These Are Not The Tornadoes You’re Looking For…

One perhaps little known detail of storm chasing is the fact that, when you are chasing for  prolonged period of time, you often tend to forget what day it is, what you have done, and when you did it. If you had told me just a few hours ago that it was Saturday, I would have scoffed and said “I don’t believe you.” This past day was, however, Saturday, and to set the record straight before I completely forget or get mixed up, I have to report that on this Saturday, we got out of Dodge. Dodge City, that is.  The SPC had a slight risk area marked up in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, so we headed east out of Dodge City towards the region where convection was forecast to have the greatest chance at being severe. The chance for tornadoes was marginal, but when you’ve had the season we’ve been having, you will latch on to any chance (within range, of course), you can get!

Needless to say, we didn’t get too far out of Dodge before the almighty PIs (the acronym, not the irrational number) hand picked the Walmart parking lot we’d be, well, parking ourselves in for several hours awaiting any sign of inclement weather. Lunch time (for those who ate lunch) came and went, the TIV came on by and stole our thunder, but still the weather looked bleak. Convection did spring up, but as it looked like it was quickly becoming linear, we didn’t expect too much would happen. Well, I’ve got to say WE WERE WRONG!

The armada actually saw a handful of tornadoes today. They were visually rather unimpressive, but they were in fact tornadoes. Given the tornadoes’ presentation on radar and the fact that the armada was not in a prime location with respect to them, the poor pod people spent the day confined to their vehicles, having to be content with getting by with only mesonet data. The hail we were getting may also have something to do with this… No wind shields were broken, but I certainly wouldn’t want to go outside to deploy pods when little ice balls an inch or so in diameter are being hurled at me at at least terminal velocity by the sky. The DOWs, however, got data.

Near Harper, Kansas. This tornado actually persisted for some time and did some damage...

 

 

... Like potentially to this wind turbine. Poor wind turbine.

 

Another perhaps little known detail of storm chasing is the love hate relationship you develop with Walmart and their parking lots when you are out in the middle of nowhere on the Plains...