From Fog to Cowboys to Tornadoes

Sunday, January 15th, 2017

Today we got up about 6AM and prepped for leaving. It was drizzly and foggy, but not too bad. We pulled out about 8:20am. All the way from Alpine to Abilene was foggy, but mostly around Midland Odessa area, where visibility was less than a quarter mile. We also had light rain on and off along the way. Luckily, we got out of the area where heavier rain was to fall, later in the morning and throughout the day.

Our trip was uneventful and we made good time, arriving back home at about 3pm.  It was not raining here at the moment, so we got the basics set up pretty quickly. We were able to be in our recliners by the time the Cowboy game started, about 3:30!

In the late afternoon, a squall line developed near Big Spring as they predicted, and marched its way east. It got to us about 5PM, but the wind and rain was not severe. We might of had about  20 seconds of small hail. South along the line, the storm packed more punch, with red and purple areas, and some severe winds.

Also associated with the front bringing it, some supercells developed and traveled northeast ahead of the line. some of these actually did become tornadic, and at one point one was headed toward the AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX where the Cowboys had just lost a playoff heartbreaker against the Green Bay Packers, losing in the last 30 seconds by a field goal. Folks on Facebook were saying God/Mother Nature was not pleased with the outcome of the game, LOL! (We found out later an F-1 tornado had passed near there and damaged a building in Grand Prairie.)

Overall, we had a great time and great rally planning. I wish we could stay for a month, there is lots to see and do in and around Alpine. I can't wait for our rally!