Plainview, TX Supercell

First wall cloud

Funnel cloud

Yesterday, we began our morning in Guymon, OK.  During the weather briefing, we saw two possible chase areas.  One was in the TX Panhandle, and the other was near Roswell, NM.  Because we needed to get the group back to OKC by 1 PM today, we chose the TX Panhandle target.  Models were popping very good storms in each area, so we knew something would happen.  We drove south to Dalhart, TX, where we enjoyed lunch at Hodie's BBQ.  That was some very good food, and the prices were reasonable!  After lunch, we continued south towards Hereford, TX, where we took a pit/fuel stop.  We drove west out of the Hereford for a couple miles and then stopped to monitor the data.  A storm was beginning to go up, but the shear was too much for it to overcome.  Finally, a cell was looking very good just east of Plainview.  We blasted east towards this new cell, and it quickly became a monster.  Outside of Plainview, it developed a very nice base and had a rotating wall cloud.  We knew it wanted to produce a tornado, but winds from the NE were bringing in cooler air from other storms.  However, the structure remained very good.  As we got close to Matador, TX, we briefly stopped for a photo opportunity, as the structure looked phenomenal.  This would turn out to be our storm for the day, and we tracked it all the way to Dumont, TX.  We found a spot to pull off and just observe this storm as it began lighting up the sky.  It continued to be a nice site to look at, and it was a nice way to end this week.  We drove 499 miles and ended up in Clarendon, TX for the night.

Very nice structure