New Mexico storms

Clovis, NM

Boise City, OK

We began the day in Lamar, CO, and we had two separate target areas to choose from.  Because one was in South Dakota and the other was in Texas, we would only be able to choose one.  During the weather briefing, we looked at models and forecasts.  Bill decided our best play would be in the Texas Panhandle, where our tornado chances seemed to be better.  In addition, the Panhandle play would put us in good position for the next day or two.  After leaving Lamar around 9 a.m., we had a pit stop in Springfield, CO and continued south to Boise City, OK.  We stopped at a small heritage museum for a bit while Bill looked at the data and decided what our next move would be.  There was a giant Tin Man and dinosaur to photograph, as well as a slice of a sequoia tree that was riddled with fire ants.  We continued south to Dalhart, TX, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch at Pizza Hut.  Shortly after lunch, storms were beginning to initiate much earlier than anticipated.  We blasted towards Channing, TX, where a storm was looking good.  As we got closer, the storm died, but more development was happening near Clovis, NM.  This cell was pretty much stationary, and we were able to get close to it with no issues.  However, we killed this one, too.  After abandoning this storm, we headed towards Dora, NM, where another good cell was happening.  Along the way, the Clovis cell became more organized, and we decided to head back to chase it.  We were treated to some good mid-level structure, and the storm was spinning hard before cold outflow from other storms undercut it.  At the end of the day, we were treated to a nice dust storm from the cold outflow, and the red dust provided good contrast to the pictures.  We drove 567 miles and stayed in Lubbock, TX for the night.

Milnsand, NM