2009 CHASE ACCOUNTS

MARCH 26, 2009: NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS (SUPERCELL/POSSIBLE TORNADO)

I made a quick trip down to north central Texas and managed to catch the initiation of what turned out to be a very impressive, slow moving supercell, which took a path parallel to the east-west highway 82.  Skies were cloudy during the trip from Norman, OK to Gainesville, TX, but quickly cleared immediately west.  I soon spotted several updraft towers (~5:40 pm) residing along and to the north of the Red River.  The southern most tower strengthened and matured by 6:10 pm, developing a long anvil which streamed toward the east-northeast (picture 1, picture 2).  As I reached Nocona, TX, the base came into view...looking slightly elevated, but eventually displaying a long beavers tail that extended toward the east for several miles, and a tight gradient between the forward flank precip core and updraft (picture 3).  A broadly rotating updraft base was present, and the storm soon developed a wall cloud (though the base was still high).  At 7 pm, signs of a clear slot were observed, punching into the rear side of the wall cloud, and then curling around to the east-northeast (picture 4).  Low-level rotation tightened up, but the exposed updraft looked cold, possibly indicating that surface air was not sufficiently buoyant for tornadogenesis.  Several additional clear slot/RFD/low-level meso cycles occurred during the next 45 minutes...each appearing to fail in producing a tornado (nickel size hail was also observed at 7:30 pm).  At one point, an intense vertical jet developed at the cloud base, resulting in scud getting sucked up from near the surface.  I had to turn my car around as this process started taking place (I was within half a mile), so I could never confirm that this feature was rotating, although after watching other chaser video, it appears that it was a very weak, brief tornado (picture 5).  I had to work a midnight shift, so I left the storm right around sunset.  As I gained about 10 miles distance east of the storm, I looked back and observed an incredible cylindrical-helical updraft...it was an amazing sight.

APRIL 9, 2009: SOUTHEAST KANSAS (MARGINALLY SVR CONVECTION)

Roger Edwards, Ashton Cook, and myself left Norman by 1-1:30 pm for a target in the vicinity of Wichita, KS.  We determined that there were two basic targets in play on this day, the first being close-underneath a cold mid-level low west of Wichita, where mini-tornadic supercells would be possible.  The other target would be southeast KS where storms forming off of the dryline to the south would move north-northeast and cross a warm front, where tornadogenesis would be favored (the warm sector wasn't an option since it was in the jungles of eastern OK).  As we drove north toward these targets, we encountered a grass fire occurring along the west side of I-35 (about 30 miles to the north of OKC).  The smoke plume was becoming increasingly sheared toward the northeast, and actually seemed to enhance cumulus developing above.  It was kind of exhilarating watching this fire occur only a few hundred yards from the interstate, with occasional flare-ups occurring when the fire encountered the scrubby trees that plague the region.  We later learned that the fire intensified and accelerated after the dryline passed through (when RH values rapidly dropped and wind gusts of 40-60 mph developed), resulting in officials closing the interstate.  As it turns out, the widespread wildfire event occurring in Oklahoma would prove to be the most exciting part of this chase.  Once we reached Wichita, we quickly decided to give up on the cold core play to the west, due to widespread high-based weak virga producing convection that developed within the well mixed PBL airmass as strong large-scale ascent overtook the region.  The high-based junk killed destabilization, preventing significant 0-3 km CAPE from developing (which appears to be an important component to low-topped tornado events).  So, we headed east and picked off a couple of struggling cells emanating off of the dryline.  Destabilization was weak off to our east as well, due to insufficient low-level moisture returning in time before initiation took place.  We eventually reached the inflow side of a storm that was quickly becoming outflow dominant between Severy and Fredonia, KS (picture 1)...and then watched a high based storm forming to the south near the approaching deep surface low (picture 2, picture 3).  These storms were generally un-interesting, so we headed back south to Tulsa, OK, and then southwest to OKC...observing a nocturnal wildfire and smoldering trees along the way.

APRIL 29, 2009: WEST TEXAS (SUPERCELL/DISTANT TORNADO)

While driving west from Haskell, TX, I spotted a large updraft tower erupting to the northwest in Floyd County TX at around 4:30 pm (picture).  I made my way north on highway 70, and reached the updraft base by ~5:30 pm.  It had LP characteristics initially, and was virtually stationary (which may have aided in yielding an LP storm type, due to the stronger storm-relative anvil layer flow).  The storm had visually impressive mid-level rotation (picture), which soon developed at the base as well (picture).  Inflow picked up by 5:40 pm (surface winds estimated at around 30 mph), and a wall cloud developed (picture), followed by a clear slot on the back side of the updraft (picture).  Low-level rotation briefly intensified during this process, but couldn't tighten up into a strong vortex.  The storm went through multiple RFD cycles/occlusions during the next 30 minutes, but still failed to produce a tornado.  I then had to drop south back toward Matador, TX, and north on TX 94.  While doing this, I spotted another updraft base 20 miles to the west.  A large tube shaped feature was extending down to the ground, and I thought it might be a tornado, but then second-guessed myself and decided it was just scud.  I learned later that it was indeed a tornado which occurred near Cedar Hill, TX (I wish I would have taken a picture of it).  While heading northwest on TX 94 in order to reposition in front of the updraft base, I crossed paths with Rich Thompson and Roger Edwards.  I pulled over and watched the striated storm (picture) with them (David Hoadley pulled up a few minutes later)...with a few scudy fingers extending toward the ground.  The storm quickly morphed into an outflow dominant HP supercell during the next 30 minutes, and I decided to call it a day.

