5/15/09 REPORT

Sorry it took me so long to post this. I've been taking care of a few things the last day or two.

I started off just south of Canadian, TX. As I neared Miami, TX, I saw a storm forming to my NW. I made my way to the target and sat for a few minutes. I then made my way up north of Canadian to see the storm a little better. The storm had great mammatus with it, but other than that, it wasn't that great.

I started noticing that the storm was moving more S/SE, so I headed back towards Miami. Once I got to Miami, the storm was tornado warned and the sirens were going off in town. I made my way a couple of miles SW of town and noticed a wall cloud developing. I kept going and met up with Jay McCoy. We sat and watched the storm strengthen quite rapidly, and CG's were popping everywhere. The storm had a very nice mesocyclone on it, but contrast wasn't the greatest.

We eventually left and headed towards Pampa as the storm became more and more HP'ish in nature. I did see a fairly persistent funnel, but never a tornado. I headed south out of Pampa, and watched the HP beast do it's thing. Really, I wanted nothing to do with that beast. The hook was amazing, and the couplet on it was even more amazing. I figured for sure there may very well be a large, violent tornado wrapped up in rain. I saw that it was heading towards the town of Lefors. Thats where my parents live. I tried to call them, but they were already taking shelter. I knew it because they didn't answer the phone. I eventually made it to Lefors, and there was some damage.

Trees were uprooted an large limbs were broken. The baseball field was damaged, along with other minor damage. I eventually made it to the NE side of town. This was the hardest hit area. A trailer house had it's roof blown off, and another trailer house was literally turned upside down. The chase pretty much ended here. After checking on my parents, I got video and headed to the station to get it on air. Now, to the photos: