Thunderstorm Wind in Randall County, Texas

A 69 mph thunderstorm winds gusts estimated via radar caused a tractor trailer rollover accident at the intersection of McAfee Road and Washington Street in Amarillo (Randall County). The tractor trailer was traveling south along Washington Street as a line of thunderstorms moved from west to east across Amarillo. The line of thunderstorms produced a downdraft which struck the tractor trailer perpendicular to its path of travel causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The driver of the semi-tractor trailer died as a result of the rollover.

An anomalously dynamic upper level system caused a rare severe weather outbreak during the afternoon and evening hours of December 14th. This outbreak was very dynamically driven with very minimal instability values. However this lack of instability was overcome by a 150 mph tropical jet streak, a negatively tilted mid-level trough, 45 mph low level jet, and the presence of a surface warm front and cold front.

Thunderstorm initiated over eastern New Mexico as single cells, but transitioned into a linear structure along the leading edged of a surface cold front as they entered the western Texas Panhandle. Once transitioned into a linear structure, severe thunderstorm wind gusts became the primary threat. This was reflected in the storm reports as numerous thunderstorm wind gusts and wind damage were received, but only one report of 1 inch hail was received. The first report of damage for the outbreak was south-southwest of the town of Vega (Deaf Smith County) where thunderstorm downdrafts blew over center pivots used for irrigation. Several more reports of thunderstorm winds gusts between 60 and 70 mph were received from Deaf Smith, Randall, Potter, and Oldham Counties as the line of thunderstorms moved across the southern Texas Panhandle. In Oldham County three tractor trailers were overturned on US Highway 385 north of the city of Vega.

As the thunderstorms moved across Potter and Randall County thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph were reported all across the counties. Two additional tractor trailers rollover accidents were reported on Interstate 27 between Amarillo (Randall County) and Canyon (Randall County), and at the intersection of McAfee Road and Washington Street on the southeast side of Amarillo (Randall County). The accident at McAfee Road and Washington Street resulted in one fatality. Given the west to east track of the line of thunderstorms, vehicles on north-south running roads faced the most hazardous driving conditions due to cross winds, and as a result all rollovers reported occurred on north-south roads.

Also the turbulent winds near this line of thunderstorm contributed to an aircraft mishap over Armstrong County. The pilot, a locally known dentist from Colorado Springs, Co, and the passenger, the pilot's father, were killed when their double prop Beechcraft E-90 airplane had an in-flight break-up according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board. The report went on to state that the turbulent air flows caused the aircraft to experience updrafts and downdrafts that tore the fuselage apart. Wreckage from the aircraft were located near the city of Claude (Armstrong County).

As the line of thunderstorms reached the eastern edge of Potter and Randall County, they reached the intersection of the cold front and warm front. The additional low level shear provided by this intersection allowed for three brief tornadoes to form in southern Carson County and central Donley County. The tornado in Carson County lasted 5 minutes and traveled three miles without causing any damage. However a trained spotter provided photographic evidence of its occurrence. Two tornadoes occurred in Donley County; one near Clarendon and another near Lelia Lake. Both lasted a minute in duration but were able to produce noticeable structural damage. All three tornadoes were classified as EF-0.

By 6 PM CST, the line of thunderstorms became disorganized as the upper level dynamics moved further to the northeast, and no further reports of damage or severe gusts were received.