000
NOUS44 KLUB 212052
PNSLUB
TXZ021>044-212200-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX
352 PM CDT WED MAR 21 2007

...NWS CONDUCTS DAMAGE SURVEY FOLLOWING MARCH 10 2007 SEVERE
WEATHER IMPACTS AT ESTELLINE TEXAS IN HALL COUNTY...

ON SATURDAY MARCH 10 2007...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TRACKED ACROSS
PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE. BETWEEN 800 AND 830 PM A STORM
MOVED THROUGH EASTERN HALL COUNTY CAUSING SIGNIFICANT WIND DAMAGE
IN THE CITY OF ESTELLINE. A NUMBER OF STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED OR
DESTROYED...INCLUDING ONE TRAILER HOME WHERE 4 PEOPLE WERE
INJURED.

ON THURSDAY MARCH 15 2007...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK
DISPATCHED AN ASSESSMENT TEAM TO INVESTIGATE THE DAMAGE. THE FOLLOWING
REPORT IS A SUMMARY OF THE THEIR FINDINGS.

THE ASSESSMENT TEAM...COMPRISED OF JUSTIN WEAVER...NWS LUBBOCK METEOROLOGIST
IN CHARGE...AND JOHN LIPE...NWS SENIOR HYDROLOGIST/METEOROLOGIST INVESTIGATED
DAMAGE AROUND THE CITY OF ESTELLINE.

MAXIMUM WIND SPEEDS BASED ON THE DAMAGE WERE ESTIMATED BETWEEN 90 AND
100 MPH. THE DAMAGE SURVEYED IN THE AREA...COMBINED WITH NUMEROUS INTERVIEWS
OF LOCAL RESIDENTS AND CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS...LED THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK TO CONCLUDE ON TWO MAIN IMPACTS FROM THE
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.

THE FIRST AND PREVAILING IMPACT OCCURRED FROM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
DOWNBURST. THE DOWNBURST OCCURRED OVER THE CITY OF ESTELLINE AS A
CORE OF HEAVY RAIN HIGHER IN THE ATMOSPHERE INTERACTED WITH DRY
AIR BENEATH THE THUNDERSTORM TO DELIVER AN INTENSE DOWNRUSH OF AIR
TOWARD THE GROUND.

THE SECOND IMPACT PRODUCED SEVERE DAMAGE FROM A BRIEF TORNADO...AS NOTED
IN SURVEY POINTS 9 AND 10 BELOW. THE TORNADO PRODUCING THIS DAMAGE...UNDER
THE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS PRESENT ON MARCH 10 2007...IS KNOWN AS A
TYPE-B TORNADO FROM THE FUJITA CASE STUDIES. THE TYPE-B TORNADO FORMS
MUCH LIKE A LANDSPOUT AS ROTATION NEAR THE GROUND IS LOFTED TOWARD THE
BASE OF THE CLOUD WITHIN THE STORM UPDRAFT OR RISING AIR. THIS IS CONTRARY
TO TORNADO FORMATION FROM A MESOCYCLONE THAT TYPICALLY DESCENDS FROM
THE BASE OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. THE DAMAGE WAS RATED EF-1 ON THE
ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE OF TORNADO DAMAGE WITH ESTIMATED WINDS IN ESTELLINE
BETWEEN 90 TO 100 MPH. DAMAGE SURVEYED SUGGESTED THE LANDSPOUT TORNADO
IMPACTED THE AREA FOR ONE-QUARTER OF A MILE ALONG A SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST
PATH ALONG AND TO THE WEST AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 86 AND 287.

THE TOTAL OBSERVED DAMAGE AREA EXTENDED FROM ABOUT 1 MILE WEST OF
ESTELLINE INTO TOWN. THE WORST DAMAGE WAS IN THE NORTHWEST QUADRANT
OF THE SMALL COMMUNITY...HOWEVER ONE MOBILE HOME WAS DESTROYED ABOUT
2 BLOCKS EAST OF THE TOWN CENTER.

