COVER: Fritch, Texas tornado, looking west-southwest from the east side of town.Photograph by David Dowell ©1992, June 27, 1992 at 8:13 pm.

Storm Track is a non-profit publication intended for the scientist and amateur alikewho share an avid interest in the acquisition and advancement of knowledge concerningsevere or unusual weather phenomena. It is published bi-monthly in Lewisville, Texas.David Hoadley founded the publication in 1977 and Gene Rhoden designed the currentcover. Anyone interested in copies of back issues should contact the editor.

Persons are encouraged to submit articles to STORMTRACK. Papers should be double-spaced and contain proper english. Photographs should be loose or lightly taped. Highcontrast photographs are preferred. Diagrams should be clear and legible. Allarticles will be reviewed by the editor.

Subscription rates are: U.S. First Class mail $12/year, Canada $14/year, andEngland/Japan $20/year. Each November issue will contain a color cover and there willbe at least one issue/year with additional pages of text. Individual issues are$2/copy. Back issues are available by year, or the complete 15 year set (1978-1992)can be purchased for $90. To subscribe or renew, send a check or money order PAYABLEONLY to Tim Marshall, 1336 Brazos Blvd, Lewisville, Texas 75067.

STORM TRACK CLASSIFIEDS

Sell or swap your wares. Only 25c per word (20 word minimum = $5, 160 word maximum = $40).Send your request for the next issue by May 1, 1993.

TORNADOGENESIS realtime simulation of tornadoes for MS-DOS computers. Thin ropes to giantwedges swaying, growing, and shrinking on your screen. Send $24.95 plus $3.00 shipping andhandling to: Applied Neural Engineering, 5232 Saratoga Ct. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120 -- R.Scott FitzGerald, president. (3/93)

WHIRLWIND TOURS -- Adventure for the weather enthusiast! Travel Tornado Alley this spring withan experienced storm chaser. Last minute reservations may still be available: contact MartyFeely, 5273 Halifax Drive, San Jose, CA 95130 phone: 408-370- 6780. (3/93)

"FROM TEXAS TO TUCSON", (c) 1992 by Tim Dorr and Jack Thunderhead Corso: The Chase Adventuresof 1992. See a Texas tornado, Florida funnels, amazing Arizona superbolts, lightning in slo-mo, plus other events. Two hour VHS video only, $34.95 post-paid. Sorry no C.O.D.'s or P.O.'s.Send check or money order payable only to Jack Corso, P.O. Box 650, Harrison, NY 10528. (7/93)

THE WRATH OP TYPHOON OMAR!!- Experience the awesome power of 165 mph winds on the island ofGuam. This video includes scenes of roofs flying through the air, pounding surf, also the eriecalm of the eye all captured during daylight hours. VHS only. Send $24.95 (postpaid) to JimLeonard, 3001 Pheasant Run Road, 0269, Norman, OK 73072. (7/93)

WEATHER PRO for the PC. Plots stunning surface charts from captured hourly observations inseconds. Fast precision contour analysis of surface parameters -- ALSTG, SLP, temperature,moisture convergence, wind field, MVFR/IFR, etc. Composites color radar from SD data, adds maxtop and feature data. Overlays FDLO/HI data. Zooms, pans. Fully customizable. EGA or VGAgraphics required. Specializes in mesoscale analysis. Send $45 or SASE for free informationto: Tim Vasquez, 3222 Kingswood Drive, Garland, Texas 75040. (3/93)

March 30, 1993Tim Marshall, Editor1336 Brazos Blvd.Lewisville, Texas 75067

STORMTRACK$12/YEAR

Volume 16, No. 3Bi-monthly

CHECKS PAYABLETO EDITOR ONLY

ARE THERE TOO MANY CHASERS?

I. COMMENTARY

As spring arrives, more chasers than ever will be traveling to Tornado Alley to catch aglimpse of the most awesome and powerful storm. I estimate their will be 200-300 chasers andspotters who will travel farther than ever before. They will show up on a storm anytime-anywhere. A perfect example of this occurred in southwest Oklahoma on April 18, 1992. Icouldn't believe the number of people out watching a severe storm near Gould, Oklahoma. Mostpull-off aprons on the road from Elmer, OK to Vernon, TX were crowded with vehicles andpeople (many who I assume were from local towns and just wanted to view a picturesque storm)and it was simply hard to find a good spot to pull over. All the best viewing spots weretaken. I began to wonder, are there too many chasers?

I am not the only one who felt this way. Dr. Charles Doswell sent me a copy of a letter heforwarded to David Hoadley. He reminisced about Dave's first commentary in STORMTRACK back inDecember 1977 which said: "One of my long standing concerns has been that storm-chasers mayeventually draw too much publicity, and chasing will become another mass cult of the leisureclass, much as scuba-diving or hang-gliding."

You were right Dave. Those first generation chasers will never again be alone with a storm.Something indeed is lost. I believe this was the same feeling the Indians had when settlersinvaded the New World. Chasers, like hoards of locusts, have gobbled up the landscape. Thereis no going back to the way it was. We must learn to share and live with the fact that othersare willing to learn about storms too. My advice to everyone is be considerate to this fact.If two or more vehicles can fit onto an road apron, make room for others. In other words:Don't hog the aprons!

II. CHASER NEWS

The famous helicopter tornado video shot in Minneapolis, MN on July 18, 1986 is still available.For more information write or call Laurie Boyce, KARE-TV, 811 Olsen Memorial Highway,Minneapolis, MN 55427 phone: 612-546-1111. When ordering, be sure to specify VHS or Beta format,and whether you want the raw or production footage.

An excellent article on the lightning distribution in the Plainfield, IL supercell appears in theFebruary, 1993 issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorology Society.

ATTENTION AUTHORS: We are thankful that over the past few months, many articles have beensubmitted to STORMTRACK. We now have about a three-issue backlog which is great considering a newseason is upon us. However, it has been difficult deciding which articles should be published andwhich should not. Thus, the following additional guidelines are proposed to authors. ARTICLESTHAT DEAL WITH PERSONAL CHASE ACCOUNTS (see Brewster article) AND/OR ARE EDUCATIONAL (see Vasquezarticle) WILL RECEIVE TOP PRIORITY. Those articles that are accompanied by high-qualityphotographs will be selected over articles with no or poor quality photographs. Articles thatreceive the lowest priority and may not be published include those that merely summarizenewspaper clippings or are newslike documentations of a particular event. Thanks for yourcooperation in this matter -- The editor.

ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS: STORMTRACK announces a new section entitled FOTO FUNNY. These funnyphotos should relate to storm chasing. Just send your FOTO FUNNY photo to the editor at the aboveaddress. You will receive proper credit.

III. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

JEANNETE OTIS writes: "Even though I am only 13, I have a great interest in tornadoes. OnAugust 26, 1992, a storm system came through Towanda, IL where I live. I had looked outthe window and thought it looked stormy, so my mom turned on the radio. After awhile,there was a report of a funnel cloud northeast of Bloomington, just south of my town. Iran out the front door expecting to see a funnel cloud. You can imagine my surprise when Isaw a full-grown tornado! I ran downstairs, hut my mom told me to get the camera and shetook a picture. There was only crop damage and a handle removed from a pump. The tornadoleft a gas smell in the area."

DEAN COSGROVE had an experience of a lifetime: "On June 19, 1991, I was out chasing astorm and pulled off the road about five miles south of Brush, Colorado. I was at thesouth end of a northeast bound cell. The high based storm was not very impressive, but didcontain pea-sized hail which commonly occurs with storms here. There was no wall cloud. Iencountered variable, sudden bursts of wind from the west-northwest that shifted to thesouthwest. I never experienced such outflow gusts. The southwest surges of wind (estimatedgusts to 50 mph) where accompanied by pea to marble size hail and moderate rain. Then aneerie calm without precipitation lasted briefly. The calm was followed almost immediatelyby what I can best describe as a SLAM of wind (estimated at 70 mph) from the southeastwith mainly marble-sized hail. I looked out the passenger side window and saw a ropyfunnel dipping down appearing to touch my car! The wind slam ended about as quickly as itbegan. Later I found out that another trained spotter confirmed the funnel but could notsee ground circulation."

