DFW Gustnado

[Marc Foster]

I saw my first gustnado in a long while yesterday at the north end of
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. My first one had been late last
season with Keith Brewster just east of Fredrick, Ok. We had a pretty
good storm go up yesterday afternoon in SW Dallas County, right around
DeSoto. I had been playing street hockey just south of downtown Dallas
in Fair Park and was closely watching the cell go. Being more or less
cut off from any info sources, I couldn't tell if the storm was heading
SE and backbuiling towards me or if it was headed roughly north with
the added towers (most of them doing quite well) forming off an outflow
boundary I couldn't detect. After about 30 minutes I became pretty clear
a gust front was headed my way as a roll cloud was developing to my south.
The gust front hit us in Fair Park with about 30 to 35 kt winds and no
rain. Everyone scattered, figuring the rain was imminent, but after
looking at a radar loop later I don't think the rain ever came (the storm
stayed pretty much stationary). I left for home anyway, taking I-35
north to TX 183, going west till Texas Stadium, then going NW up TX 114.
I started getting back ahead of the gust front as I appraoched the north
entrance to the airport. I saw the gustnado from the highway looking
SSW across the east N-S runway. It was about 150 yds east of the runway,
and about 200 yds south from the end of the strip. It looked to be a
fair sized dust bowl, about 125 yds wide, and was most definitely rotating
on a vertical axis. I was able to keep an eye on it for about three minutes,
since I was too lazy to pull over and watch it for any longer. I wasn't
wearing my watch, but judging from the time I got home I would say the
gustnado occurred sometime between 7:20 and 7:40 PM CDT. I saw the radar
loop later on KXAS-CH 5, and the outflow boundary generated by the storm
was strong enough to be seen on their system. The boundary spread north
and northwest, and did kick off another storm in Wise County, N of FTW.

Anyway, I thought I'd add that little story, which should survive everyone's
climate KILL files. I would add the temperature tendencies around the
Metroplex for this summer, but it would just start up more brush fires.

Marc Foster
OUSOM/OUN-NWR