February 10, 2009 Texas/Oklahoma Supercells and Tornadoes
February 10th was a surprise set up for this early in the year. Moisture surging northward into southern Oklahoma and north Texas, with strong heating ahead of the dryline and advancing upper level system would set the stage for significant convection this day. We ended up near the Wichita Falls, Texas area via Oklahoma by 4 PM to find the action farther north near and north of Oklahoma City. Storms farther south were fairly linear as strong forcing along the dryline was occurring. We stayed put, near Henrietta, Texas in hope for something to fire ahead of the line or at the tail end, and move into an environment conducive to rotating storms. We were not disappointed. A cluster of towering cumulus developed ahead of the line south of Bowie, Texas, and matured into a magnificent supercell that produced a tornado near Ringgold, Texas. As it crossed the Red River north of St Jo, TX I got a great shot of the developing wedge that would later cause the death and destruction in Lone Grove, Oklahoma. Very successful first chase of the year, but with sad results of the EF4 tornado tearing through Lone Grove.
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