KEN NAKAMURA summarizes his 1992 chase season: "I finally made my first big time stormchase this August traveling from California to Arizona to photograph storms and lightning.I arrived in Tucson, AZ on August 10, and core punched a multicell south of townencountering heavy rain and small hail. I saw a positive CG are down from the anvil toground. The next day, I chased after a huge multicell complex that extended from the RioGrande River across southeast AZ. This storm even produced a wall cloud for a time."

BARB PETERMAN sent in a recipe for FUNNEL CAKES: Swirl together 1-1/3 cups of flour, 1/4teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of soda, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3/4 tablespoon of bakingpowder, 1 egg (beaten), and 2/3 cup of milk or more if needed into a bowl- shapedlowering. Fill your funnel with about 1/3 of the swirled batter while placing finger overthe spout. Hold funnel aloft over a skillet containing one inch of oil heated to 375degrees. Remove finger to promote outflow of contents. Move funnel in a rotary fashion tocreate design. Fry till golden brown (1-2 minutes), turn once with spatula and remove withtongs. Drain funnel cake on paper towels and sprinkle top with powdered sugar or otherdebris. Serve hot and muggy.

IV. ROSTER

The ST Roster lists names, addresses, and brief biographies of those persons interested in or willing tocorrespond with others about storms and storm chasing.

MATT MICHAEL, P.O. Box 1074 Welch Ave. Station, Ames, IA 50010, phone: 515-232-5276. I've been watching the skyfor most of my 30 years and chasing in Iowa for nearly 10 of those years. Feel clueless about forecasting in TX,OK, KS area where I want to chase this spring. Feel free to contact me, especially Iowa chasers.

SCOTT LONGMORE, 4127 Ebony Court, Loveland, CO, 80538. I am currently a junior majoring in Meteorology at theUniversity of Northern Colorado and a big storm chase enthusiast. Saw my first tornado in Collinsville, OK onJuly 2. Please write.

DR. CARL OJALA, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. I do have some time to chase this year fromMay 10 through June 10-12 or so. Anyone looking for an enthusiastic "rookie" to help, let me know. Work phone:313-487-0232 home: 229-6279.

VIDEO CAMERAS by Tim Vasquez

Here it is almost April and the start of the chase season. I found myself staring at thatoversized JUNK VHS camera thinking to myself: Am I really prepared to video storms thisyear? That's what went through my mind in January when, as an Air Force forecaster, Ireceived new orders to head to Abilene, Texas (Dyess AFB) in April!! I felt this was agood time to upgrade to a better video camera. If the thought of capturing a storm onsparkling, saturated video with thundering acoustics keeps you awake at night, then readon. But, be prepared to spend about $1,000.00.

VIDEO FORMATS: I spent a lot of time in electronic superstores browsing for a much- neededcamcorder and found a variety of video formats. The regular VHS cameras cost around $600-$700. These had about 200 lines of horizontal resolution and ranged from 8mm size, toregular VHS size. Normal tape running time was two hours, however, small VHS-C models,that compete with 8mm, had only 20 minute cassettes. After looking at the VHS, VHS-C, and8mm cameras, I noticed their counterparts, Super VHS (SVHS), SVHS- C, and Hi-8mm,respectively. These higher quality models had 400 lines of resolution, but cost abouttwice as much.

I found Hi-8 to be a superior format with a slight edge over SVHS. How many of you realizethat much of the Desert Storm footage was shot in Hi-8, since journalists weren't able tolug professional ENG/EFP cameras around the field? The Hi-8 image quality comes close tothat users in professional cameras. Don't worry about how to play these tapes on yourtelevision at home. Any high grade camcorder is also a VCR and there is an assortment ofjacks to let you hook up the camera to your video player and/or television. Furthermore,SVHS and Hi-8 models sport Y/C connectors to transmit video information to your VCR or TVmore efficiently. You can even copy your footage from the camera to a VHS tape on yourregular VHS machine, or you can by a SVHS machine and copy the high quality image thatwill look just like the master.

