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Back-to-Back Pacific Storms to Impact the West Coast; Heavy Snow in the Central Appalachians

Back-to-back powerful Pacific storm systems to impact the Pacific Northwest and northern California through the end of this week with heavy rain, flooding, strong winds, and higher elevation mountain snow. A strong, long-duration atmospheric river will accompany the Pacific storms, bringing excessive rainfall and flash flooding to southwest Oregon and northwest California through the week. Read More >

Overview

The period of May 23rd through May 30th brought a highly active weather pattern to the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, with most days featuring either severe thunderstorms or the plausible threat of the development of severe thunderstorms. A Watch was issued on 7 of these 8 days; 5 days with a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and 2 with a Tornado Watch. Either large hail, damaging winds, wind damage, or tornadoes were reported on 5 of these 8 days. Two of these days, May 26th and May 30th, featured multiple tornadoes, with May 29th featuring a notable supercell in Cimarron County.

May 26th, an upper level storm system, initially over the southwestern United States, approached the area and sent various disturbances across the region. With ample moisture, instability, and increased wind shear, thunderstorms initiated along a dryline and progressed towards the northeast and east. A couple of the storms became supercells, which were the cause of the 4 reported tornadoes on this date. The only tornado that affected damage indicators occurred in the Perryton area, which received a rating of EF-0 with estimated wind speeds up to 75 mph. The longest tracked tornado, which occurred north of Gruver, was caught on video by multiple storm chasers with a path length approaching 1.9 miles.

May 29th, storms developed on the higher terrain to our west and threatened the western Panhandles. During the evening hours, a supercell thunderstorm tracked into the western Oklahoma Panhandle from southeastern Colorado. Despite contemporaneous reports from multiple chasers that a large tornado was in progress, following the viewing of later video and picture evidence, the collection of testimony from other chasers in the area, and the completion of a damage survey that found no damage, it was concluded that no tornado occurred with this supercell. While no tornado occurred, this supercell was a prolific hail producer, with multiple reports of baseball size hail. Given the sparse road network, it is possible that the largest hailstones generated by this storm were not located by storm spotters. Later that night, a robust line of storms entered the western Texas Panhandle from New Mexico, with an 86 mph wind gust recorded by the West Texas Mesonet site southwest of Romero.

May 30th, persistent low level winds out of the east brought substantial moisture to the region, allowing thunderstorms to break out as an upper level disturbance approached from the southwest. With surface winds out of the east in place underneath winds aloft out of the southwest, low level wind shear was sufficient for multiple tornadoes to develop with some of these thunderstorms. A total of 13 tornadoes were confirmed. Seven tornadoes occurred in Cimarron County, mainly in the vicinity of Felt, all of which occurred over open land, resulting in no EF rating being assigned to any of these tornadoes. Six tornadoes occurred in Dallam and Sherman Counties, all of which were rated EF-0 or were unable to be rated due to a lack of damage indicators. Additionally, heavy rainfall occurred in many locations given the large amount of moisture in place, with flash flooding occurring in Amarillo, Canyon, and Wellington. Some locations received more than 4 inches of rainfall.

 

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