Rarely does a North Texas HP Stormzilla shed much of its intense precipitation field and revert back to a more classical supercell form. This one did, giving us a great backdrop to a little hillside field of bluebonnets, the state flower. Intermittent, ragged wall clouds and areas of broad rotation appeared under the base, but never anything sufficiently tight or well-organized to give me cause for concern that it would produce a tornado. I soon had to move farther ESE down this highway that the storm dutifully followed for most of its lifespan, and in doing so, say farewell to the 2009 Texas bluebonnet crop. Sunset, and the accelerated cooling of the storm’s inflow, were closing in, dooming this storm to a sure demise, but not before it put on one final, grandiose show of structure. My kids were with me, so we celebrated the day by chasing down Whataburgers with Dr Pepper in Gainesville.
5 NW Saint Jo TX (12 Apr 9) Looking WSW
33.7358, -97.5813