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On Sunday, April 12, the National Weather Service in Midland conducted a damage survey of a high wind event that occurred across the northern portions of the city of Odessa on the evening of Saturday, April 11.
The damage survey showed a damage path approximately 1.25 miles long and 25 yards wide, running from just west of the intersection of Skyline Drive and 83rd Street to the eastern extent of Edgeport Drive. Residents at several locations within the damage area witnessed a tornado-like feature in association with this damage.
Eyewitness descriptions combined with damage trajectories and radar imagery suggest that the tornado-like feature was likely outflow-related and will be classified as a gustnado. It is likely that this gustnado enhanced wind speeds in its path. Damage across the area was typical of events with wind speeds in the 80-90 mph range. While this event will not be categorized as as tornado with a formal intensity rating, damage that occurred was significant and similar to that of high end EF0 or lower end EF1 damage.
Click the image above to explore the damage further using Google Earth.
This residence sustained major damage. The design of the roof, with a portion if it having a pitch perpendicular to the damaging wind, resulted in a large portion of the roof lifting off the home. The roof was blown towards the east northeast. Portions of the roof came to rest across 83rd street, as well as across Andrews Highway adjacent to Schlemeyer Airport. Residents also confirmed the existence of a tornado-like feature approximately 25 yards wide. The image above is taken from the front bedroom.
The image above is taken from the living room of the damaged residence.
Extensive damage also occured to the hangars located at Eagle Aire. The following image is an example of hangar door damage that occurred to the majority of the hangars at this location.
Strong west southwest winds resulted in the caving in of the entire west side of the hangar. In addition, a building on the inside of the hangar was moved approximately 12 feet as the west wall of the hangar was pushed inward. In addition, eyewitnesses reported a tornado-like feature between 20 and 30 yards wide approaching rapidly from the west southwest. See the image link below.
Several large trees were uprooted along Edgeport Road. This large and mature tree was uprooted due to the high winds.
On Monday, April 13, the National Weather Service in Midland also conducted a damage survey of eastern Midland County and western portions of Glasscock County to investigate potential damage from a supercell thunderstorm that occurred Saturday evening.
The damage survey team found a snapped power pole 1.5 miles east of the Midland and Glasscock county line. This pole was snapped approximately 8 feet above ground level. Another nearby power pole sustained slight damage near the top of the pole. An area of mesquite trees slightly farther to the east northeast also showed slight damage. These observations all suggest the presence of a brief tornado touchdown just to the south of Highway 158, with the tornado crossing the highway prior to lifting.
While areas of potential high winds were noted along Farm to Market Road in Midland County, there was not enough evidience to suggest that tornado formation had occurred in Midland County. Thus, the damage path for this tornado touchdown in Glasscock County will be estimated at approximately 3/4 mile. The tornado width will be estimated at 50 yards, which is consistent with the eye witness report received by the National Weather Service.
Based on visible damage, the tornado will be classified as a weak EF0 tornado.
Click the image above to explore the damage further using Google Earth.
This power pole was snapped approximately 8 feet above the ground and represents the primary location where the tornado crossed Highway 158.
Power pole damage was noted along Highway 158. The image above shows slight wind damage to the upper portions of the pole.
The image above shows a "hook" echo associated with the tornadic supercell.
In the image above, the National Weather Service Doppler radar is located on the left side of the image near the point labeled "Midland International Airport". The light blue and cyan colors represent winds flowing toward the radar and the yellow and orange colors represent winds flowing away from the radar. Strong, cyclonic rotation is shown in this tornadic supercell.