Two Tornadoes in Dallas

By -
Dallas has been remarkably tornado-free throughout its history. However, a tornado -- spun off from the remains of Tropical Storm Hermine -- has been doing damage in the Dallas area for the past half hour. I'll have updates when there is more information.

Here is an image of the amazing hook echo just left and slightly above the "D" in Dallas. The tornado crossed I-35E near the Lowes Hotel. There is some damage.


Photo from WFAA TV. It is of the tornado crossing the Trinity River west of downtown Dallas.

From KXAS TV (NBC). The debris cloud is at bottom with the thin funnel cloud above.
There were apparently two tornadoes, one near Seagoville and a second from just west of downtown Dallas toward Love Field.

Here is the Seagoville tornado, also from KXAS.

Tornadoes often occur with the remains of tropical storms and hurricanes. The good news, if there is ever any good news when it comes to tornadoes in populated areas, is that those tornadoes are relatively weak. You don't get a Greensburg-type tornado in this type of weather situation.

Finally, this screen capture of KDAF TV's coverage. The tornado is about to lift as it crosses I-35E. But, if you view the video you see the car (bottom center) on the access road skid when the rapidly-weakening tornado hits it. I wonder if the driver knew what hit him/her?



There has also been flooding in the Dallas Metroplex. From The Dallas Morning News...


Flash floods claimed at least two lives in Texas, closed down Interstate 35 in Lewisville and led to dozens of swift-water rescues across the region. The most precarious came in Arlington, where firefighters used a lowered aerial ladder as a bridge to carry trapped residents from the Willows Apartments at Valleywood Drive and West Pioneer Parkway, where cars were covered to their roofs by the rising waters of Rush Creek.


I have been viewing a number of the Dallas TV stations live on the internet plus KSNW TV (NBC) in Wichita broadcast the Dallas tornado live during their 6pm weathercast. I marvel at how routine it is these days for tornadoes to be broadcast live.  I tell the story about the first live broadcast of a tornado (1974) and the development of color weather radar in Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hilary's Forecast Path Shifts West; Updated 9:20am PDT

By -
Image
The forecast path of the center of Hilary has shifted a bit to the west. This increases the threat to the Southland, especially in terms of flooding.  Rainfall Note the heavy rains are forecast for Los Angeles County. Serious flash flooding may result. Because the forecast path has shifted to the west, that increases the threat of serious flooding in Los Angeles County north into Yosemite and the southern Sierra. It lessens the threat in Utah and western Arizona. While the threat of widespread flooding in Utah and Arizona lessens, note that some thunderstorms with localized heavy rain show up on the map.  In Nevada, the more western path increases the risk of serious flooding around Mt Charleston and into the central part of the state.  Here is the updated  (9am PDT) flash flood risk map. Wind There are already about 40,000 people without power in California, mostly in the center of the state.  The maps above are the peak gusts forecasted with the storm. The highest winds, in general,
Read more

Dangerous Travel Conditions - People Reportedly Stranded

By -
Image
-- Note, more current info available. Scroll up. --- Updated Information as of 8am PDT You are risking your life if you attempt to travel through the purple area.  While the rain has not begun in coastal California, I would urge you to use this time to make any preparations. Power outages have occurred already in southeast California. Here is the latest radar as of 7:55am PDT. As of 6:40am PDT , the radar indicates moderate to heavy rain falling over desert areas of Southern California and far western Arizona (click to enlarge).  Rainfall amounts for the 24 hours ending at 7am PDT show more than two inches have already fallen. There are reports from reliable sources that roads are already washed out and that people are stranded in isolated parts of the desert.  Below is a high-resolution computer model's rainfall forecast from 5am PDT to 11pm PDT Sunday. More than a foot of additional rain is forecast to fall. This will lead to catastrophic flooding.  Here is a map of current watc
Read more

Update on Tornado and Wind Potential; 12 Noon PDT

By -
Image
There was at least one tornado and at least one funnel cloud yesterday.  --- original forecast --- Hilary (the swirly symbol) continues to move NNW paralleling the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The area outlined in red has a significant risk of tornadoe s the rest of the afternoon.  Below is a list of peak wind gusts so far.  Peak winds may increase farther north as the afternoon progresses.  Addition at 12 noon PDT: Sure enough, winds have increased.  Note: If you are in the San Diego area, I recommend not  traveling east on I-8. Heavy rains may cause flash flooding that will involve the highway. 
Read more