Day 4: The most beautiful storm, and a new personal dBZ record

For the third straight day, we were in West Texas; for the third straight day, despite the odds, I saw something incredible.

Early morning models showed strong storms firing well to our east (near Austin-San Antonio) with VERY juicy dewpoints of 70+ degrees F.  Tornado chances were highest to our west, though, and later in the day, so we decided early on to hang in the Midland area and wait.

Big Spring State Park, Big Spring TX.

Our stop was Big Spring State Park, where a winding two-lane road led to a stunning vista over the town of Big Spring. Thunderstorm anvils in western New Mexico were visible - over 150 miles away! From this angle, it was easy to observe an outflow boundary from strong storms to our east interact with pulse storms firing over the area. The results were dramatic, mushrooming cumulonimbus clouds rising at up to 10,000 feet per minute right in front of us!

We stayed at Big Spring for a couple hours, but after 6pm came and went we were not feeling confident. With 2 hours of daylight left, our options were limited and we decided to chase after a storm about 40 miles to our northwest.

It was the best decision of the trip.

Minutes after we got on the highway, the Midland NWS office severe warned the storms for large hail and 60 mph winds - and with good reason! The storm exploded. dBZ values exceeded 70 (a very strong hail signature), and radar indicated velocities aloft of hurricane-force!

Never before had I seen a storm this strong.

Inbound velocities of 80 mph at 4,000 feet... this storm was mean!

The best part about this storm was its amazing visual appearance (<- video linked). Even more than the storms yesterday, every part of the storm was visible. From the deep gray updraft base to the rain shaft falling thousands of feet, the angry gust front kicking up massive dust clouds to our left to the dramatic anvil overhead - it was all there. To top it all off, the storm occurred during sunset, dramatically casting the entire thing in an amber glow. If it weren't for the lightning cracking within half a mile on all sides of us, I might have called the entire scene peaceful.

The dramatic storm near Ackerly, TX at maturity.

The sun was setting though, and the greatness couldn't last. Severe storms just to our northwest were putting out some impressive wind and hail estimates as they rode an outflow boundary into Odessa around 11pm, lightning the night sky at the hotel in Midland.

We're headed toward the Mexican border today in hope of some hail-producing supercells!