Spring 2012 Storm Season Remains Busy: Microburst Damages Colonia northeast of Edinburg on May 9th

Photos taken from Doolittle, Texas (6 miles northeast of Edinburg) after microburst containing 60 to 65 mph winds damaged many homes and buildings. For individual pictures, click here.
Busy Spring Storm Season Continues Mini Supercell Brings Damaging Winds, More Hail on May 9th 2012
Event A thunderstorm, forming along boundaries from earlier activity during the afternoon on May 9th and aided by proximity to a stationary surface front and another wave of energy ahead of an upper level disturbance, quickly became severe northeast of Edinburg. Between 9 and 945 PM, winds increased, rain poured down, and hail developed as the storm formed and began moving east. At approximately 930 PM, a microburst and large hail struck a colonia in Doolittle (map, below), damaging nearly every home (most were of poor construction) and rolling two unanchored trailers. One resident’s ceiling caved in from the combination of hail, estimated to be quarter sized, torrential rains, and driving 60 to 65 mph winds. Another tin roof was completely blown from a mobile home. A man was inside one of the trailers when it rolled; fortunately, he was not injured. Nearby, several large limbs were broken from mesquite trees, and one tree was partially uprooted. Shed damage was also noted at the Diamond B Ranch, just north of the colonia. The storm would continue east through Hidalgo County, just north of State Highway 107, then persist into southern Willacy County, where additional hail fell. Much of the hail was the size of a quarter or less, though some reports indicated a few golfball to baseball size stones mixed in. A second storm moved northeast through the King Ranch at about the same time the rotating storm which produced the Hidalgo County damage slid into Sebastian (Willacy County). The following preliminary storm report provided additional details: PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX 1158 PM CDT WED MAY 09 2012 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0940 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 NE EDINBURG 26.34N 98.12W 05/09/2012 HIDALGO TX EMERGENCY MNGR HIIDALGO EM REPORTS TWO MOBILE HOMES DESTROYED AND HOME UNDER RENOVATION SEVERELY DAMAGED. OUTBUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES ALSO DAMAGED NEAR DOOLITTLE. NO INJURIES. 0946 PM HAIL EDCOUCH 26.29N 97.96W 05/09/2012 E2.75 INCH HIDALGO TX TRAINED SPOTTER SPOTTER REPORTED HAIL HAD BUSTED HER WINDOWS IN IN EDCOUCH. WAS NOT CONFIDENT OF EXACT HAIL SIZE. 0957 PM HAIL 10 NE EDINBURG 26.40N 98.05W 05/09/2012 E0.75 INCH HIDALGO TX PUBLIC PUBLIC REPORTS PENNY-SIZE HAIL 10 MILES NE OF EDINBURG NEAR ELSA AT THE INTERSECTION OF FM 2812 AND VAL VERDE ROAD. 1033 PM HAIL 15 S SARITA 27.00N 97.80W 05/09/2012 E1.00 INCH KENEDY TX OTHER FEDERAL BORDER PATROL CHECKPOINT 15 MILES SOUTH OF SARITA REPORTS PREDOMINANTLY NICKEL-SIZE HAIL WITH EMBEDDED QUARTER-SIZE HAIL. 1035 PM HAIL SEBASTIAN 26.34N 97.80W 05/09/2012 E4.50 INCH WILLACY TX EMERGENCY MNGR TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS SOFTBALL SIZED HAIL FALLING IN SEBASTIAN FOR LAST FIVE MINUTES. HAPPENING RIGHT NOW...FROM WILLACY EM. 1045 PM HAIL 2 S RAYMONDVILLE 26.45N 97.78W 05/09/2012 E1.75 INCH WILLACY TX EMERGENCY MNGR WILLACY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTS GOLFBALL-SIZE HAIL 2 MILES SOUTH OF RAYMONDVILLE.
Map of primary damage area, Doolittle, Texas (about 6 miles northeast of Edinburg). Red shaded area was surveyed; colonia did not exist when the map image was created.
Loop of 0.5° base velocity images between 921 and 945 PM CDT May 8th, across central Hidalgo County along and just east of Highway 281. The third frame (931 PM CDT, time not shown) shows a thin bright green stripe near the damage area, which indicated near 60 mph winds at around 5000 feet above the ground.	Loop of 0.5° base reflectivity images between 859 and 1056 PM CDT May 9th. The time lapse shows a rotating thunderstorm moving from central Hidalgo County into southern Willacy County. Bright white and gray colors indicate abundant hail of different sizes, along with torrential rains.