May 25, 2014 Carlsbad/Hobbs, NM Supercell

Our day started in Odessa, TX where we were faced with a bit of a decision.  There seemed to be two potential targets, one to the south (Fort Stockton, TX) and north (Carlsbad, NM).  We initially thought that storms would start forming off of the Davis and Glass Mountains, so we decided to jog south towards Fort Stockton.  Once we arrived and glanced at the visible satellite we noticed that things really were struggling.  There was a storm way down there south of Fort Stockton, but it was dying.  So, we backtracked north to play in between the two targets for a bit.  We sat for hours in Eunice, NM underneath of the cumulus field and watched the main cu pulse up to 50 dBZ and then dissipate within 20 minutes.  Since we had a room booked in Brownfield, TX and decided to make a run at some great looking storms up just east of Roswell, NM.  However, we kept an eye on the storm going up west of Hobbs, NM.  After noticing it was throwing off a left-split we decided to make a play on it.  The closer we got the better it looked and ultimately found a great spot to sit and watch the storm produced amazing rotation.  The motion in this storm was nuts and the clear slot was in the strangest location.  It gave us a really unique perspective.  The best part is that we sat in one location for an hour watching the storm move right by us.  Every five minutes the storm would do something different.  She really gave us a great show!  It was a structure freaks dream.  After dark, we attempted to grab some lightning shots, but the storm really didn't produce much.  We headed to Brownfield, TX where we stayed overnight. 

Walker Ashley (chubasco.niu.edu) time lapse of the day