Day 3: Extreme close-up of a rotating wall cloud, my 30th state, and 7 pics of lightning

After the disappointment yesterday, today started with a similar atmospheric profile. The mood was glum and we were restless. We knew that conditions were only marginally favorable for severe weather development in our neck of the woods.

We headed west from Brownfield, TX as thunderstorms began to fire in the mountains of eastern New Mexico. I had never been to New Mexico and being a geography nerd, was very excited to get my 30th state! We stopped in Dobbs and then the waiting game began.

The Land of Enchantment was relatively unenchanting with regards to severe weather.

Around 1pm, Dr. Brown decided to launch a weather balloon to get a feel for the atmospheric setup near us (the nearest radar sites are over 100 miles away). It was only my 2nd time ever observing a sounding launch, and the first time I've gotten to hold the equipment. Results? The atmosphere was very dry in the lower levels and only slightly better aloft. It was time to head back east - but where?

Me and the weather balloon! It's amazing that what looks like a party balloon and a styrofoam cup can tell you tons about the atmosphere.

Storms were firing about 100 miles to our east in Midland, but they appeared to be fizzling. The SPC highlighted an area close to the Mexican border about 150 miles south, and we initially headed that way - but something caught our eye unexpectedly on radar. It was a pulse thunderstorm about 40 miles east of Midland appearing to interact with an outflow boundary... the same one we drove over last night.

Bingo.

There were no other chasers in the area - they all went south -  and the roads were clear. The storms exploded in the course of 30 minutes, and by the time we got there a severe t-storm warning was issued as the updrafts soared 10 miles into the sky! I happened to get my first picture of lightning on the approach - the first of SEVEN separate bolts I got on camera.

Looking into the heart of the severe t-storm near Big Spring, TX. My first shot of lightning!

We got perfectly into position on the storm's southern flank and stopped to watch the show. Radar-indicated velocities showed a mesocyclone beginning to form, and the storm quickly began to take on the classic kidney bean shape of a supercell. Wind speeds in the storm reached to near hurricane-force. A hook echo dropped off the backside of the storm and the storm's motion went to a near stand-still right in front of us. We were no more than 4 miles away! Winds were whipping at 15-20 sustained with much higher gusts, kicking up sand and pressing plants flat to the ground.

And then it happened: we saw a wall cloud begin to drop down, along with a funnel-shaped area of rotation. A tornado was trying to form less than 5 miles away! It sent chills up my spine and even knowing the proximity and power of this beast, I felt nothing but awe as the sky swirled above me.

The radar picture as I looked into a hook echo from ~3-4 miles away. You can make out my location on my cell phone screen as the blue circle, and the blue triangle is the direction I'm looking.

Sadly, the rear flank downdraft pulled in much colder air, and thus no tornado could form. The storm occluded, bringing the hook echo back into the storm and the updraft gradually weakened. Nonetheless, it was an incredible show - one that I will never forget. We headed to the hotel in high spirits, all uniformly spellbound.

We're rooming tonight in Big Spring, and conditions are looking favorable again for similar action tomorrow. At this point, anything is gravy. This Earth is an amazing, beautiful thing, and I am lucky to be alive to witness nature's greatness.