Gulf of Mexico Squall Line Gusts to 74 MPH

There was an impressive squall line in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday afternoon, associated with a low pressure system there.

Before it moved over the ocean, it had dropped two tornadoes in southern Texas, one which tracked for 21 miles [PDF]!

The associated squall line still looked impressive as it emerged into the western Gulf:

By the time it reached southeast Louisiana, it didn't look as good on radar, appearing to have broken up into separate cells, but still caused a 74-mph wind gust (hurricane force, if it were sustained) at the Mississippi Canyon oil rig (KMDJ on the map above; for some reason NDBC doesn't have online yet, but MesoWest caught it). Although that rig is about 200 feet up (standard wind observations are taken at 30 feet), other Gulf stations reported wind gusts to 60 (and earlier 70 in Texas).