Damaging Wind Reports

In the last blog post, you saw that the National Weather Service in Shreveport confirmed two tornadoes that touched down in Deep East Texas last Monday night (4/25/2011).

While they were down surveying storm damage, they also filed several reports of wind damage that came from the rear flank downdraft of those supercell thunderstorms.

A rear flank downdraft is an area of warm, dry air that comes with the rapid descending part of a thunderstorm. A lot of times, this fast current of winds that rushes out of a thunderstorms can create a lot of wind damage.

Here is what the NWS determined from those supercell thunderstorms last week in regards to wind damage. Note: This is the verbatim of the report they filed.

{A 2 MILE SWATH OF SEVERE WIND DAMAGE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT FROM THE WELLS TORNADO. MINOR ROOF DAMAGE OCCURRED TO HOMES ALONG FM 1819. THE OLD REDTOWN SCHOOL AND SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER BOTH LOST PARTS OF THEIR METLA ROOFS. A BARN AND SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS ON CHOPPIN ROAD LOST THEIR ROOFS. HUNDREDS OF TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN FROM REDTOWN TO POLLOCK ALONG FM 1819..HWY 103...HWY7 AND HWY 69. WINDS WERE ESTIMATED FROM 90 TO 110 MPH. WIDTH OF DAMAGE WAS 2 MILES WIDE.}

{A ONE HALF MILE WIDE DAMAGE PATH IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT OF THE LUFKIN TORNADO RESULTED IN SEVERAL TREES UPROOTED OR SNAPPED BLOCKING PORTIONS OF BLUE ROCK LANE...RICHARDSON ROAD AND HWY 60. WIND SPEED WAS ESTIMATED UP TO 70 MPH.}

{AT 10:40PM...NWS STORM SURVEY NOTED A FEW TREES AND NUMEROUS TREE LIMBS WERE BLOWN DOWN ALONG HWY 69 FROM SOUTH OF HUNTINGTON IN ANGELINA COUNTY TO THE JASPER COUNTY LINE. THIS WAS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 60-70 MPH.}

{AT 11:13PM..NWS STORM SURVEY NOTED THAT NUMEROUS TREES WERE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED ALONG AND EASWT OF HWY 63 IN ANGELINA COUNTY TO THE WESTERN SHORE OF LAKE SAM RAYBURN TO JUST NORTH OF THE JASPER COUNTY LINE. THIS WAS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THUNDERSTORMS WIND DAMAGE WITH WINDS ESTIMATED NEAR 75 MPH.}