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Powerful Pacific Storm to Continue Impacting Northern California; Heavy Snow in the Appalachians and Portions of the Northeast

A strong atmospheric river will continue to impact northern California with heavy rain and life-threatening flooding through Friday. Unsettled weather is expected across much of the Northeast and Great Lakes over the next few days, including the likelihood of heavy snow in the central Appalachians and higher elevations of northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York. Read More >

May 21, 2012 Severe Storms
 
The combination of an unstable air mass, a retreating frontal boundary, and an approaching upper-level disturbance ignited a round of severe thunderstorms across eastern New Mexico and the western Texas Panhandle.  One supercell thunderstorm develop over Oldham County, Texas and slowly drifted southward.  This storm produced a tornado 4 miles northwest of Adrian and hail up to the size of golfballs in Adrian. The tornado was rated EF-0 with winds estimated of 65 mph.  It was on the ground for 3 minutes with a path length of 1,000 yards.  The tornado was estimated to be 100 yards wide. The supercell thunderstorm eventually was overtaken by a line of storms moving out of eastern New Mexico.  A squall line of thunderstorms became well-established across the southwestern Texas Panhandle and moved to the southeast.  This line of storms quickly became a wind threat, and in fact, a 61-mph wind gust was recorded in downtown Amarillo.
May 21, 2012 Severe Reports
 
RADAR IMAGES
KAMA storm relative velocity at 8:37 p.m. KAMA base reflectivity at 8:37 p.m.
 
STORM IMAGES
Tornado 5 miles NW of Adrian, TX.  (Courtesy of Chris Kimble) Supercell facing west on I-40 west of Vega, TX.  (Courtesy of Jason Persoff)
Tornado due west of Vega, TX.  (Courtesy of Jason Persoff) Tornado becoming rain-wrapped west of Vega, TX.  (Courtesy of Jason Persoff)
 
Southeast of Adrian looking northwest.  (Courtesy of Wesley Luginbyhl)