My First Chase Of 2026 - Rotating Wall Cloud 27 Miles NW Of Carlsbad, NM.

May 26, 2026.

Slowly Rotating Wall Cloud.

27 Miles NW Of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

May 26, 2026.

Cylcic Wall Cloud.

20 Miles NW Of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

May 26, 2026.

Dissipating Wall Cloud.

12 Miles WSW Of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

NWS Midland Doppler Radar.

Cannon AFB Doppler Radar.

Broad, weak rotation was noted on the Midland NWS Doppler Radar and the Cannon AFB Doppler Radars between 17,000' - 33,000'. 

My First Storm Chase Of The Year - 5-26-2026.

A thunderstorm formed along the east slopes of the Guadalupe Mountains about 30 miles northwest of Carlsbad, NM, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. By 4 PM MDT, it had become a supercell and had started moving to the southeast (a right mover). I started filming it at 4 PM MDT, 27 miles northwest of Carlsbad on Marathon Rd, or about 10 miles west of the old Indian Basin Gas Plant. A broad wall cloud formed and slow rotation was noted a couple of times. I headed back east along Marathon Rd to the junction of St Hwy 137 (Queen Hwy) and then headed southwest along it towards the junction of Dark Canyon Rd (Eddy Co 401). The storm pulsed up very quickly around 4:15 mph about 13 miles west-southwest of Carlsbad, in front of me. Rapid rotation was noted briefly in the wall cloud as I passed underneath it. The storm was warned several times for golf ball-sized hail, and at one point, 2-inch-diameter or hen egg-sized hail was noted on the Midland NWS Doppler Radar. The storm never did produce a tornado. As it crossed St Hwy 137 just to my north, it quickly began to weaken. It pulsed up a couple more times to severe levels and ended up moving south of Carlsbad and then south of Whites City. I did report dime to quarter-sized hail on the ground along US Hwy 62/180 2 miles northeast of Whites City at 5:54 PM MDT.

NWUS54 KMAF 262354
LSRMAF

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX
654 PM CDT Tue May 26 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0629 PM     Hail             2 ENE Whites City       32.19N 104.34W
05/26/2026  M1.00 Inch       Eddy               NM   Trained Spotter

            Trained spotter found dime to quarter sized
            hail along U.S. Highway 62/180.

&& $$ 21

My Substack Post:

There Are None So Blind As Those Who "Will - Not" To See...107.