May 12, 2005 - Texas Panhandle, South Plains Tornado

We left Norman, OK about 12:30pm. Our target was southwest Oklahoma into the Texas Panhandle where there was a front oriented from the southwest to the northeast almost paralleling storm motion allowing any storms that formed along the front/caprock to travel on the boundary. A storm had already formed hours before we got to the area and had produced a few tornados. The storm had not moved much at all, but continued to form new areas of rotation and wall clouds as it made a slow progression to the east.

Approaching Silverton at 4:48

First tornado seen just south of Silverton, just behind clear slot. 5:00

Halfway between Silverton and South Plains we pulled over and observed a few wall clouds, dustnados, and short lived tornados to our west and southwest. We were eventually overcome by the RFD from the storms north of us so we got back on the highway and headed south again.

At this point I attempted to drive south behind the tornado after it crossed 207 to avoid the approaching hail and RFD winds. I drove into the dust cloud still lingering from the tornado until I saw the power lines that had been on the west side of the highway hanging over the pavement. I decided to turn around and try and make it to Farm Road 689, my nearest paved eastbound option. Just before I got there I encountered hail larger than golf balls. At that point I pulled into a farmhouse driveway hoping to find a carport or open barn. Seeing neither I pulled up to the east side of a metal building. This helped protect me some, though I did lose a rear side window and the windshield as the hail grew to larger than baseballs. I will praise the light tint on the window for keeping the glass together, though shattered. No water leaked in entire trip home. My rodeo did suffer some severe body damage, though. All the unpaved roads in this area tuned to slick mud when wet, so they were not an option. Given the limited road options I feel I handled the situation as best as I could.

Tornado path across highway and place where I sustained hail damage

Animals trying to escape the baseball size hail.

Hail cobwebbed the windshield and shattered a back side window

Flooding on the way back to Silverton. The lines are cracks in the windshield.

       
          
Damage to my and Chad Lawson's vehicle.

I have driven this vehicle since April of 1999 on dozens and dozens of chases and this is the first time I have ever been on the wrong side of a big hailer with no escape options. This is my first time filing an insurance claim of any kind in my 20+ years of driving. I attribute that to careful driving, chasing, and not having a shiny new car or stereo to tempt the thieves.

Video of tornado and hail (Windows Media 9 - 1.7mb)

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