HI-FI: Videotape technology has maxed out the potential of audio. Most low-cost VCR's andcameras encode audio on a narrow edge track. However, most VCR's and camcorders with theHi-Fi feature use the ENTIRE width of the videotape to store a special wide- band audiotrack. Most VCR's above $325 and camcorders above $750 sport Hi-Fi audio. These arecompletely compatible with other video equipment since the edge track is still recorded.If you play back the Hi-Fi sound through a good stereo, it will blow you away, especiallywhen recording thunder.The only limitations to Hi-Fi sound is the camera's built-in microphone. All cameras areprone to picking up autofocus, zoom, or internal noises, but this can be remedied by usinga special externally mounted microphone. Most units automatically adjust and dampen theaudio signal when noise increases. So, you might find yourself talking one second and whena gust of wind blows by and your voice is reduced to a whisper.

DATA CODE: I recommend getting a camera with Data or Time Code. All you have to do ispress a button during playback, and the local time and date (at the time of the taping)will automatically appear. This clock data is encoded on a special track on the videotape.This invaluable feature allows you to keep track of the time without contaminating yourfootage with time and date stamps, and you can easily correlate events with radar orsatellite pictures. As far as I know, only Sony's high-end camcorders (V801, TR-101 andtheir clones) offer this feature, hut definitely check around now that new models arecoming out.

MY PICK: I selected the SONY CCD-TR101 (also RICOH R-18H, YASHICA KXH3, and NIKON VN-750). These palmcorders offered a prime selection of features including Data Code and Ireally liked the optical stabilization feature (reduces jitter and great for shooting froma moving car). Furthermore, I got the camera at a reasonable price. Thus, I passed up more

expensive cameras like the CANON L1 ($1500), the SONY V5000 ($2000), and SONY VX3($3000+). Here is a summary of cameras with my comments in order from the least expensivehigh quality model to the most expensive model.

* SONY CCD-TR81, YASHICA KD-11, RICOH R-88. The Sony TR-81 and its clones barely nudgeinto the high-end realm, but its picture quality, features, and price value arenoteworthy. Street prices are around $800.00.* The CANON UCS-1 is a handheld camcorder that competes with the Sony TR-81, at a similarprice.* CANON A1 DIGITAL. A favorite buy among hobbyists over the years. It is still a classicand offers a tremendous array of digital effects.* SONY V801, RICOH H-108, YASHICA KDH-170. These camcorders offer frame accurate time codeand substantial editing capabilities but Sony recently pulled this off the shelves.Hopefully, a successor will be coming out this spring.* SONY CCD-TR101 (RICOH R-18H, YASHICA KXH3, NIKON VN-750) My selection ($1000)* CANON L1- For the photographically-minded chaser with a large budget. This medium sizedhand-held camcorder is a masterpiece of photographic design. It's main strength is its useof interchangable lenses. Price F1200-1700.* SONY V5000. A very large shoulder camcorder which has been the top of the line for quitesome time. It's bulky price (about $2000) may cause some chasers to gawk, but its 3-chipCCD optics and full editing features definitely are worth a look.* SONY VX3- The Porsche of camcorders!! This beauty hit the market in January. It offers3-chip dichroic CCD imaging, time code, and numerous other features. It's $3000 plus pricetag is sure to keep it out of the hands of most law abiding (non- lottery winning)chasers.

FUNNEL FUNNIES: Tropical Jim returns!

Look for Jim Leonard, who is moving from typhoonGuam to vortex Oklahoma this spring. He'll be theone with the woven palm leaf hat and bronze tan!

Greg Stumpf's favorite drink

A good chase day omen

NEVER SAY DIE: THE JUNE 15, 1992 MEGASTORM by Richard Slonaker

Two days prior to the big event, I sensed the atmospheric stage had been set for severeweather. The surface heat and moisture of June was going to combine with the strength ofan early spring-like cyclone to produce an irresistible situation. In anticipation, Iheaded from Aurora, Colorado to Dodge City, Kansas to get an early seat in the front row.

The morning sounding in Dodge City on June 15th was alreadyawesome for severe storms. The lifted index was -8, andpositive buoyant energy exceeded 3100 joules per kilogram!!Actual parcels of air would be so unstable by afternoon (fromsurface heating}, I fe1t sure the cap wou15 break. There 12existed a nice bullseye of moisture convergence around HillCity, Kansas as if mother nature was trying to say: "GO HERE!"There was no need to tell me where to go.

