April 22/23, 2011: Tulsa hail and mammatus clouds

(ABOVE: My wife Shyla didn't have to storm chase to gather these. Yes, she ran out into our front yard during the storm to get them! The largest measures 2.2" wide.)

Tulsa county was battered by hail on consecutive days.

On Friday, April 22, 2011, golfball to tennis ball-sized hail beat up cars in south Tulsa county. The southern suburbs including Glenpool, Jenks, Bixby and Broken Arrow received the largest hail. Here's a bit more about the hail.

Soon afterward, mammatus clouds developed over Tulsa, a somewhat rare sight. Here is small article I wrote for KJRH regarding those clouds.

The following night on April 23, 2011, another hail storm developed in the Tulsa area. While the hail wasn't quite as large, quarter to golfball-size hail pelted cars and roofs through the middle of town. The storm formed near Kellyville, then tracked across west Tulsa, the Brookside area, Utica Square, the University of Tulsa and Tulsa International Airport. (I guess folks who unknowingly left their exposed cars in the airport parking lot may return to find hail divets in their hoods.)

Enjoy these pictures sent in by KJRH viewers! George

(ABOVE: A few baseball-sized hailstones fell in Bixby. BOTTOM: The Hall family found the largest hailstones in Bixby. These 3" hailstones are slightly larger than baseballs!)

(ABOVE: Richard Waters took this beautiful picture of the mammatus clouds over South Tulsa. You can see the City Plex Towers in the bottom right. BELOW: Janie Molloy Ledbetter had an amazing view of the mammatus clouds near Bristow. She wanted to me call them "mammary clouds" on TV... and I did.)

(BELOW: Most of the hail near Channel 2 was the size of quarters. But a few dense, golfball-sized hailstones like these damaged cars. Clay Holder photo.)

(BELOW: Storm chaser Paul Haines was chasing this Tornado Warned storm near Henryetta near sunset. If you see a cloud such as this one, which looks like a rotating space ship, then stay away! The last picture is what can happen if you don't stay away.... Tornado Warned storms can throw out huge hail away from the main precipitation core. The storm ejected baseball-size hail on to cars along Interstate 40, cracking his windshield.)

St. Patrick's Day Ride: Green and Henbit

(ABOVE: Cyclists often wear bright colors anyway. St. Patrick's Day provides an excuse for me to wear green socks.)


St. Patrick's Day was celebrated as usual on March 17, and for 2011, I joined friends for a bicycle ride. A few folks wore Irish themed cycling jerseys. I contributed by wearing green socks!

(ABOVE: Mike Neal and Terry Englert show their St. Patrick's Day spirit with appropriate jerseys. BELOW: The green tires on my bike are always ready for March 17!)


I enjoy the rides for the conversation as much as the exercise, and sometimes a little education too. On the ride into the country, the usual wisecracking Mike Neal noted the small pink flowers blooming in the open fields. I've seen these flowers before, but I never thought much about them.

Visually, the pink is stunning. The flowers can really illuminate an otherwise bland field. The zillions of pink blooms appear clustered into a field of solid color in the distant horizon... really pretty!

Mike told me the flowers were Henbit. I learned these are weed flowers which bloom early in the Spring. Like most wildflowers, they lose their intense color and disappear when temperatures warm up toward Summer.


(ABOVE: I showed this on TV. A field of Henbit overtaking this farmland near Bixby. Beautiful!)

I stopped my bicycle to snap pictures of the Henbit. I showed the photos on the TV morning news, and a few viewers emailed saying "thanks" as they wondered what they were too.

Thanks Mike. Now we know!

(BELOW: I should have worn this green jersey on the St. Patrick's Day ride. Would have matched my socks AND tires! ;)