The West Texas Mesonet station at McLean was directly impacted by a tornado near 8:35 p.m. CDT on March 28, 2007. A peak instanataneous wind gust (sampled every three seconds) of 127 mph was recorded along with a pressure fall of 9 mb, as can be seen in the meteogram below. Click over the plot for a larger image. Radar base reflectivity and base velocity images from the Amarillo WSR-88D are also shown. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

       

Also available are a Radar Base Reflectivity Loop and a Radar Base Radial Velocity Loop (both are large, 4MB).

An official damage survey of this tornado conducted by the National Weather Service in Amarillo found the following:

TORNADO #3:
RATED EF-2 (MAX WINDS 110-137 MPH)
PATH LENGTH: 5 MILES ESTIMATED
MAX WIDTH: 200 YARDS
TORNADO BEGAN 8:23 PM...ENDED 8:38 PM
0 FATALITIES / 0 INJURIES

THE TORNADO LIKELY DEVELOPED TWO MILES SOUTHEAST OF MCLEAN IN SOUTHEASTERN GRAY COUNTY /IT IS UNCLEAR IF THE TORNADO CROSSED INTERSTATE 40/. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTH NORTHEAST ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF MCLEAN. A MAX WIND SPEED OF 127 MPH WAS REPORTED AT 8:35 PM AT THE WEST TEXAS MESONET WEATHER STATION...1 MILE EAST OF MCLEAN. THE TORNADO LIFTED 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF MCLEAN.

MAJOR DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING. THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION METEOROLOGICAL TOWER WAS BENT AT A 90 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE GROUND 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF MCLEAN. APPROXIMATELY 500 YARDS TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST OF THIS TOWER...A METAL VETERINARY CLINIC HAD A TXDOT HIGHWAY SIGN IMPACT THE BUILDING AND PENETRATE THE METAL SIDING AND ALSO LOST PART OF THE TIN FROM THE ROOF. ONE HUNDRED YARDS TO THE NORTH AND SLIGHTLY WEST OF THE VETERINARY CLINIC WAS A HOUSE THAT SUFFERED EXTENSIVE ROOF DAMAGE. A SMALL SECTION OF THE ROOF WAS COMPLETELY REMOVED. ALTHOUGH ONLY A SMALL SECTION OF THE ROOF WAS DESTROYED...INDICATIONS THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE SHOW THAT THE ENTIRE ROOF STRUCTURE ATTEMPTED TO BE LIFTED FROM THE WALLS. A LARGE BARN WAS ALSO DESTROYED ALONG WITH SOME TREE DAMAGE OCCURRED JUST NORTHEAST OF MCLEAN DURING THE FINAL STAGES OF THE TORNADO.

MINOR DAMAGE WAS ENCOUNTERED ALONG COUNTY ROAD Y...WHERE METAL ROOFING WAS LOST FROM A LARGE METAL SHED. METAL LAWN AND PORCH FURNITURE WAS MANGLED AND RELOCATED...A LARGE SATELLITE DISH SUFFERED MINOR DAMAGE TO ITS MESH LINING...AND A FEW LARGE BRANCHES WERE SNAPPED FROM NEARBY TREES. AN EMPTY FERTILIZER BIN ALSO DISAPPEARED. THE TORNADO DISSIPATED NORTH OF COUNTY ROAD Y.

A summary of all tornado damage surveys conducted in Gray and Donley Counties by the National Weather Service can be found HERE. The NWS office in Amarillo has also created an Overview of the Tornadic Outbreak.

West Texas Mesonet staff visited the area on the afternoon of March 29, 2007 and some pictures from that evaluation are provided below. These photos were taken by Dr. John Schroeder. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.

   
West Texas Mesonet tower located at McLean following the passage of a tornado to its west. Two of three guy wires were pulled out of the ground during the event. This was the only damage sustained by the station.


   
These images show some moderate tree damage 200 - 300 meters west of the WTM site, and roof damage to a barn located 300 meters north of the station.


   
Tree and roof damage to a residence along with a failed TXDOT roadside station (no longer in operation) are shown. Both are located about 1.2 km south-sothwest of the McLean WTM station.

The National Weather Service in Lubbock has created a Severe Weather Events Page highlighting this tornadic event.