Cruising north towards Hill City was effortless due to atailwind of southerly winds at 25 knots gusting to 35 knots.The latest surface observations indicated that Garden City wasdrying out, and their wind direction now had a westerlycomponent. The dryline was pushing eastward!! The north-southhighway I was on seemed to be right on the dividing linebetween dry and moist air. To the west, the sky was cloud freeand blue. To the east, the sky was milky-white with lots of lowcumulus, their tops ripped to the northeast by the intensewinds aloft.

It all started near WaKeeney, Kansas about 2:30 pm CDT. Upon reaching the town, I noticedthat one cumulus towered over the rest. Before I could catch this cell, explosive growthensued, and it became a full blown Cb with anvil and mammatus. Near Palco, Kansas, theEmergency Broadcast System (EBS) was activated. Radar already indicated a possible tornadonear Plainville, only 15 miles to my east. As I approached the town, the wind startedacting strange, blasting back and forth across the road indecisively. Although watchingthe storm was desirable, watching the road was imperative. There were lots of tree limbsand scattered debris across the road. I saw a mobile home up-side-down and flattened rightat the factory.

About two miles east of Plainville, a tornado formed a few miles to my northeast around3:45pm and lasted two or three minutes. While trying to race ahead of the storm, a secondtornado formed briefly about seven miles east of town. I stopped just south of Osborne,Kansas and wondered if I was on the southeast side of the storm. The HP supercell covereda massive area, and it was difficult to know my relative position. I became disorientedwhen a burst of rain hit with gusts near 60 knots and so I retreated south.

About eight miles south of Beloit, Kansas, I saw another tornado that was barely visiblein the distance. By this time, it was getting dark and visibility was poor. There weretornado warnings all over the place. The storm was dropping tornadoes in the front, rearand on the far right side all simultaneously. It was difficult to know where to go foroptimum viewing. The storm continued to cook with amazing amounts of internal lightning. Iheaded to Roxbury, Kansas and upon leaving the city limits, the road was partially blockedby tree limbs and tree tops. I passed a farmhouse that was damaged and as I approachedNavarre, Kansas, power lines had blown over partially blocking the road. I stopped at amotel in Abilene, Kansas for the night. All the patrons had gathered in the lobby andcovered themselves with blankets and pillows for the duration of the tornado warning.Imagine that!

THE COLLINSVILLE, OK TORNADO: JULY 2, 1992 by Terry Kern

I began the day in Hays, Kansas after driving the previous day from Colorado. A cold fronthad passed that morning and by 6:30 am, much to my dismay, it was positioned from nearTopeka, Kansas to Enid, Oklahoma. I determined the front was 160 miles to my east and 130miles to my southeast. Seeing this, I was ready to give up and head back to Colorado.Then, the news announcer on the television mentions a high risk for severe weather foreastern Kansas later that day. They anticipated the front would stall out as afternoonheating occurs. Dewpoints ahead of the front were approaching 80 degrees. I realized thiswas a really explosive situation so I decided to head east on I-70 towards Kansas City.

In a pessimistic mood, I thought here goes a 600 mile chase with nothing to show for it.But, I couldn't ignore a high-risk day even in July. I reached Abilene, Kansas at 9 a.m.,stopped for a breakfast, and telephoned my friend Rob for the latest weather information.The front was still west of Topeka; it was clear to me that the front had slowed downconsiderably. Rob said the high risk area was extended southward into Oklahoma. I beganleaning towards southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma, so when I reached Topeka, Iturned south on U.S. Highway 75. Skies were cloudy, winds were from the north, andtemperatures were cool, in the low 80's.

My spirits were lifted considerably when I passed through the front in the Pomona Lakesarea. The wind shifted to the south, the humidity thickened, and the temperatures jumpedinto the low 90's. I reached Burlington, Kansas shortly after noon and again called Robfor a weather update. A dryline-front intersection was located around Ponca City and wasmoving slowly eastward. The winds ahead of the front were mostly from the south, however,they were forecasted to switch to the southwest. This had me concerned. Nevertheless, Idecided to continue further south picking Tulsa as my target area. Winds continued to blowfrom the south and the skies began to clear from the west.

