In The Vortex

Tag: texas

  • 01/20/10 Tornadoes Reported in Northeast Texas

    KSHV1

    Viewer photo from KSLA of Waskom, Texas tornado on I20:

    wascomtornado

    BREAKING NEWS!

    Severe weather is in full force in NE Texas today with two tornadoes already confirmed along I20.  One near Canton, TX where I20 is reported blocked with a report of at least one home flattened! Debris is reported on I20.

    A second storm further to the east has produced a tornado at mile marker 829 on I20 in Texas  just west of the Louisiana state line.

    Live updates on Twitter as I get them:

    http://twitter.com/drylinemedia

    UPDATES:

    6:14 pm CST I20 closed by DPS in the Canton, TX area.

    6:14 pm CST I20 and Hwy 80 blocked by debris in the Waskom, Texas area

    6:38 pm CST Damage/possible tornado now reported in SE Henderson, County TX

    6:44 pm CST Damage/possible tornado south of Sulfur Springs, TX on Hwy 19

    6:52 pm CST Related to report in SE Henderson County, TX Emergency management reporting tornado hit a house on CR2855

    7:04 pm CST Canton, TX  Businesses reported damaged: Days Inn, Circle K, McDonalds

    7:33 pm CST Waskom, TX Eyewitness description of house damage sounds like EF3 damage.  Many pine trees snapped in half widespread, accidents on I20 and lots of debris on I20 and Hwy 80.  Possible injuries in the area

    7:45 pm CST Harrison County, TX (Waskom)  Sheriff has called in Shreveport police to help with rescue efforts. Shreveport is sending 3 search dogs and 6 handlers to assist in search and rescue.

    7:50 pm CST KTBS is reporting authorities state no injuries reported in Waskom at this time.

    7:50 pm CST KTBS viewer photo of damage in Waskom

    waskom damage

    7:57 pm CST Belated reports from Sulfur Springs, TX

    • Tractor trailers turned over on I30
    • FM1870 chimney blown over, power lines down, trampoline in power lines
    • powerlines and trees down on SE side per Emergency Management
    • north side of town: roof caved in, truck overturned, debris in road
    • power pole and tree damage at 154 and 19

    8:23 pm CST New viewer photo surfaces of Waskom Tornado from KTBS

    • Photo removed. Seems a viewer sent in a storm chase photo take by Roger Edwards and Rich Thompson from 1999.

    8:29 pm CDT Ore City, Texas (belated) Roof blown off bank and grocery store.

    9:05 pm CDT  Some of the photos surfacing of the damage in Waskom, TX are suggestive of EF3 tornado damage in my opinion.  We won’t know for sure until the NWS can get out tomorrow and survey the area.

    9:25pm CDT Van Zandt County, Texas Sheriff is reporting they have widespread damage to homes reported in rural areas  of the county they are having difficulty getting to because of trees blocking the roads.

    UPDATES FINAL AS OF NOW 10 pm CDT.  Will do a recap in the next 48 hours.

  • July 4th, 2009 in Lubbock, Texas

    Lubbock July 4th, 2009 Fireworks
    Lubbock July 4th, 2009 Fireworks

    Very long day in Lubbock Saturday for the 4th of July.   My day started around 3 am.  I needed to be in Lubbock by 7 am and pick up storm chaser friend  Steve Miller down from Amarillo who was going to ride with me in the parade. My son was also up from Odessa for the events.

    We arrived to queue for the parade route with the rest of the Channel 11 bunch around 8 am, and threw on some quick decorations.  Channel 11 had 4 vehicles total in the parade, one pulling a float with the anchors/reporters on it.

    We streamed the crowd live as we went through the parade which took about an hour, and because we were near the front, we were able to get back around and catch the tail end of it. Steve was really getting the crowd going!  “You guys seen any tornadoes?” LOL   Then we spent a couple of hours checking out all the food and music in the 4th on Broadway celebration.

    As it began to heat up, we decided to retreat to air conditioning for some rest for a few hours, then had dinner and headed out to the American Wind Power Museum where they had allowed us in to their VIP private area on the museum grounds to view the fireworks.  This area is on a hill overlooking McKenzie Park where the fireworks and other evening festivities were taking place and was an awesome place to take photography.

    Before the official fireworks even began, we were treated with a good 2 hours of non-stop fireworks from people living next to the museum, and increasingly more for people arriving for the evening in the park.  Despite a large police presence, it didn’t stop tons of fireworks from being shot illegally in the city limits there. We didn’t mind at all.

    As is began to get dark, the Lubbock skyline began to light up from one side to the other as everyone across town shot off their fireworks. I have never seen so many in my life!  We could then see the official show out at the country club to our north, and then finally the official show, which we streamed live on the ChaseCam here on the website.

    Despite the fact we had virtually no wind and that was keeping the smoke in place, I still managed to get quite a few photos I am pleased with, and of course the video.  One lesson learned…  next year I will be putting out a remote mic so I can just get the firework sounds and not everyone talking around me too (including myself!).

    The video is here below, and you can find the rest of the photos here.