5/13/2010 - I-10 Storms

Thursday was a marginal severe setup for Texas – SPC highlighted the central Texas area with a slight; however, we were a bit more interested in the Big Lake to Ft. Stockton, TX area a bit further south and west. This area featured a moisture surge, which we thought would eventually run into the Glass Mountains region, providing the necessary lift we needed in the capped atmos. The drive from Elk City, OK was long – on the order of 600 miles for the day. We were rewarded by some beautiful nonsevere thunderstorms in the evening desert sun near Ft. Stockton. Despite pretty good VILs and reflectivity, the storms failed to produce a definitive nighttime lightning op, Thus, we closed the day by downing a few cold beers at a Mexican restaurant in Ft. Stockton. Somewhat randomly, we ran into Kelsey’s Ph.D. advisor in the restaurant.

Time-lapse of the convection.