Wichita Falls 2nd Day Of May With Thunderstorms & Possible Tornadoes

This morning Miss Chris, of the duo known as Chris & Sheila, a pair of my favorite Washingtonians, who were often an island of sanity for me, in a sea of madness, whilst I was visiting in Washington, asked me a question last night via Facebook...

"Is the town you live in threatened by a tornado?"

I replied that, yes, the town I live in is currently being threatened by tornadoes. A couple have touched down in recent days slightly to the west of the Wichita Falls city limits.

The above is a screen cap about today's, second day of May, weather prediction for Wichita Falls.

And yes, a tornado is on the menu again today.

Last night, around three in the morning, a thunderstorm arrived, booming, and dropping rain for a couple hours.

I think I will do my daily nature communing in Walmart today, safe from lightning strikes, possibly not so safe from a tornado....

Wichita Falls Escaped Friday Night's Thunderstorm Tornadoes

 
This morning when I woke up my phone I saw that Mildred's Mom had Facebook messaged me saying "Just checking to see if you are doing ok. Saw there were tornadoes around Wichita Falls last night."

No, that is not a photo above of a tornado in my neighborhood. I saw the above photo this morning, on Facebook, via Elsie Hotpepper, with explanatory text saying "Insane close-range tornado earlier southwest of Vernon, Texas."

I did not hear the tornado sirens last night. I did hear an extremely loud brightly flashing thunderstorm which dropped big balls of hail.

Last night's storm did not last too long.

During the slightly more than two decades I have been in tornado territory I have never seen one like you see in the above photo. 

On a March day way back near the start of this century I was driving towards downtown Fort Worth when I saw a weird green wall of clouds. Soon after seeing that I got a phone call telling me to abort coming to downtown because tornadoes had everyone in shelter lockdown.

I returned to my abode to experience the wildest storm I have ever been in. I thought the hail was going to destroy the house. The pummeling was so loud it felt as if the house was vibrating.

The next day I rode my bike into downtown Fort Worth, which had been closed off to vehicular traffic due to the tornado damage. It looked like riding into a war zone. And this was only an F2 tornado if I remember correctly.

My current abode is only a couple blocks south of the path of the infamous Terrible Tuesday Tornado, which was the most deadly and destructive in history til worse ones twisted in Oklahoma.

There is a small historical plaque in a small park adjacent to the southwest end of Sikes Lake dedicated to those who died in that Terrible Tuesday Tornado.

No tornadoes or thunderstorms are on the weather menu for this final Saturday of the 2021 version of April. I see a bike ride in my future for today....

North Texas Dire Severe Weather Tornado Warning

Today, on this Monday of May 20, 2019, is the first time I have seen this dire level of weather warning since I have been residing at my current Texas location of Wichita Falls.

Since being at this location I have only heard the tornado sirens in system checking mode, never in incoming tornado mode.

Twice whilst living in east Fort Worth I heard the tornado sirens in incoming tornado mode. Both times a tornado did touch down and do damage near to my location.

So, I have learned one must take these tornado warnings serious.

The location of my current domicile is a short distance from where most of the deadly damage was inflicted by the 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak.

Every time I bike around Sikes Lake I roll by the memorial to those lost in the tornado outbreak known locally as Terrible Tuesday. The 40th Anniversary of Terrible Tuesday was last month, on April 10.

Today three storms are forecast to blow over North Texas. The first is scheduled for around noon, the second late in the afternoon, and the third, and possibly worst, after dark.

I have already battened down my hatches, inflated my lifeboat and stocked up on vittles and non-electricity dependent lighting sources, as in candles and flashlights.

I am ready for you Mother Nature, but it won't hurt my feelings if you decide not to visit...

No Wichita Falls Sirens Yesterday While Tornado Touches Down In Monroe Washington

This blogging falls into the category of being a variant of blogging about something I read in a west coast online news source which I would not expect to be reading in a Texas online news source, such as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, about something in Texas.

