08/15/10:Mediocre Chase and Texas Wildfire...

SPC Day 1 Outlook for 8/15/10. A "See Text" indicates a 5% probability of severe weather.

SPC Hail Graphic

SPC Wind Graphic.

Around 2:00 the SPC issues a mesoscale discussion for the forecast area. "Severe potential watch, unlikely." However, they do point out a possibility for strong downbursts.

I honestly had no intention of chasing on this day. Very weak upper level dynamics, low directional shear, and moderate CINH was something I didn't want to be a part of. A stationary front was to drift south through southern OK and into northern TX. Lift along and north of the front would generate unorganized scattered thunderstorms. With the main threat being locally damaging wind gusts. I probably should have payed a little more attention to the residual outflow ahead of the stationary front. This actually gave some of the storms a brief supercellular appearance (see radar image below). That was enough for me to get interested. I packed up my gear and headed west on US 287.

A severe thunderstorm forms along the outflow boundary from earlier convection. It was supposedly dropping quarter sized hail at this time. It actually looks like there is an inflow notch and it has a little organization to it.

The velocity scans reveal some rotation to the storm. For a moment, it almost looked supercellular.

Well, so much for the supercell. The storm quickly goes outflow dominant and dies out.

Radar shows the storm dying, but a cell to the west has formed along the outflow boundary as well.

While driving past Electra, TX, I look out to my south and see this photogenic display of mammatus clouds. My camera was attached to a window mount and I did not have time to stop and pull over. So I shot this while driving about 65mph.

I eventually reach Vernon and notice something--no storms! The radar shows another outflow boundary moving south with thunderstorms forming along the boundary. I decide to keep heading west and once I reach Quanah, TX (roughly 30miles away) I will shift to the northeast and target El Dorado, OK.

Just as I predicted thunderstorms form along the outflow. With these "pulse" storms you have to right there when they develop if you want a chance of chasing them.

Sitting outside the El Dorado city limits.

Under the elevated updraft base in El Dorado at the Highway 6 Highway 5 junction.

It appears these storms are starting to form into a multicell mess.

That is what happened. But I still manage to find something to shoot.

Here is a shot taken while driving. You can see the core of the newly develop cell on the left with a nice rainfoot and the older downdraft on the right. I believe there was an embedded microburst here.

I've got to move south or I am going to get cored. Around this time an incredible CG barrage explodes under the updraft. One strike was less than 50 yards away.

While still driving through the heavy rain I notice something. It looked like a smoke trail. I get out of the rain for a closer look.

Remember that CG barrage I just mentioned? Apparently, it sparked off some wildfires. I head west on FM 1166 to investigate.

My storm has almost completely died out. So now I am chasing the wildfire.

About 3 miles inside on FM 1166 and I come across this.

There were a few vehicles that had to postpone their drive. The fire was reaching dangerously close to the farm market road.

Here you can actually see a little bit of the fire (right hand side).

I drive up a little closer and pull out a telephoto lens. I really like this shot because the heat waves were captured very well here.

Probably my favorite shot from the wildfire. I love the tree in the background engulfed in the smoke and distorted by the heat waves. And the juxtaposition of the background and foreground trees has a very "impending doom" atmosphere to it.

A closer view of the fire.

I like this capture as well, the approaching inferno forces a Purple Martin to flee from its roost. I was fortunate enough to capture it when I took this shot.

Members of the Volunteer Fire Department of Quanah and Chillicothe battle to extinguish the blaze. The man driving the vehicle doesn't seem to affected by the close proximity of the fire.

This spectator watched as the Volunteer fire department combated the wildfire. You can see how close he is to the smoke line (in the background). I tired a black and white conversion for this one.

One last capture. I did the same conversion to this photo.