Texas Spring-2015

[Texas Snowman]

@NBCDFW: Van officials say 2 killed, 8 missing and 43 injured in Sunday night's tornado. http://t.co/haklD3l0UP

[Texas Snowman]

@wfaasebastian: #Tornado hit 30% of Van and damaged or destroyed 50-100 homes. 2 dead, dozens injured, 8 missing #wfaaweather #Texas

[Texas Snowman]

Text from a friend in Quitman:

KMOO in Mineola is reporting that one area hasn't been searched because of a damaged oil well that is leaking and causing explosion hazard. The whole town has pump jacks mixed among the homes and businesses.

[Texas Snowman]

Another presser in Van @ 3 pm. What a terrible tragedy.

[Annie Oakley]

weather channel lady said 'weather coming out of the sky' lol

(sorry) not trying to make light of this event

[Annie Oakley]

To give her credit though, turns out her father is a member of Texas Task Force 1.

[Shoshana]

KXAN said the reason Austin area didn't have severe weather yesterday was because we had a cap, that no one knew about

At National Weather Service offices across the country, government meteorologists release weather balloons twice a day that rise through the atmosphere and transmit back valuable information that helps forecasters. Because there are no weather balloons in our local New Braunfels office, the closest are released more than 200 miles away in Del Rio and Corpus Christi.

May be why we keep getting busted forecasts? As in winding us up for severe weather and nothing happens?

[gboudx]

From jeff mostly for SETX area:

NWS has issued a Flash Flood Watch until 400pm this afternoon for the counties of: Brazos, Burleson, Madison, Houston, Trinity, Grimes, Walker, San Jacinto, Polk, Montgomery, and Washington.

Excessive rainfall this morning of 4-6 inches over much of these counties has resulted in significant run-off and flooding. A low level outflow boundary has been generated and is currently extending along a line from northern Galveston Bay to downtown Houston to south of Katy with ongoing elevated showers and thunderstorms north of this feature. The air mass south of this boundary will continue to be unstable for much of the afternoon with additional heating and expect additional storms to develop, but it is hard to say if they will become as organized as this morning and produce similar rainfall rates.

Of somewhat greater concern is high resolution guidance showing a stronger short wave moving out of NE MX late this afternoon and toward the area tonight at the same time a weak frontal boundary moves into the region from the north. Expect to see an increase in convection late this afternoon and evening out west with this activity moving toward SE TX tonight. High resolution guidance is not in very good agreement on how this activity evolves overnight making forecast confidence low.

The severe threat in generally on the low side this afternoon, but with that said, there has been wind damage this morning over Walker County and some low level rotation in storms. As the atmosphere becomes more unstable this afternoon as few of the storms may become severe with damaging winds and large hail.

The main threat remains the flash flood situation over the area…especially over areas that were hard hit this morning.

Hydro:

Flood Warning has been issued for the Navasota River at Easterly. River is starting a rise this morning and based on upstream rainfall overnight of 6-10 inches a rise to moderate flood levels is likely along the river.

Additional river flood warnings and adjustments in crest levels are likely over the next 24-48 hours.

[Brent]

Just an incredible map...

[TheProfessor]

And they're thinking we could see another 4 inches the next 7 days.

[EF-5bigj]

Wow Texas has gotten pounded is there anymore severe weather in the coming week??

[TheProfessor]

Wow Texas has gotten pounded is there anymore severe weather in the coming week??

Friday is when SPC thinks severe weather will start back up out west. I've been hearing about keeping an eye out for the 17-20th time frame, some people are thinking there could be a big out break somewhere in the U.S within those dates.

[EF-5bigj]

So 17th-20th could be bad then.

[Brent]

Friday/Saturday is already highlighted for SVR west of here... it looks like Tue-Thu will be mostly a heavy rain event and then we'll see beyond that,

[Peanut432]

Yes spc says all severe weather hazards LIKELY Saturday. Still along ways out tho

[TheProfessor]

Flash Flood watch issued



Flash Flood Watch

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
356 PM CDT MON MAY 11 2015

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
ACROSS ALL OF NORTH TEXAS. THE WATCH IS IN EFFECT BEGINNING
TUESDAY MORNING ACROSS AREAS GENERALLY SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 20
CORRIDOR...THEN ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION TUESDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

.THE GROUND REMAINS SATURATED FROM HEAVY RAINS OVER THE PAST
SEVERAL DAYS. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY....AS MOIST AIR
MOVES IN FROM THE SOUTH AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACHES
FROM THE WEST. ANY LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN THAT OCCURS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL FLOODING CONCERNS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>134-141-120500-
/O.NEW.KFWD.FF.A.0006.150512T1800Z-150514T0000Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN-
HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS-
ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL-
JOHNSON-ELLIS-COMANCHE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BOWIE...NOCONA...GAINESVILLE...
SHERMAN...DENISON...BONHAM...PARIS...GRAHAM...OLNEY...JACKSBORO...
DECATUR...BRIDGEPORT...DENTON...LEWISVILLE...FLOWER MOUND...
THE COLONY...PLANO...GREENVILLE...COMMERCE...COOPER...
SULPHUR SPRINGS...BRECKENRIDGE...MINERAL WELLS...WEATHERFORD...
BRIAR...FORT WORTH...ARLINGTON...DALLAS...ROCKWALL...TERRELL...
KAUFMAN...FORNEY...WILLS POINT...CANTON...GRAND SALINE...VAN...
EDGEWOOD...EMORY...POINT...EAST TAWAKONI...CISCO...EASTLAND...
RANGER...GORMAN...STEPHENVILLE...DUBLIN...GRANBURY...
OAK TRAIL SHORES...GLEN ROSE...CLEBURNE...BURLESON...WAXAHACHIE...
ENNIS...MIDLOTHIAN...GLENN HEIGHTS...COMANCHE...DE LEON
356 PM CDT MON MAY 11 2015