In other words. It is not unusual to read an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about a tornado or two touching down in the D/FW zone.

However, it is unusual to read an article in the Seattle Times about a tornado touching down in the Western Washington zone.

In this case, the town of Monroe, where a tornado touched down yesterday, Thursday morning, knocking over a couple RVs, tossing a trampoline and doing some damage to a car.

I do not think the Monroe tornado is going to warrant an F rating.

Monroe is in Snohomish County, If my memory is working correctly Monroe is about 40 miles slightly northeast of Seattle, 20 miles east of Everett, maybe 50 miles slightly southeast of my old home zone in the Skagit Valley.

I hope this Western Washington tornado is not part of a trend, brought about by the ongoing climate change. There are no Tornado Sirens in Western Washington. Tsunami Evacuation Routes, and Volcano Eruption Evacuation Routes. But, no Tornado Sirens....

17th Anniversary Of Downtown Fort Worth Tornado

I was surprised today when I read it was 17 years ago today that I experienced my first Texas tornado. It seems way more recent than that.

A couple hours from now, 17 years ago, I was driving to downtown Fort Worth, heading south from my Haslet home location, in far north Fort Worth. The house was in Haslet, the mailbox was in Fort Worth.

I was heading to the University of North Texas Medical Center area to meet up with someone, for reasons I no longer remember.

As I headed south I was seeing a weather phenomenon the likes of which I'd never seen. A big dark greenish gray wall of clouds, looking a sort of ominous which seemed to be obvious danger. Lightning was bolting in the greenish gray cloud.

I was a couple miles south of my abode, driving on Blue Mound Road when my phone rang. It was the person I was heading to meet telling me to turn around, that something bad was underway in the downtown Fort Worth zone.

At that point in time it was not  known by the caller that that bad thing was a tornado.  All she knew was everyone had been ordered to head to a safe place.

I did as instructed and turned around. By the time I got back to my abode the proverbial all hell had broken loose.

Huge balls of hail pounded the roof with a volume of noise which made it sound as if the roof could not last long before being pummeled into oblivion.

I do not remember at what point I learned tornadoes had struck Fort Worth. At some point in time during the following hours I learned a young man had been killed by grapefruit sized hail which struck him as he was heading to his car, hoping to move it to cover.

Eventually we learned of the tornadoes, and gradually of the damage done, and others killed. It was hours later I learned the person I had been heading to meet was safe.

I do not remember if it was the following day, or several days later that I pedaled my bike past the barriers blocking off downtown Fort Worth and took photos of the damage. You can see those photos on the webpage  I made about the Fort Worth Tornado. That is three of the photos, in thumbnail version, you see above.

Today, on this 17th Anniversary of the deadly, destructive Fort Worth tornado, the forecast for North Texas is for possibly severe thunderstorms, with hail. The type weather which spawns tornadoes...

A Rash & Tarrant County Tornadoes & The Last Tuesday Of April

As you can see, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell, the last Tuesday of April has dawned with a clear blue sky.

Severe Thunderstorms are again in our forecast for today.

We had some tornado action here in Tarrant County yesterday.

Up in Washington they are having a bizarre return to winter weather, with snow.

Meanwhile, here in Texas, I had a fresh new woe visit me yesterday afternoon. I suddenly broke out in a rash, in various locations, all over me. I took an anti-histamine pill and covered the rash with calamine lotion. In a few hours the rash went away.

And then re-appeared, covering more of me, in the middle of the night. I took another pill and covered the rash, again, with calamine lotion and again it disappeared.

I have no idea what is causing this new travail. Right now I am rash-free. I hope I stay that way.

October 25 Mom Call Talking About Texas Tornadoes & Taos

It is the morning of October 25. You are looking out the bars of my patio prison at a nice clear semi-blue sky day in Texas.

I just got off the phone with my mom. No. I did not get gas. Mom called last night and left a voice mail. I did not hear the phone ring due to it charging due to Elsie Hotpepper talking to me til the battery went dead last night.

