklahoma Border near the Red River for a few hours on Thursday. Found a Crazy Golf Course and had a VERY Competitive Game to see who would win the Netweather Golf Champoinship. Final scorecards below

Nathan # 42

Stewart # 48

Paul # 48

Aine # 57

Nick # 57

Ian # 61

We then noticed afternoon heating had allowed some Pulse Thunderstorms to develop, so we headed in their general direction finally staying in Decatur (AGAIN!!)

- Arty Farty Shot

- Severe Storm moving South-Westwards

Only 40 miles from DFW, I hope the Hire Car firm take the vehicle back, they probably dont want it any more.

Paul Sherman

[mettalfabrik]

HI ALL ITS BEEN GREAT FOLLOWING YOUR ADVENTURES, I HEAR SOME OF YOU ARE OFF TO S DAKOTA

CAME ACROSS THIS ON THE NWS PAGE FOR SOUIX FALLS SD

Damage Survey’s for Tornadoes on Saturday May 5th

...DAMAGE SURVEYS COMPLETED FOR SATURDAY`S TORNADOES...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX FALLS COMPLETED A SURVEY OF

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE THAT RESULTED FROM THE TORNADOES,

ESTIMATED AT 20 TO 25, THAT OCCURRED ON SATURDAY, MAY 5 2007...ACROSS

SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA.

THE SURVEY BEGAN AT THE GAVINS POINT DAM AREA IN YANKTON COUNTY.

THE TORNADO BEGAN AT THE LEWIS AND CLARK RECREATION AREA AND

RESULTED IN CONSIDERABLE TREE DAMAGE...AS WELL AS DAMAGE TO HOMES.

A CAMPER WAS THROWN INTO THE TREES AT THE CAMPGROUND WHICH RESULTED

IN ONE INJURY. THIS TORNADO TRAVELED NORTH-NORTHWEST AND WAS ON THE

GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR MILES. FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THIS

TORNADO WAS JOINED BY A SECOND TORNADO FROM THE SAME STORM. THESE

TORNADOES HAVE BEEN DETERMINED TO BE AN EF-1 (86-110 MPH) ON THE

ENHANCED FUJITA (EF) SCALE BASED UPON THE DAMAGE TO SOME OF THE

HOMES ALONG HIGHWAY 52.

ANOTHER TORNADO BEGAN SEVEN MILES NORTH AND TWO MILES WEST OF

TYNDALL IN BON HOMME COUNTY. THIS TORNADO TRAVELED NORTH-NORTHWEST

AND WAS ON THE GROUND FOR SIX MILES. MANY HOMES...BARNS...VARIOUS

OUT-BUILDINGS...AND TREES WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. THE RESULTANT

DAMAGE LED THE WEATHER SERVICE TO GIVE IT AN EF-2 (111-135 MPH)

RATING ON THE EF-SCALE.

THE STRONGEST TORNADO TORNADO OCCURRED IN AURORA COUNTY...

APPROXIMATELY FIVE MILES SOUTHEAST OF PLANKINTON. THIS TORNADO WAS

ON THE GROUND FOR FIVE MILES AND TRAVELED DUE NORTH. THE MOST

SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS DONE TO A PHEASANT HUNTING LODGE/PRESERVE...

WHERE NUMEROUS BUILDINGS AND TREES WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. AN EMPTY

CAR TRAILER WAS ROLLED A DISTANCE OF 100 YARDS BEFORE COMING TO

REST. BESIDES THE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...NUMEROUS ADULT AND CHICK

PHEASANTS WERE LOST. THIS TORNADO ALSO CROSSED INTERSTATE 90 BEFORE

DISSIPATING TWO MILES NORTH OF I-90. THE OBSERVED DAMAGE RESULTED IN

THIS TORNADO BEING RATED AN EF-3 WITH ESTIMATED WINDS AROUND 140 MPH.

AN EF-1 (86-110 MPH) TORNADO OCCURRED IN WESTERN HANSON COUNTY ALONG

RIVERSIDE ROAD EAST OF MITCHELL. THIS TORNADO ALSO CROSSED

INTERSTATE 90 AND HIGHWAY 38 ALONG ITS THREE MILE TRACK. TREES WERE

DAMAGED AND A BUILDING LOST ITS ROOF.

