Power Outage in Notrees, TX

A supercell thunderstorm developed over Andrews County during the evening hours of September 17th. This storm encountered a stationary boundary and began moving southeast. The storm began to form a hook echo at 6:30 pm CDT as it moved toward Highway 115 in southwest Andrews County. Eyewitness reports from storm chasers and spotters in the area indicate that the initial tornado began at 7:13 pm CDT near the intersection of Andrews, Winkler and Ector Counties. Videos taken of the tornado show it touching down and lifting several times before eventually staying on the ground for several minutes over far northwest portions of Ector County. The tornado moved south southeastward across open fields of rural Ector County just west of FM 181. The damage assessment team looked at several different indicators to determine tornado intensity. The tornado snapped several electrical power poles and overturned a tank battery along its path. These damage indicators suggest EF1 intensity with wind speeds estimated at 90 to 105 mph. Near the end of the life cycle of the EF1 tornado, a weak anticyclonic circulation developed on the forward flank of the supercell around 7:25 pm CDT. This circulation moved southwest to the west of FM 181 and dissipated around 7:35 pm CDT. Storm chasers and spotters identified this funnel looking north from Goldsmith around 7:30 pm CDT. There was no evidence of damage or reports of the funnel cloud touching down. The tornado path width was estimated and the cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

At 12:15 pm CST, members of the TWISTEX research group confirmed the formation of a tornado approximately 6.5 miles south of Notrees. This tornado progressed northeastward around 20 mph, first causing damage to power poles around from 12:16 to 12:17 pm CST. As it continued to track to the northeast, the tornado caused significant damage to oil equipment from 12:19 to 12:22 pm CST. Two type 320 pump jacks, each weighing 71,000 pounds including the concrete base, were blown over. The tornado then began to weaken at 12:27 pm CST, and dissipated at 12:28 pm CST approximately 2 miles southeast of Notrees, TX.