My mom and dad have an incoming aunt of mine arriving in Phoenix today at 3. Tomorrow they are heading to New Mexico, to Albuquerque, where all my dad's siblings, except my favorite aunt, will be.

I asked my mom why Albuquerque? She did not know. I asked why not Taos? Mom did not know anything about Taos. So, I told mom about Taos. They'd already planned on going to Santa Fe on their way back to Phoenix. Now Taos has been added.

The news of our Saturday tornado action had reached my mom. Which is why she called. I was surprised the news of my stolen bike had not reached Phoenix.

The pool was quite pleasant this morning. I see a Tandy Hill in my future today.

Tornado Season Texas Twister Time & Oklahoma Tarantulas, Snakes and Tornadoes

Speaking of Twisters, I just got a blog comment from Twister raising the Karen Silkwood specter. Last night I got emails raising the same concern. What I'm concerned about is what in the world happened to this zone of America that makes some people so wary?

Speaking again of Twisters, this morning, for reasons I've now forgotten, in an email reply to the Wild Woman of Woolley, aka Miss CVB, I mentioned a tornado that came down the driveway of a mutual classmate of ours, who had moved to Ada, Oklahoma.

This mutual classmate has an irrational fear of her name being on the Internet, so, for anonymity's sake, I will call her Miss CMP.

Miss CMP and family moved to Oklahoma about a month before I moved to Texas. I've known Miss CMP since early grade school and she's always been one of my favorite people. Visits up to Ada were quite fun. Miss CMP has since abandoned me and has moved back to where I came from, the Skagit Valley of Washington.

When Miss CMP moved to Oklahoma she had 3 major concerns, Spiders, Snakes and Tornadoes.

The first time I visited up in Ada, I drove us all over the place, with Miss CMP verbalizing her tornado worries. They'd been up to Oklahoma City to see the horrible damage done by a monster twister. I pooh poohed Miss CMP's concerns, asking do you see any tornado damage as we drive around? She proceeded to point out tornado shelters.

Switching from twisters to spiders. Miss CMP was not long in to being an Okie when one night she felt something moving on her bed. The lights came on. It was a huge tarantula. It remains a mystery, to this day, how this happened. As in there are not a lot of tarantulas in the Ada, OK zone. I've only seen 1 in my zone of Texas.

Switching from spiders to snakes. At one point Miss CMP and family discovered they were living with snakes in the attic. This was discovered, when one day, it was difficult to open the exit screen door. Because a huge snake was snuggled up against it. The snake slithered away, and to the family's horror, it slithered up a pole and squeezed into their attic. Later it was discovered the attic was home to a lot of snakes. This became a serious issue with air conditioner repair guys who needed to be in the attic.

Back to twisters. So, so far, 2 out of 3 of Miss CMP's worst fears have come to be reality. And then, one fine Oklahoma day the sky turned frightful, the wind began to blow. tornado sirens began to wail. Miss CMP and family stood outside watching the storm.

And then a tornado came into view, heading towards their house, heading straight up their driveway. The formerly scared of tornadoes, Miss CMP, told her daughter to get in the closet, but Miss CMP stayed outside taking pictures.

I was amazed when I heard this and saw the pictures.

You can see Miss CMP's Oklahoma Tornado here.

My mom and dad want to come visit Texas again. My mom also has an irrational fear of tornadoes. This will cause the visit to take place after tornado season. I have sort of dropped hints that tornadoes can happen, here, any time of the year.

We Are Watching For Lightning & Tornadoes Tonight In Texas

We've gone into triple digits for the first time in a couple weeks. And just as WeatherBug turned the temperature red, which it does whenever it gets over 100, the little bug also started flashing and chirping. Nothing I do seems able to stop this.

But, this time it was a more serious weather warning than telling me something I already knew, as in it is HOT. This flashing and chirping was due to the NWS Storm Prediction Center issuing a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 10:00 CDT tonight.