 1. THE FIRST INDICATION OF DAMAGE WAS LOCATED ONE MILE WEST OF TOWN
TO THE NORTH OF STATE HIGHWAY 86 WHERE A CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM
WAS OVERTURNED. 
 2. AN 18-WHEELER TRAILER WAS OVERTURNED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF HIGHWAY
86 CONSISTENT WITH VERY STRONG WEST WINDS. 
 3. ALSO ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF TOWN...JUST NORTH OF HIGHWAY
86...A MOBILE HOME WAS ROLLED ON TOP OF TWO VEHICLES AND CAME TO A
STOP WHEN IT HIT A LARGE TREE. FOUR PEOPLE INSIDE THE HOME WERE
INJURED DURING THE IMPACT. THE MOBILE HOME DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE
BEEN TIED DOWN AND ROLLED TO THE EAST CONSISTENT WITH WEST TO WEST-
SOUTHWEST WINDS. 
 4. IMMEDIATELY EAST OF THE MOBILE HOME THE ROOF OF A 15X25 FOOT
METAL SHED WAS RIPPED OFF. 
 5. JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE MOBILE HOME...A SMALL TRAVEL TRAILER
WAS OBSERVED ROLLED TO THE EAST AND WAS LEANING UP AGAINST A SMALL
HOME...WHERE IT WAS PREVIOUSLY PARKED BESIDE. 
 6. ON THE NORTHWESTERN EDGE OF THE TOWN SQUARE...TWO LARGE BRICK BUILDINGS
WERE DESTROYED. THE ONE AT THE NORTH END APPEARED TO HAVE COMPLETELY
COLLAPSED. THE SOUTHERN OF THE TWO HAD A MORE RECENTLY BUILT
PEAKED METAL ROOF WHICH LIFTED THEN FELL BACK ON THE BUILDING. AS
A RESULT...SOME OF THE WALLS HAD COLLAPSED...ESPECIALLY ON THE
WEST AND EAST END. 
 7. ABOUT 100 YARDS NORTHWEST OF THE COLLAPSED BUILDINGS WAS A ROW
OF 8 TRAILERS FOR 18-WHEELER RIGS. THE TWO TRAILERS SITUATED ON
THE WESTERN END WERE PUSHED TO THE EAST AND UP AGAINST AN ADJACENT
TRAILER. SIMILARLY...THE TRAILER ON THE EASTERN END WAS ROLLED ON
ITS SIDE AND SLID ABOUT 60 FEET TO THE NORTHEAST INTO A TELEPHONE
POLE AND SMALL TREE. A SECOND TRAILER FROM THE EASTERN END WAS
PUSHED BACK AND TURNED SLIGHTLY.
 8. ABOUT 100 YARDS WEST-NORTHWEST OF THE COLLAPSED BUILDING...
TWO COTTON TRAILERS WERE ROLLED NORTH-NORTHEAST AND WERE ON TOP
OF EACH OTHER.
 9. ABOUT 3 BLOCKS EAST-SOUTHEAST OF THE COLLAPSED BUILDING...AT
THE INTERSECTION TWO BLOCKS EAST OF HARPER AND MCPHERSON
STREETS...A MOBILE HOME WAS DESTROYED WITH DEBRIS SCATTERED TO THE
WEST. THE METAL BASE OF THE MOBILE HOME REMAINED CLOSE TO ITS
ORIGINAL POSITION...BUT ALL THE WALLS...ROOF AND REMAINING
SECTIONS WERE FLATTENED AND SCATTERED TO THE WEST. ADDITIONAL
SURVEY FINDINGS OF DEAD TREE LIMBS AND OTHER DEBRIS INDICATED THE
STRONGEST WINDS AT THIS LOCATION WERE FROM THE EAST...SUGGESTING A
CONVERGENT FLOW PATTERN AS WELL AS AN INDICATION OF TORNADIC
ROTATION IN THE AREA.
 10. TWO BLOCKS NORTHEAST OF THE TOWN SQUARE...LOCATED ON THE
EAST SIDE OF U.S. HIGHWAY 287 AND JUST SOUTH OF MAYSEY STREET...A
TRAVEL TRAILER AND OUTBOARD BOAT HAD BEEN ROLLED TO THE NORTH-
NORTHEAST. THE TRAVEL TRAILER WAS UPSIDE DOWN ABOUT 100 FEET FROM
ITS ORIGINAL POSITION AND THE WALLS HAD COMPLETELY DISINTEGRATED.
THE BOAT WAS A HEAVY FIBERGLASS OUTBOARD AND HAD MOVED ABOUT 50
FEET...SEPARATED FROM ITS TRAILER.
 11. TWO BLOCKS EAST OF THE TRAVEL TRAILER...AT THE NORTHEAST
EDGE OF TOWN...A BARN HAD PARTS OF ITS SHEET METAL ROOF PEALED
UP.
 12. A HOME ONE BLOCK SOUTH OF TOWN CENTER HAD SHEET METAL
ROOFS FROM PORCHES AND A SHED TORN OFF.
 13. MISCELLANEOUS TREE AND MINOR ROOF DAMAGE WAS NOTED IN OTHER
PARTS OF TOWN...BUT IT APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN MOST WIDESPREAD ON THE
WEST SIDE OF U.S. 287.

ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF TOWN THE STRONGEST WINDS APPEARED TO HAVE
COME FROM THE WEST. NEAR THE TOWN SQUARE...THE MOST DAMAGING WINDS
WERE ESTIMATED OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST. HOWEVER...A GENTLEMAN WHO RODE
OUT THE STORM IN A BUILDING IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF THE COLLAPSED BRICK
BUILDINGS...NOTED IN ITEM 6...INDICATED THAT VERY STRONG EAST WINDS
IMPACTED THE EAST-FACING DOOR OF THE BUILDING SECONDS BEFORE POWER WAS
KNOCKED OUT AHEAD OF THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. THE OBSERVER INDICATED
TWO MEN WERE TRYING TO HOLD THIS DOOR SHUT. TWO BLOCKS EAST OF TOWN...EAST
WINDS DESTROYED A MOBILE HOME. AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF TOWN THE STRONGEST
WINDS WERE SURVEYED TO HAVE COME FROM THE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE
LOCAL RESIDENTS IN ESTELLINE...LOCAL AND COUNTY OFFICIALS IN ESTELLINE
AND HALL COUNTY...AND AMARILLO MEDIA AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE OFFICIALS
FOR ALL OF THE HELP PROVIDED BEFORE AND DURING THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE DAMAGE SURVEY.

$$

WEAVER/LIPE/LAMARRE