High Winds Cause Grain Dyer To Collapse

High winds, clocked at up to 64mph by the National Weather Service of Lubbock, struck Hart after 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, bringing rain, some hail and dust.

The Hart Weather Station measured 0.54 inches of rain, and recorded light hail, dime to marble size, and high winds. This is the most precipitation for 2014 at the local weather station. In March, 0.35 was recorded, and in November, snow brought 0.84 inches of moisture to Hart.

An old grain dryer on the west end of the granary complex to the east of Hart Auto, collapsed and fell into a grain bin. The Pulse contacted the local office of Northern Ag for more information, but was unable to speak to the manager at this posting. It’s believed that the dryer has not been used for some time.

Other damage in the area included some collapsed spans of a pivot irrigation sprinkler  about a half mile southeast of Hart on TX194. And, an apricot tree was uprooted in Hart.

The National Weather Service told The Pulse that they had received unconfirmed reports of a funnel(s) in the area on Wednesday evening when the storm struck. Ron McQueen, meteorologist, told Neoma Williams, Pulse editor, that the weather radars (located at Lubbock International Airport) won’t pick up small tornadoes from the nautical 48-mile distance Hart is from the Airport. A meteorologist on Thursday told Williams that Amarillo’s weather radars are about the same distance from Hart as are the Lubbock ones. He said that in such cases, the Service depends on other evidence, such as damage, to determine if a tornado touched down. As of this posting, the thinking is that the aforementioned damage is from the high winds.

The area is expecting more thunderstorms through Sunday.