I'm blogging about this almost at the same time I got the warning, so that a particular Haltom City resident has plenty of time to alter her plans for the evening, in case she feels the need to do some flash flood watching.

Below is the NWS Warning....

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 10:00PM CDT

Urgent - Immediate Broadcast Requested Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 664 Nws Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 325 PM CDT Wed Aug 5 2009

The NWS Storm Prediction Center Has Issued A Severe Thunderstorm Watch For Portions Of Extreme South Central Oklahoma North Central Texas.

Effective This Wednesday Afternoon And Evening From 3:25 PM Until 10:00 PM CDT.

Hail To 2 Inches In Diameter, Thunderstorm Wind Gusts To 70 Mph, And Dangerous Lightning Are Possible In These Areas.

The Severe Thunderstorm Watch Area Is Approximately Along And 65 Statute Miles North And South Of A Line From 60 Miles North Northwest Of Fort Worth Texas To 80 Miles East Of Dallas Texas. For A Complete Depiction Of The Watch See The Associated Watch Outline Update.

Remember, A Severe Thunderstorm Watch Means Conditions Are Favorable For Severe Thunderstorms In And Close To The Watch Area. Persons In These Areas Should Be On The Lookout For Threatening Weather Conditions And Listen For Later Statements And Possible Warnings. Severe Thunderstorms Can And Occasionally Do Produce Tornadoes.

First Tornado Storm Of The Year Kills 8 In Oklahoma

Last night's first T-Storm of 2009 produced a killer Tornado, about 100 miles north of my location, in the town of Lone Grove, Oklahoma. That's a bit west of Ardmore, about 20 miles south of Turner Falls Park.

Here in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the Thunderstorm and its accompanying high wind and heavy hail, ripped off roofs in Colleyville. Colleyville is a town about 10 miles north of my location, which I will be driving through in about 2 hours, on my way to Southlake.

My location was on the southern fringe of the storm. The lightning stayed north of me, no overhead strikes. I could hear the booming and see flashes in the distance. I experienced one short outbreak of heavy rain and hail. My bedroom window was open, due to me forgetting to close it. This resulted in a very slight flood. I doubt I will report it to FEMA.

There were reports of Tornado sightings in the Metroplex, but no reports of a Tornado touching down in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone. Daylight may change that, as the damage is assessed, in the bright light of day. And it is a bright light today with the return of blue sky here in North Texas.

First Texas Tornado Storm Warning of 2009

Just this morning in response to a question from a Pacific Northwesterner I said today's predicted storm was not a tornado storm, as far as I knew, just a Thunderstorm. With a lot of rain and wind.

But, those often turn into Tornado storms, so I should have known better than to say today we weren't in tornado danger.

Because at 4:04PM, Central Time, the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch until midnight.

It is already looking a bit unsettled out there, a little rain has hit the windows. But, so far, it's not looking like anything major. But, I've learned, in Texas, that can change very very quickly.

Here's the NWS Urgent Warning....

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 12:00AM CST

Urgent - Immediate Broadcast Requested Tornado Watch Number 10 Nws Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 340 PM CST Tue Feb 10 2009

The Nws Storm Prediction Center Has Issued A Tornado Watch For Portions Of Far Southwest Arkansas Mccurtain County Oklahoma Central Into Northeast Texas Effective This Tuesday Afternoon From 340 PM Until Midnight CST.

Tornadoes... Hail To 2.5 Inches In Diameter... Thunderstorm Wind Gusts To 80 Mph... And Dangerous Lightning Are Possible In These Areas.

The Tornado Watch Area Is Approximately Along And 75 Statute Miles North And South Of A Line From 20 Miles West Of Stephenville Texas To 20 Miles South Of Texarkana Arkansas.

Remember... A Tornado Watch Means Conditions Are Favorable For Tornadoes And Severe Thunderstorms In And Close To The Watch Area. Persons In These Areas Should Be On The Lookout For Threatening Weather Conditions And Listen For Later Statements And Possible Warnings.