MAY 1, 2009: WESTERN NORTH TEXAS (SUPERCELLS)

I caught up with a supercell north-northwest of Haskell, TX just after it finished producing a weak tornado.  This storm developed a second wall cloud (though the base was fairly high), and also displayed some nice updraft structure (picture 1, picture 2).  As it continued to approach Haskell, a funnel shaped feature developed from the wall cloud, but rain soon obscured the updraft base, and I decided to let the storm go.  As I drove north back toward Seymour, TX, a second supercell came into view.  It had a lower base with a more classic-looking wall cloud, complete with inflow tail (picture, picture).  I parked immediately south of the base, with excellent back lighting.  Broad low-level rotation developed, and a clear slot soon emerged (picutre)...but for what ever reason, low-level rotation failed to intensify further, and the storm weakened significantly thereafter.

MAY 13, 2009: CENTRAL OKLAHOMA (SUPERCELL)

I got off of work at around 3:45-4:00 pm, and drove towards an area of probable storm initiation near Watonga, OK.  As suspected, large towers were erupting in this area, along a southward sagging cold front.  I drove towards an updraft base around Southard, OK, and enjoyed some decent storm structure (picture), as well as an area of cloud base rotation.  The storm was very high based, which seemed to hinder tornadic potential despite several attempts at developing a wall cloud.  I followed this cell south for an hour or so (encountering nickel-quarter size hail from time to time), and then drove back home at sunset.

JUNE 5, 2009: SOUTHEAST WYOMING (SUPERCELL/LARGE TORNADO)

After driving all night, I reached Sterling, CO by noon.  I ate lunch in Sterling, met up with Brian Thalken, and then drove west and then north toward Kimball, NEB (where I saw VORTEX-2 waiting for storm development: picture, picture, picture), and then further north to Harrisburg, NEB.  After turning west on a paved county road, I passed the VORTEX-2 armada near the WY/NEB state line, and drove further west past La Grange, WY where I positioned just east of a developing supercell (picture, picture).  I had an excellent view of the storm, watching it develop classic updraft structure, reorganize its wall cloud, and then develop intense low-level rotation.  A long inflow band developed along the storms northeast flank (picture, picture), with a translucent precipitation core to its north (surely filled with giant hailstones, as I would soon find out).  As the storm slowly drifted east-southeast, a new wall cloud organized, with broad cloud base rotation intensifying (picture, picture).  Then, a small precipitation core developed on the south side (I believe) of the wall cloud...rotating around to the north side, and rotation became more focused (picture, picture).  A thin needle tornado developed after several minutes...then a translucent tube, and then finally a large solid cone shaped cylinder (picture).  I unfortunately decided to take a north road toward the growing tornado, and got caught between the hail core and the tornado.  Hail up to at least baseball size started pounding my car, producing some decent size dents as well as a cracked wind shield.  I also ended up sliding off the edge of a muddy road and became high centered, but luckily was able to work my way out of that situation without having to be towed.  The sad thing is that I didn't even get decent photography of the tornado, but probably could have if I drove east away from the storm...so experiencing the hail and tornado up close doesn't appear to be worth it.

JUNE 13, 2009: WEST TEXAS (SUPERCELL)

While driving towards my target of Paducah, TX, a supercell initiated near Matador, TX...and was quickly given a tornado warning by Lubbock NWSFO.  The storm took a right turn as I reached Paducah, so I drove south toward Guthrie.  New storms continued to develop along the southern flank of the storm, and displayed decent structure as they strengthened and were absorbed by the primary updraft (picture).  As the storm approached Aspermont, it quickly morphed into a HP supercell, with large plumes of dust filling its RFD (picture).  By the time I got to Haskel, TX, the lighting was becoming worse and worse (unfavorable for photography), and I decided to drive home despite continued tornado warnings being issued for the storm.

JUNE 15, 2009: SOUTHWEST KANSAS (SUPERCELL/POSSIBLE TORNADO)

I spent most of the early afternoon waiting for storm initiation in Greensburg, KS.  By mid-afternoon, a thunderstorm updraft erupted north-northwest of Dodge City.  I made my way toward this developing storm, which produced one of the best anvils I've ever seen.  The updraft base soon came into view, and quickly developed a rotating wall cloud.  The storm made several attempts at producing a tornado, but couldn't quite get it done (possibly due to unfavorable interaction with an upstream storm?).  I followed this storm east, eventually having to leave highway 50, and move east with the storm on dirt roads.  My option in roads eventually put me in front of a strongly rotating HP supercell.  Fearing that I would get engulfed by the storm, I decided to quickly back track to the south and let it pass.  As the storm moved east (about a mile to my north), I observed a vigorously rotating column of dirt connecting with the low hanging base.  It appeared to be a tornado, but I was unable to get photography of this feature, and could only watch it for about 10 seconds before having to continue backing away from what looked like Dante's Inferno.  The storm went on to produce at least one confirmed tornadoes, but I was unable to follow it farther east due to a lack of road options.