I arrived in Tulsa 3:30 pm and decided to camp just west of the city. There were raggedcumulus overhead and it was completely clear to the west. Winds were strong from thesouth-southwest, the air temperature was in the low 90's, and the heat index was awhopping 107 degrees. Tulsa meteorologist Gary Shore came on at 4 pm, mentioning thedryline was right on Tulsa's doorstep and extended southwestward to Shawnee, Oklahoma. Iheaded east of the city and stopped at the town of Catoosa. Winds veered to the southwestand there was no change in the cumulus field. I figured the cap was too strong and thatsouthwest winds would greatly reduce the convergence along the dryline boundary. I sulkedfor a while with my pessimistic feeling.

About 5:30pm, some cloud bases began to combine and within 15 minutes, I could see somehuge towers exploding skyward. Out of the cluster of towers, two storms formed. One stormwas just west of Tulsa, the other was farther north near Skiatook. The Tulsa storm lookedmore intense, but since it was rush hour, I decided to head north on U.S. 169 towards theSkiatook storm. On my approach, I could see a cloud lowering forming and within a fewminutes, a cone-shaped funnel emerged briefly extending about one third of the way towardsthe ground. The funnel dissipated, but since the storm was still growing, I now feltoptimistic it would produce again. As I approached Collinsville, I was about three milessouth of the storm and saw a clear slot wrapping behind the rotating updraft. I pulledover to the side of the road and watched the drama unfold.

As the updraft occluded, a funnel began to form and gradually worked its way towards theground. TOUCHDOWN at 6:15pm! The narrow tornado grew to a smooth-sided cone. It wasbeautifully backlit with a debris at its base. It was the most spectacular tornado I'veseen thus far. The tornado moved slowly eastward and when it was due north of me, I closedin to within a mile from its base. Suddenly, a transformer blew about one-quarter mileaway sending up black smoke. After the tornado crossed the road, some of the lighter

debris began falling out of the sky, a few pieces landed within 100 feet of my car infront of me. Now, the lightning was incredibly intense with many cloud-to-ground (CG's)strikes. Some of the bolts were so close, the thunder was explosive.

Then, the tornado began to rope out. Precipitation began wrapping around the tornadoreducing my visibility. As the tornado was roping out, the rotation appeared chaotic asthe cloud base appeared to veer toward me. A line of storms then formed reducing thechances of any more tornadoes. The tornado lasted only ten minutes, but I felt mercifullyrewarded for traveling 1100 miles in two days. The trip back to Colorado seemed shorter asI Rept replaying the event in my mind.

Looking NW near Collinsville on US Hwy 169 at 6:15 pm (Terry Kern)

Tornado north about 2 miles away at 6:20 pm (Terry Kern)

CHASE STRATEGY: OCTOBER 27, 1991 by Tim Marshall

An incredible chase day was about to begin. A late season, large amplitude trough wascentered over the lower Rockies forcing the jet to dive south through southern Arizona andNew Mexico. Positive features were: 1) the exit region and difluent area of the upper jetwould be positioned over southwest Texas by evening, 2) a short wave was progged to hitthe area about the time of maximum surface heating, 3) a dryline would be forced eastwardalong with the short wave, 4) an outflow boundary intersected a weak dryline boundarysouth of Lubbock, 5) ample moisture was pouring into southwest Texas, and 6) there was abroad loop hodograph with high helicity. Negative features were: 1) strong upslope flowwould steep temperatures cool all day throughout most of the south plains leading to lowinstabilities, fog, drizzle, and low visibilities, and 2) short daylight hours (sunsetabout 5:30pm) would make a successful chase even more difficult. I realized that thenorthern extent of the severe weather would he limited to south of Lubbock so I choseAndrews, TX as my target (just northwest of Midland).

At 10 am, Carson Eads and I headed southwest on Interstate 20. By 3:30pm, we reachedMidland just as two large Cb's formed west of town. We watched the storms evolve intosupercells and move slowly northeastward. The skies cleared south of the storms and airtemperatures rose to the upper 70's. We followed the easternmost storm until it was about11 miles north of Midland. Around 5:40 pm, a wall cloud formed overhead and we wereblasted by strong rear flank downdraft winds. With no road options east, we had to watchthe storm move east and occlude in heavy dust. Storm chaser Alan Moller was poised a fewmiles further east ahead of the storm on a different road and captured the tornadophotographs you see on the next page.