New Dallas Cowboy Stadium Survived Tornado

I am still in recovery mode from the vicious storm we had here less than 24 hours ago. I have managed to sleep a little bit. Today I've been up since 4am and have been a very busy boy.

I decided I'd not been to Chinatown in Arlington for quite awhile and with the sky being tornado cleaned of smog it seemed a good time to check in and see if Mother Nature wreaked havoc on Jerry Jones and his monument to insensitivity to ones fellow human beings.

When I got to the stadium zone I detected no signs of damage. Mother Nature must be on the payroll. Or she is biding her time to exact the eye for an eye thing. I guess it would be more poetic if a tornado leveled Jerry Jones's personal home with little warning, just like his bulldozers did to all his victims.

One thing I did notice today was 4 flags have been planted at the top of the stadium. Go here for a look at what the new stadium looks like on April 11, 2008. And to read what the flags were. I'm guessing you could guess what one or two of them might be. I had to guess on the 4th one. I'm pretty sure I guessed right.

Weather Gone Mad in Texas

It was a long dreary windy night with a lot of annoying noise, mostly trees being blown up against the roof, sounding like a Monster slapping its hand overhead over and over again. It was very warm all night long and very humid.

It must be almost Spring and tornado season. This morning it's been non-stop heavy rain with lightning. No tornado sirens yet.

This time of year in Texas always seems to activate one of my pet peeves. That being how I can be peacefully settled in and enjoying watching something like LOST. And then the weather interruptions will start up. First an annoying chime and then the shrinking of the picture to accommodate a weather warning crawling across the bottom of the screen. That repeats a few times and then ends with another chime and then the same info is repeated, without the chime, in the upper left corner.

The warnings repeat about every 3 minutes. It's totally distracting. And then, God forbid, if the Doppler Radar detects anything remotely indicating the circular motion of a possible tornado, anywhere within a couple hundred mile radius, then there will be the live interruption where the Ted Baxteresque local weather dunderhead earnestly tells you about the extreme weather.

Now, if you are safely inside watching TV why do you need this information? Usually if the storm gets real bad you lose power and so you can't see the TV warning. Most people have battery operated storm radios to turn to when the weather gets dicey. If you are out in the weather, or driving your car, what good does the TV weather interruption do you? It is so mindlessly idiotic and annoying. I mean, if you are home and watching TV and the weather is bad and you hear the tornado sirens you know what that means, as in head for shelter.

Now, there have been complaints, and as a result, maybe, the local ABC station (one of the worst offenders) has stopped, for now, the annoying chime. I guess that is progress in the right direction.

Last year after a particularly annoying bout of TV weather interruptions I read in that paper I'm always complaining about, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a puff piece yammering on about the brilliant job the local weather Ted Baxters do to protect us during a storm.

I pointed it out to the Star-Telegram that those brilliant weather interruptions probably kill more people than they save. Example, during the Fort Worth tornado of 2000, the TV weather reporters earnestly warned of incoming damage causing hail. A kid from Costa Rica saw that warning on the TV and asked his boss if he could go move his new pickup. On the way to his pickup he was hit on the head with a baseball size chunk of hail. And killed.

I know several people who were stuck in the the path of the Fort Worth tornado of 2000. None got out of harm's way due to a TV warning. The power got knocked out early in the storm. They had no TV. But they did have the common sense to head the warning sirens and head for safety.

So, the bottom line with these idiotic weather interruptions, if you are able to listen to one then you are likely totally safe. Those who might benefit from the warning don't have access to a TV. So, why is it so difficult for those who can say yes or no, to say no to the local Ted Baxter weather guys who want to break into regular programming to point out a circular hook over some distant lightly populated location in North Texas?

It perplexes me. I'll let you now the first time I experience this nonsense this year. Complete with screen caps. If my power doesn't go out.