Wow, so many things I did wrong and quite a few tornadoes I missed out on due to positioning and getting stuck in the mud...but I did manage to see at least 1 tornado (the other was a rain wrapped tornado with numerous power flashes, though could not confirm a visual)
May 22 ended up with me being stuck in the mud for 2 hours in the middle of nowhere Kansas! I didn't have a cell phone signal to boot, but I had my internet connection working so I loaded up the storm chasing chat room and asked people in there if they could get in contact with somebody for me to get me pulled out. Low and behold with their help, volunteer fire fighters and a nice gentleman with his tractor pulled me out. NW Kansas hospitality is wonderful and a life saver. Needless to say, no tornadoes observed that day as I missed the Hoxie wedge by a minute as I encountered down power lines along US-24 just west of town.
May 23 ended up being a little better as I did get to see a tornado or two but a wealth of positioning mistakes and mistakes on my part cost me a few more tornadoes. If I would have been patient and followed storms that I had originally been on, I would have tracked the tornado near Quinter, and one near Shields, along with countless others... But I ended up in Ness County where I had very friendly encounters with LEO, especially with a sheriff and his wife who were in a marked patrol vehicle who I chatted with and provided radar updates for about 5-10 minutes showing him a supercell that was tracking northeastward into his county. He went off to the SE towards Ness City, and then I followed to boot a few minutes later. I intercepted this storm S of Ness City and then followed it north and then west, and then east, and then back north again where I reported a tornado on the ground NNE of town on the Spotter Network. I followed the storm east on K-4 where all I could see was power flash after power flash but no visual on a tornado. This tornado, I believe, turned into a wedge and headed for the Cedar Bluff lake. With nighttime falling, I discontinued the chase and drove back home. It was a scary site driving through the communities of Hays and Ness City with sirens going off, also with hearing reports of a large tornado near Greensburg (and I thought, not again..).
Overall, if I could repeat this chase, I would change so much on what I screwed up. Even though I did not come out empty handed, I am not too happy with this multiple day chase. Oh well, there is always more to come this year... I met up with Fred Plowman from Olathe (he says that he sees me all the time on chases...and this is very true!). He showed me video of the wedge he got near Hoxie, KS from Thursday, quite impressive I could say. He also told me how he also got stuck in the mud on Thursday, not for 2 hours like my experience, but for 18 HOURS! Wow, I would have lost my mind then... I also waved at the TornadoLive team with Dick McGowan at the wheel as I always seem to see them every chase now-a-days too! There are always a lot of chasers out in these storms but these two I seem to always see all the time! Wicked!
Tomorrow looks like a doozy forecasting, but I might be heading out for the chase, regardless, as it seems that a closer to home risk may be in store for some tornadoes along a southward moving front. A frontal chase...I am going to have to take a second look at that...more to come soon!
# posted by VORTEXpursuit.com Storm Chasing @ 5/25/2008 01:25:00 PM