Surface analysis showing temperatures (F), dewpoints (F), wind speed (MPH), wind directionand pressures (mb/in). Scalloped line depicts dryline and dark triangles are tornadoes

Clear slot and funnel (arrow) WNW at 5:43pm (Al Moller)

Cone-shaped tornado begins to pick up dirt(Al Moller)

Cylinder-shaped tornado at maximum size(Al Moller)

Rope tornado crosses road knocking downpoles (Al Moller)

FRITCH, TEXAS TORNADOES 27 June 1992by Keith Brewster, David Dowell and Doug Speheger

This was not one of the those large outbreaks that was anticipated for days ahead of time,while tracking the fate of a deep 500-mb trough on the long-range forecast charts. Rather,the situation involved weak synoptic forcing and interesting mesoscale developments. Themorning Amarillo, Texas (AMA) sounding (Fig. 1) showed the potential for some decentconvective instability by afternoon. There was substantial veering of the winds withheight, though the speeds aloft were marginal for tornadoes, just 10 knots at 700-mb, 20knots at 500-mb. The sounding at Dodge City, Kansas had better wind speeds aloft, with 20knots at 700-mb and nearly 25 knots at 500-mb. Also, there was a short wave in theotherwise zonal flow aloft which could improve the wind speeds in the panhandles as itmoved eastward from southern Colorado/northern New Mexico. A dryline was also expected toprogress eastward out of eastern New Mexico while a surface cold front was to be slowlypropagating southward from southeast Colorado. However, neither of those two surfacefeatures was particularly strong and, in fact, the dryline was poorly defined in themorning data (Fig. 2).

At 11 am (all times in CDT) we were in Norman examining the situation. We were concernedabout weak convection that had already begun in the Lubbock area, thinking that theconvection might cut off the moisture supply and weaken the winds in the Texas panhandle.We decided to aim for the Oklahoma panhandle, just southeast of the triple point(intersection of dryline and front), north of the area that might be affected by theLubbock convection, and closer to the better winds aloft at Dodge City. We drove toWoodward and then on into the Oklahoma panhandle.

As we drove westward into the panhandle, convection was beginning to our west northwestand north. We were in a field of capped cumulus clouds, but we did spot a brief fennelfrom one of these shallow Cu. We took this a sign that the atmosphere was ripe forrotation. However, it soon became apparent that the storms in our immediate area were notvigorous enough to produce a significant tornado. We stopped at a convenience store nearBalko, OK to make a road decision. At about 6:15 we heard a tornado warning for Four Way,TX (which is north of AMA, near Dumas). Given that this storm was ahead of the dryline andalready potentially tornadic, we headed south to intercept the storm in the Borger area.

As we drove south, the storm was moving slowly eastward. It produced a small (FO) tornadonear Masterson, then a larger tornado north of Four Way, along FM 1913 (see Fig. 3). Acrew from AMA TV station KFDA was able to videotape the large Four Way tornado. The Mooreand Hutchinson County spotters were abuzz over this tornado, but fortunately it occurredover open pastures and did not cause widespread damage (it was rated F3). As we arrived inBorger, there were spotter reports of a funnel cloud just west of Fritch, two-thirds ofthe way to the ground. A spotter was saying, in a very calm and professional voice, "Thisis going to be another big one." Judging from the size of the storm, we had absolutely noreason to doubt him.

After a brief photo stop we turned cautiously westward on Highway 136 toward Fritch. As weturned, the tornado came into view. It was cylindrical with a slight taper near theground, and appeared to be fairly wide. We stopped near the

top of a hill, about 5 miles east of Fritch with a clear view of the tornado to the west,which had now narrowed (photo 1). We learned later that this tornado was on the west sideof the town, and did F1 damage.

As we photographed the tornado we kept an eye on the 3-mile wide, bowl-shaped lowering toits north. As the tornado roped out it appeared to come under the influence of the bowlcirculation. Within the next 5 minutes there were several brief, wispy, vortex spin-upsbelow the bowl-shaped lowering. At times, there would be two vortices rotating about acommon center. One more persistent vortex formed at 8:06 (photo 2).