THE FINAL SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN SPENCER. THE TORNADO DEVELOPED

TWO MILES SOUTH OF SPENCER AND TRAVELED THROUGH THE WESTERN HALF

OF SPENCER AND CONTINUED TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST. THIS TORNADO WAS

OBSERVED TO BE VERY LARGE BEFORE IT DISSIPATED FOUR MILES NORTHWEST

OF SPENCER. MOST OF THE DAMAGE WAS TO TREES AND A JUNK YARD. THIS

TORNADO WAS RATED AN EF-2 (111-135 MPH).

A REMINDER...THE OLD FUJITA SCALE (NAMED AFTER UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

THEODORE FUJITA) HAS BEEN REVISED AS OF FEBRUARY 1ST AND IS NOW THE

ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. THIS NEW SCALE PROVIDES THE SURVEYORS WITH

MORE DAMAGE INDICATORS WHICH IN TURN PROVIDE A LESS SUBJECTIVE

RATING.

MORE INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK...WHICH IS

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TORNADO OUTBREAK IN SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

SINCE JUNE 24 2003...WILL BE ISSUED THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK. FOR MORE

INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS...PLEASE CONTACT GREG HARMON OR TODD

HEITKAMP.

http://www.keloland.com/weather/Index.cfm LOCAL TV WEATHER

Edited May 11, 2007 by blackdown

[NL]

Paul and Ian are passing through oklahoma/Kansas border(through Denton) as i type.Got a new chase vehicle another Dodge Darango, Storms brewing to their North

[pottyprof]

Storms currently brewing to the north so it looks like part 2 is already off to a promising start..

[MAF]

that looks OK Paul. they might see some action there

[mac]

We then noticed afternoon heating had allowed some Pulse Thunderstorms to develop, so we headed in their general direction finally staying in Decatur (AGAIN!!)

Paul Sherman

I just have to ask it...what are Pulse Thunderstorms

[NL]

Pulse thunderstorms explanation http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/wwhlpr/single_cell.rxml

[mac]

Pulse thunderstorms explanation http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/wwhlpr/single_cell.rxml

Thanks for the link NL, explains its very well.

I just wish ANY type of storm would be kind enough to head this way

[NL]

[quote name='mac' I just wish ANY type of storm would be kind enough to head this way :o

[NL]

Paul and Ian are passing through oklahoma/Kansas border(through Denton) as i type.Got a new chase vehicle another Dodge Darango, Storms brewing to their North

I think that should have been Texas/oklahoma and not Kansas..!! Well Paul has done alot of driving today and had to talk his way into renewing his car hire..!! And saying goodbye to his chasing buds. All in all quite a day..

now currently stopped at marker 59 in the I35, watching severe thunderstorm travelling in a southerly direction towards them.

[Roger J Smith]

A large part of South Dakota is very flat, dissected by Missouri River and its tributaries which create some rather shallow valleys with sharp sides, but except for those the eastern two thirds of SD is prairie country and fairly flat. The western third is mostly rolling hills, badland terrain including a national park devoted to them, and the Black Hills, a sort of volcanic outcrop separate from the Rockies and at its highest point about 7500 ft asl.

Nebraska is even flatter, the rivers dissect the plains only slightly here and so almost the whole state is fairly flat, although rising imperceptibly from east to west with some small escarpments here and there. There are a few isolated bluffs (large mounds that you would call hills) in western Nebraska.

I'm thinking of trying a storm chase of my own in western Canada this summer, the activity of the spring months tends to move north into the western provinces east of the Rockies, and for that matter eastern Montana and North Dakota. The storm activity is not quite on a daily scale like this past ten days in Texas, but you can count on one or two good outbreaks a week with cold fronts. Alberta has had F-3 tornadoes in recent years with multiple deaths in two cases, in 2000 and before that in 1987. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have frequent severe storms but seem to have had a charmed life in recent years concerning casualties, however, way back in 1912 the city of Regina, which then was just a frontier town, got hammered by a very strong tornado and 30 people were killed there. That was on 30 June but the peak of the season is probably late July.

Edited May 11, 2007 by Roger J Smith

[pottyprof]

Roger. If you decide to go ahead with a chase then let us know in the virtual chase thread. It would be great to keep up with you. :o

[NL]

A large part of South Dakota is very flat, dissected by Missouri River and its tributaries which create some rather shallow valleys with......

Cheers for the topography of the northern plains excellent description.. Yes i've heard of strong tornadoes way up north in Edmonton back in 1987 where 27 people lost there lives..