After seeing some super cellular development at around 5pm this evening, things started to go downhill. We spotted a funnel cloud just west of Woodward, OK that quickly dissipated, with not much else but rain and hail in the surrounding cells. Before reaching maturity, these cells began to merge and steal energy from one another. So we then headed south to reach the zone where super cells were developing without the obstruction of other cells' outflow and cloud cover. It was simply a spectacular sight as we pulled over for an hour and watched towering clouds build up and move. I took some great sunset shots there and even a few timelapse videos of the storm development. I'll see if I can get some of those pictures and videos up tomorrow morning.
Once those storms started really getting revved up, we traveled north to intercept one of the stronger and more promising cells. It began to get dark very quickly as we drove toward Dodge City, KS and the cloud to cloud lightning became simply beautiful. Around the Ashland, KS area we lost our Internet connection and thus our radar data. So we chased this cell blindly for a few minutes (it was about 10pm now) until Todd, owner and main guide for the tour company, decided that we needed some radar data for safety and that the low level jet (main source of Gulf moisture) was being cut off from the south by newly developed storm cells. It was then off to a late night visit to McDonald's and then settling in for the night at a motel in Woodward, OK. Hopefully tomorrow holds more potential...
I'd like to extend a special welcome to those visitors from Belski's Blog. I'll be out here chasing until June 6th and I hope to have more pictures of tornadoes and other severe weather features during the next couple of weeks. Thanks for all the comments!
2 comments:
Last night had such great potential and it was amazing being able to track your whereabouts from a cozy home computer. I must say, once you get your fingers into this stuff, it's hard to let it go ... up 'til midnight EST just watching the radar and keeping tabs on Storm Chasing Adventure Tours and Spotter Network ... what a thrill! Keep up the good work, positive attitude and most of all have a great time and be safe! Thanks for the posts.
Craig
Your right Craig. Watching all this unfold is hard to stop tracking and watching in amazement. Congrats Ryan on seeing your first funnel cloud. I hope when I see my first one it will go onto to the ground and be my first tornado too. Have fun and stay safe.
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