With storms building on the West Texas horizon I decided to pack the truck with gear and head out to "Chase". I didn't see much until Hamlin but it came in quickly. Dime to Nickel size hail and LOTS of it. It came in so quickly I didn't have time to get my camera ready.

After Hamlin I moved towards Anson on US 83, and the going was very slow. Very Very heavy rainfall and occasional hail made the driving conditions treacherous. As I got to the intersection of US 277 and US 83 the winds picked up even more and the rain fell even harder. I had to pull over at this point, you see it in the video where I have the camera pointed out the driver's window. As the rain let up and things cleared a little we could see damage all around us, a trailer on its side, part of a roof in the road along with a power pole and lines. As I drove through Anson the damage was everywhere, roofs and awnings ripped apart. Plus high water at almost every intersection in town.

After Anson I tried to get in front of the storm again so I had to head down to Abilene and head East on I-20. This was a very fast moving storm and I got in front for a while but it caught back up near Santo and I decided to veer off the interstate with some other chasers on to TX 4. We saw trees twisted apart, fences ripped off their posts and in one instance, a roof partially torn off an old gas station. We continued into Lipan where the rain intensified yet again. It was very heavy, and unfortunately too dark at this point for the camera. The waters rose here quickly, at points there was between 4-6 inches of water on TX 4. As that cell passed I realized it was getting late and time to head home. While passing though Mineral Wells and Jacksboro I was stunned to see just how much water was still pooling on the roadways, just a reminder how careful you have to be with these storms.

Rick Tillery