- Facebook user Chris Gullikson posted the above picture of a "mothership cloud" from a tornado on May 21, 2012 in Adrian, Tex. with Tempest Tours.
- Weather-Photos.NET posted this photo of a "monster supercell," west of Vega, Tex.
How did it happen?
- From the Amarillo, Tex. office of the National Weather Service:
"The combination of an unstable air mass, a retreating frontal boundary, and an approaching upper-level disturbance ignited a round of severe thunderstorms across eastern New Mexico and the western Texas Panhandle. One supercell thunderstorm develop over Oldham County, Texas and slowly drifted southward. This storm produced a tornado 4 miles northwest of Adrian and hail up to the size of golfballs in Adrian. The tornado was rated EF-0 with winds estimated of 65 mph. It was on the ground for 3 minutes with a path length of 1,000 yards. The tornado was estimated to be 100 yards wide. The supercell thunderstorm eventually was overtaken by a line of storms moving out of eastern New Mexico. A squall line of thunderstorms became well-established across the southwestern Texas Panhandle and moved to the southeast. This line of storms quickly became a wind threat, and in fact, a 61-mph wind gust was recorded in downtown Amarillo." - From the National Weather Service, a picture of "supercell facing west on I-40 west of Vega, TX. Courtesy of Jason Persoff"
- From the National Weather Service, a picture of the supercell "southeast of Adrian, [Tex.], looking northwest. Courtesy of Wesley Luginbyhl"
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