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
WEDNESDAY EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND
NORTHEAST TEXAS...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN NORTH
CENTRAL TEXAS...COLLIN...COMANCHE...COOKE...DALLAS...DENTON...
EASTLAND...ELLIS...ERATH...FANNIN...GRAYSON...HOOD...HUNT...
JACK...JOHNSON...KAUFMAN...MONTAGUE...PALO PINTO...PARKER...
ROCKWALL...SOMERVELL...STEPHENS...TARRANT...WISE AND YOUNG. IN
NORTHEAST TEXAS...DELTA...HOPKINS...LAMAR...RAINS AND VAN
ZANDT.

* FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING

* THE GROUND REMAINS SATURATED FROM EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WHICH HAS
OCCURRED ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS.
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...WHICH COULD LEAD TO
ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING DURING THE WATCH PERIOD.

* LOCALIZED RAINFALL TOTALS AROUND 3 INCHES POSSIBLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR HEAVY
RAIN WHICH MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. YOU SHOULD MONITOR THE
LATEST FORECASTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED FOR
YOUR AREA.

&&

$$

30

[Texas Snowman]

@stormchaser4850: UPDATE: (@NWSFortWorth) confirms EF-3 #tornado (135-140 mph winds) hit #Van #TX Sunday evening (2 killed, at least 43 injured) #TXwx

[Texas Snowman]

Today is the anniversary of the 1953 Waco F5, the deadliest tornado in Texas history. It killed 114 and injured hundreds.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=wacotormay1953

[Texas Snowman]

BTW, the birth of modern tornado detection started with the Waco storm:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s1135.htm

Waco, Texas: May 11, 1953
A powerful (F5) tornado ripped through downtown Waco, Texas, at 4:10 p.m. (CDT), May 11, 1953, killing 114 people and injuring nearly 600 more. More than 600 businesses, 850 homes and 2,000 cars were destroyed or severely damaged for an estimated loss of $41 million ($275 million in 2002 dollars). The deadliest tornado in Texas history and the tenth deadliest in the nation, the twister touched down about 10 miles south of the city. By the time it reached Waco, the tornado was moving almost due north, cutting a path of destruction a third of a mile wide through the heart of the city.

About an hour before the tornado struck, a research meteorologist at Texas A & M University picked up an isolated comma-shaped echo on his radar screen. Unaware of the severe weather bulletins posted for the area, the researcher did not give extra significance to the echo. A few minutes before the strike, the screen displayed five large echoes.

The following month, the first Texas Tornado Warning Conference was held at the university. In hindsight, conferees determined a coordinated plan and better communication between the academic and emergency management community and the Weather Bureau (predecessor to the NOAA National Weather Service) could have led to early warnings and a reduced death toll in the Waco disaster.

Some results of that conference included dispatching highway patrol cars to investigate when strong echoes were noted, improved communication with public safety department captains and educational programs for the public. The most important outgrowth was a contract between the Weather Bureau and Texas A & M to modify existing radar sets leading to the nation’s first closely knit network of radar stations dedicated strictly to storm detection.

[TheProfessor]

Today is also the anniversary of the 1970 Lubbock tornado, which Dr. Fujita based his Fujita scale off of.

The second tornado was devastating, affecting a 25-square-mile (65 km2) area or roughly a quarter of Lubbock. Hardest hit were the inner city commercial and residential areas, the light industrial area south of Loop 289, and the residential area north of Loop 289 and the Lubbock Municipal Airport. A total of 430 homes were destroyed, 519 sustained major damage, and 7,851 more sustained minor damage. Some of the homes were completely swept away. Another 600 apartments were destroyed and 549 damaged, and one hundred mobile homes were severely damaged or destroyed. The Guadalupe neighborhood, consisting of mostly old wood frame or stucco homes, and parts of the Mesa Road area near the Lubbock Country Club, were almost completely leveled. *(further note to be pointed out is that the second tornado merged with the original tornado for approximately 45 minutes)

Since the tornado hit the downtown area, over 250 businesses were also severely damaged or destroyed, including 20 city and county offices. Every motel along 4th Street and Avenue Q north of 10th Street sustained major damage, and several motels and other businesses along Avenue Q, which is a major artery through the city, were destroyed. Several banks and warehouses were severely damaged, and one nightclub lost its entire top floor. Eight elementary schools were damaged, as well as Lubbock and Estacado High Schools, the latter losing a large portion of the roof over the gym. Damage was especially severe in the industrial areas of north Lubbock. At a grain storage complex, thick steel covers were peeled back from the tops of silos like soup cans. A 41-foot long metal fertilizer tank, weighing 26,000 pounds, was thrown nearly a mile through the air. Large oil tanks in this area were hurled up to 300 yards away, and a railroad car was rolled for 50 yards.[3]

The 271-foot (83 m) tall Great Plains Life Building was left with a visible twist in its super-structure, leaving many to fear it was in danger of collapse; several radio towers on the roof were twisted or broken off. Much of the plaster in the stairwell walls between the 4th and 16th floors had cracked, and 60% of the building's windows were shattered. A foot of permanent deformation damage occurred at the steel frame on the south side, and three of the building's four elevators were damaged with the support rails bent. In spite of the severity of the damage and amid cries to demolish, the owners chose to repair it instead, and it still stands. Some sources erroneously claim that the building was impacted by F5 winds. A thorough damage survey indicated that the F5 damage contour commenced farther north in the Guadelupe neighborhood.