By Derrick Ginter, KTXT-FM
As part of our Severe Weather Awareness Week, I’ve uploaded some of my storm-chase video to give you an idea of what it’s like. This storm occurred on 21 April 2007 and formed near Littlefield, TX. The funnel-cloud developed southwest of Olton, TX, passed south of town and continued east, then became a tornado southeast of Olton before heading north and east across the southern Texas Panhandle. This was a very large and long-lived tornado, lasting more than 30 minutes on the ground and covering almost 50 miles. Several houses were heavily damaged and there were several injuries, but there were no fatalities with this tornado. This same storm system spawned a second tornado which later hit Tulia, TX and killed two people.
I am a volunteer with the South Plains Storm Spotting Team which works with the Lubbock Office of the National Weather Service as part of their Skywarn program. In brief, we are the “eyes on the ground” of the NWS, helping them to detect and confirm severe weather events across the South Plains. I am also part of the “Storm Team” coverage on the local ABC TV affiliate, KAMC 28.
On this particular day, I had 3 other people in the car with me, all of whom were trainees looking to get more experience. Todd Reno, pictured in the middle, had been out with me only once before, and on that trip, we covered the tornado that had hit Clovis, NM only a month prior.
For the others, it was their first time “chasing”. I took this picture of our group at the Plainview, TX airport. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and the skies were sunny and clear. There was no indication that anything was going to happen, and I kept telling the group that the day was likely going to end up being a bust. Most chasing is very boring and uneventful, and that’s a good thing. The typical chase is burning lots of gas, driving hundreds of miles, and not really seeing much if anything, so I was bracing them for that sort of scenario. What actually happened was far from a bust.
So we finally get going as storms were developing near Littlefield, TX. Note- we started in Lubbock, went to Plainview and are now in Littlefield, see how the miles add up fast? We had to core-punch the storm to get into proper position and when we arrived in Olton the funnel-cloud was very well developed and south of town moving east. In the video below, we’re parked on the east side of Olton looking to the southeast, as the funnel-cloud now has a debris cloud underneath it confirming the tornadic circulation had reached the ground. In short, this was now a tornado even though the condensation funnel didn’t reach all the way down. I was driving the entire event and was live via cellphone talking to Chief Meteorologist Ron Roberts back at ABC28. Todd Reno was co-pilot and we were both jostling the camera to get a good shot. As luck would have it, I ran out of tape in the camera! Worse, there was now baseball-size hail coming up behind us so we couldn’t stay put. But there was this huge tornado in front of us…
[pro-player width=”300″ height=”213″]http://www.ktxtfm.org/raider/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Olton-Tornado-1-21-April-2007.mp4.mp4[/pro-player]
So the baseball-size hail starts coming in behind us and I have little choice but to move east towards the tornado which is now crossing the highway about a mile in front of us. Note- Yes, we are way too close in my opinion, especially for a tornado this size. In the video below, notice the baseballs exploding on the highway as I try to keep some distance from the tornado.
[pro-player width=”300″ height=”213″]http://www.ktxtfm.org/raider/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Olton-Tornado-2-21-April-2007.mp4.mp4[/pro-player]
The tornado is now on a north-easterly track and there are several large communities potentially in its way, so we give chase. Unfortunately there are not many roads in this part of the world, and my only option is to stay ahead of the large hail and run parallel to the tornado. I don’t want to get ahead of it, because it can turn east and suddenly I’m in its path. The tornado becomes a “wedge” and rain-wrapped a few times making it difficult to see. The NWS has warnings out for the tornado, and ABC28 is wall-to-wall with live coverage.
[pro-player width=”300″ height=”213″]http://www.ktxtfm.org/raider/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Olton-Tornado-3-21-April-2007.mp4.mp4[/pro-player]
30 minutes and about 45 miles later, the tornado is finally in the dissipation stage or “roping out”. We are now in Hale county and the storm is passing to the west of Plainview. The best part of the entire chase is that the damage from this tornado has been fairly minimal. For its size and longevity, this tornado has done little more than churn-up some cotton fields. Yes, there were a few injuries back near Olton, but this is the best kind of tornado to have- a monster that does little harm and stays in the country. But it doesn’t last. About 30 minutes after the video below was shot, the storm spawned a second tornado that hits Tulia, TX and kills two people. The storm would continue to drop tornadoes all the way into Oklahoma overnight.
[pro-player width=”300″ height=”213″]http://www.ktxtfm.org/raider/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Olton-Tornado-4-21-April-2007.mp4.mp4[/pro-player]
I’ve been a storm spotter for the National Weather Service for more than 20 years, and while I’ve seen many tornadoes in that time, this particular chase was by far the most-exciting, and the exception to the rule: most chase days are uneventful and tornadoes like this one are very rare fortunately.
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