For all of Tony's latest news in weather & chasing!

Sat, April 21 , 2007 North Texas 1630z SPC Outlook: MODERATE Chase Partners Jon Van de Grift Jenn Brindley Ed Grubb Verne Carlson Michael Carlson Eric Carlson

Chase Miles: N/A Career Miles: Storm Intercepts: Multiple Tornado Count: 4 Largest Hail: None Flooding: None Other Chaser Reports

Our third tornado went on to severely hit Cactus, TX.

Sitting at the Park 'n' Ride in Denver loading up the van for our trek. This was around 6:30pm Friday.

My bedroom and office overnight in Garden City, KS.

The new interior setup with the proclips mounting the HAM in the center and allowing for more laptop room.

(c) Jenn Brindley - Us checking data in Dumas.

(c) Jenn Brindley - Jon and I testing the winds using Blake Naftel's highly scientific methods.

Positioning south of Dumas before tornado #1; the white dot showing our locaion east of the supercell line.

Tornado #1 waaaay off to our southwest; looking from FM2202. Contrast severely enhanced.

(c) Jenn Brindley - The second tornado about 15 minutes after the first one vanished. Still in the same place looking south/southwest.

After topping off in Dumas, we head east of town only to be stopped again by another large tornado; our 3rd on the day.

This tornado would go on to heavily damage the town of Cactus north of Dumas.

The tornado starts to get bigger but rain would soon block our view as it morphed into a massive 3/4 mile wedge.

Nearly impossible to make out, but our 4th tornado was a long rope which touched down west of Dumas.

Damage from tornado that ripped through Cactus; taken the day after.

This was a tough chase all things considered. Many stories came from this day which made me glad of the choices we made even as it may've ultimately cost us the best shows of the day. One thing I am learning fast this season is that there are other days, and while we didn't get up close and personal, we came out all right. No one in the van with me has regrets on what we could've seen because of the issues sustained by many others. Some were small, others not so much, but in the end, makes us glad we were able to pull into our Amarillo hotel room safely.

Our hearts go out to the families in the towns impacted by the day's tornadoes. Seeing first-hand the aftermath of a strong tornado is a sobering sight. Walking through the aftermath of Cactus was a surreal experience that I won't soon forget. The images don't do justice for how it feels to see the lives of people ruined by something we spend our lives pursuing. Add to that the story of a close friend of mine who had his own encounter, and this is one of the most sobering chases of my career.

Return to Logs | Return to Blog
StormChaserTNL@juno.com

Tony's Equipment

Google Ads help offset my website costs.
Click them to help!
I am not responsible for Google ad content!

Find Tony on...