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 1243 PM CDT SUN APR 12 2009 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0356 PM HAIL HOBBS 32.73N 103.16W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH LEA NM TRAINED SPOTTER 0358 PM HAIL HOBBS 32.73N 103.16W 04/11/2009 E1.75 INCH LEA NM LAW ENFORCEMENT 0400 PM FUNNEL CLOUD LOVINGTON 32.95N 103.35W 04/11/2009 LEA NM LAW ENFORCEMENT UNKNOWN IF IT TOUCHED GROUND 0400 PM HAIL LOVINGTON 32.95N 103.35W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH LEA NM LAW ENFORCEMENT 0400 PM HAIL 2 S LOVINGTON 32.92N 103.35W 04/11/2009 E1.75 INCH LEA NM LAW ENFORCEMENT 0430 PM HAIL 7 SE HOBBS 32.66N 103.08W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH LEA NM TRAINED SPOTTER NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED. 0431 PM HAIL HIGGINBOTHAM 32.90N 102.99W 04/11/2009 E1.75 INCH GAINES TX TRAINED SPOTTER 0450 PM HAIL HIGGINBOTHAM 32.90N 102.99W 04/11/2009 E1.75 INCH GAINES TX PUBLIC 0517 PM HAIL PECOS 31.41N 103.50W 04/11/2009 E0.88 INCH REEVES TX PUBLIC 0522 PM HAIL HOBBS 32.73N 103.16W 04/11/2009 E0.75 INCH LEA NM AMATEUR RADIO 0522 PM TSTM WND GST HOBBS 32.73N 103.16W 04/11/2009 E75.00 MPH LEA NM AMATEUR RADIO ESTIMATED WIND GUST OF 60 TO 75 MPH. 0530 PM HAIL EUNICE 32.44N 103.19W 04/11/2009 E1.75 INCH LEA NM LAW ENFORCEMENT EUNICE PD - SMALL TO GOLF BALL HAIL 0538 PM HAIL S KERMIT 31.85N 103.09W 04/11/2009 E0.88 INCH WINKLER TX TRAINED SPOTTER 0538 PM HAIL HIGGINBOTHAM 32.90N 102.99W 04/11/2009 E0.75 INCH GAINES TX TRAINED SPOTTER 0540 PM HAIL S KERMIT 31.85N 103.09W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH WINKLER TX TRAINED SPOTTER 0618 PM HAIL 26 WNW ODESSA 32.00N 102.78W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH ECTOR TX PUBLIC 0628 PM HAIL SEMINOLE 32.72N 102.65W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH GAINES TX PUBLIC 0647 PM HAIL ODESSA 31.85N 102.37W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH ECTOR TX PUBLIC 0648 PM HAIL 5 E GOLDSMITH 31.98N 102.53W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH ECTOR TX TRAINED SPOTTER 0650 PM HAIL ODESSA 31.85N 102.37W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH ECTOR TX PUBLIC 0650 PM TSTM WND DMG ODESSA 31.85N 102.37W 04/11/2009 ECTOR TX BROADCAST MEDIA ROOFS RIPPED OF BUILDINGS AND DAMAGE TO TREES AND CARS IN NORTH ODESSA. 0653 PM HAIL ODESSA 31.85N 102.37W 04/11/2009 E0.88 INCH ECTOR TX PUBLIC 0653 PM HAIL 5 ENE ODESSA 31.88N 102.29W 04/11/2009 E1.75 INCH MIDLAND TX TRAINED SPOTTER GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL AT 191 AND FAUDREE DR. 0657 PM TSTM WND GST 6 W LAMESA 32.73N 102.06W 04/11/2009 E70.00 MPH DAWSON TX TRAINED SPOTTER ESTIMATED WIND GUST OF 60 TO 70 MPH ALONG HIGHWAY 62/180 SIX MILES WEST OF LAMESA. 0700 PM HAIL MIDLAND INTERNATIONAL A 31.94N 102.19W 04/11/2009 E2.50 INCH MIDLAND TX NWS EMPLOYEE TWO AND A HALF INCH HAIL REPORTED AT THE MIDLAND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. 0702 PM HAIL 3 SW WARFIELD 31.89N 102.26W 04/11/2009 E1.25 INCH MIDLAND TX TRAINED SPOTTER 0710 PM HAIL MIDLAND 32.00N 102.08W 04/11/2009 E2.00 INCH MIDLAND TX LAW ENFORCEMENT TWO INCH HAIL REPORTED AT LOOP 250 AND WADLEY DRIVE IN MIDLAND. 0712 PM HAIL MIDLAND 32.00N 102.08W 04/11/2009 E2.00 INCH MIDLAND TX PUBLIC TWO INCH HAIL REPORTED AT ILLINOIS AND MIDLAND DR IN MIDLAND. TWO INCH HAIL REPORTED AT LOOP 250 AND ANDREWS HIGHWAY. 0730 PM HAIL LAMESA 32.73N 101.96W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH DAWSON TX LAW ENFORCEMENT 0756 PM TORNADO 6 SE SPRABERRY 31.87N 101.76W 04/11/2009 GLASSCOCK TX TRAINED SPOTTER APPROX 5 TO 8 MILES SE OF INTERSECTION OF 1379 AND 158 0804 PM TSTM WND GST MIDLAND 32.00N 102.08W 04/11/2009 M64.00 MPH MIDLAND TX AWOS 0811 PM HAIL 16 SE MIDLAND 31.84N 101.89W 04/11/2009 E1.50 INCH MIDLAND TX PUBLIC GOLF BALL TO PING PONG SIZE HAIL REPORTED. 0815 PM HAIL 17 W MIDKIFF 31.63N 102.13W 04/11/2009 E0.88 INCH UPTON TX PUBLIC 0834 PM HAIL 11 S BIG SPRING 32.09N 101.48W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH GLASSCOCK TX TRAINED SPOTTER DIME TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED 11 MILES SOUTH OF BIG SPRING. 0930 PM HAIL GARDEN CITY 31.87N 101.48W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH GLASSCOCK TX LAW ENFORCEMENT 0931 PM HAIL BIG SPRING 32.25N 101.48W 04/11/2009 E0.88 INCH HOWARD TX TRAINED SPOTTER PEA TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL AT THE AIRPORT IN BIG SPRING. 1145 PM HAIL 33 NNE DRYDEN 30.49N 101.91W 04/11/2009 E0.88 INCH TERRELL TX PUBLIC DIME TO NICKEL HAIL 0856 PM FLASH FLOOD MIDLAND 32.00N 102.08W 04/11/2009 MIDLAND TX AMATEUR RADIO 3 TO 6 INCHES OF WATER AT INTERSECTION OF I-20 AND TX 158 AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IN OTHER AREAS. 0820 PM FLASH FLOOD MIDLAND 32.00N 102.08W 04/11/2009 MIDLAND TX LAW ENFORCEMENT FLOODING AT 10TH ST AND FM 1936, DUNN ST 0805 PM FLASH FLOOD MIDLAND 32.00N 102.08W 04/11/2009 MIDLAND TX TRAINED SPOTTER FLOODING ACROSS FAIRGROUNDS 0825 PM FLASH FLOOD SEMINOLE 32.72N 102.65W 04/11/2009 GAINES TX LAW ENFORCEMENT FLOODING IN SEMINOLE NEAR PIZZA HUT 0645 PM HAIL ODESSA 31.85N 102.37W 04/11/2009 E1.00 INCH ECTOR TX TRAINED SPOTTER QUARTER HAIL AT INTERSECTION OF ANDREWS AND 42ND.