At 8:08 there was a dramatic increase in convergence toward the lowering and increasedrotation in the lowering itself. Bands of curved inflow extended for several miles fromthe lowering, and were especially dramatic in the area adjacent to the northeast quadrantof the lowering, where clouds were raging in. Gradually, the entire lowering came incontact with the ground, beginning on the southern edge (photo 3). The rotation center wasmoving slowly to the east-southeast. The tornado continued this right-deviant motion as itcrossed Highway 136 about 4 miles to our west (photo +). Then, we became inundated withnickle-sized hail and strong south- southeasterly winds. Under these conditions, fit forneither man nor camera, we abandoned the photo site, escaping to the east. We lost sightof the tornado as hail and rain increased between us the tornado. We proceeded east thensouth on Highway 207 to catch any further tornadic development that might occur south ofBorger. Though the storm continued to produce severe hail, it didn't produce any moretornadoes. We broke off the chase at dark.

The National Weather Service report for Storm Data describes the large tornado asbeginning northwest of Lake Merideth, crossing the lake as a waterspout, dissipating as itcame into northwest Fritch, and then reforming as a mile-wide F4 in the southeast part ofFritch. We believe it is also possible that the F1 tornado in the southwest part of townwas the last tornado of the circulation which crossed the lake. The mesocyclone over thecity then may have been a separate circulation that formed to replace that occludingcirculation -- the classic tornado-family modus operandi. We were not in a position toobserve the transition from the waterspout stage to the bowl shaped lowering, so theprecise time-history remains a mystery.

The NWS reports that over 1000 homes were damaged in and near Fritch with 360 dwellingsdestroyed. There were no deaths and only 7 people were injured. We attribute the lowcasualty figures to the excellent work of the NWS, the spotters and other localauthorities.

This tornado case brings out some of the dangers of observing and videotaping tornadoes.There are a few videotapes shot by the public in the town of Fritch. As they werevideotaping the F1 tornado roping-out to their south and southwest, the large mesocyclonewas spinning up to their north, out of sight. One amateur videographer was injured bydebris from the large tornado because he was unaware of the development behind his back.His tape is interesting in that you can see the winds increasing from the west at hislocation, a indication of a cyclonic circulation behind him, contrary to the motion aroundthe tornado in the viewfinder. Another citizen photographer recognized potential danger tohis north when he saw the evanescent initial contact vortices. He didn't identify thiscloud behavior as a tornado until after he reemerged from his basement, when the tornadowas a full wedge moving southeast out of town.

The mesoscale events which led to this tornadic supercell are interesting. The weakconvection near Lubbock that had us worried early in the day died off before 2 pm and astrong flux of moisture developed in the southeastern Texas panhandle. AMA's surfacedewpoint increased from 63 in the morning to 68 by 3 pm (Fig. 4); the mean mixing ratio inthe lowest 100 mb increased from 9 to a healthy 14 g/kg (Fig. 5). This is the primaryfactor in increasing the CAPE from the first-estimated afternoon conditions of 1700 J/kgto the actual 00 Z value of 3400 J/kg. The 00Z AMA sounding shows that the short wavealoft had done its part in increasing the strength of the winds in the 700-500 mb layer.

It is hard to find the trigger for this storm which formed ahead of the dryline. Thedryline had not come out of New Mexico, and the surface front remained in Colorado andKansas. Furthermore, the sea-level pressure change pattern suggests that the upper-levelforcing was greatest to the north, as the maximum pressure falls were near Dodge City, andfor most of the afternoon, convergence resolved by the synoptic- scale aviationobservations was confined to the dryline and front.

However, the behavior of small cumulus clouds in high time resolution satellite pictureshinted that there may have been a mesoscale surge in the southeasterlies that propagatedto the northwest during the afternoon. The AMA aviation observations show the surgearriving there at 2 pm. At that time the wind shifted from 210 to 160 degrees, while thespeed increased from 7 to 14 knots. At 3 pm they reported cumulonimbus clouds to theirwest through north. We presume those Cb's were the humble beginnings of what was to becomeone very impressive supercell.

Figure 3. Tornado tracks and our photo location

Tornado west at 8:04 pm (David Dowell)Multi-vortex tornado begins at 8:06 pm(Keith Brewster)

Wedge tornado and tail cloud at 8:11 pm(Keith Brewster)

Tornado leaving town at 8:14 pm (KeithBrewster)