mrobinett
EF3
Targeted Albany, GA at the start of the day. I left Gainesville, FL at around 9 a.m. and blasted north on I75 to try and catch a little of what was already going on further north near Columbus, GA left over from the previous day.
I wasnt able to make it that far north to intercept that. After refueling in Tifton, I headed west to Albany and waited. I saw on radar a line was beginning to form to the south in the clear, as predicted by Mark Humphries by cellphone (good call, Mark, thanks!) All that nowcasting for Mark paid off.
I got to Thomasville, GA around 2 p.m. and waited. I checked radar and headed a little west to Cairo, then north and lost all data and cell coverage. Visually I could see a strong storm to the north heading east very quickly. I checked Street Altas and headed back east targeting Pelham, GA. I arrived there just as the tornado sirens went off. Apparently the storm I was running parallel to was targeting Pelham, also. I debated staying or leaving... for a second. I tuned in the local law enforcement and they were reporting powerlines and trees down to the west of town, I chose to bail southeast back to Thomasville. Met the Austins, Marc, Paul, Sarah and Sharon in Thomasville before departing back to Gainesville. Not a bad day, equipment worked great. It was a good shakedown for the season.
Mike
I wasnt able to make it that far north to intercept that. After refueling in Tifton, I headed west to Albany and waited. I saw on radar a line was beginning to form to the south in the clear, as predicted by Mark Humphries by cellphone (good call, Mark, thanks!) All that nowcasting for Mark paid off.
I got to Thomasville, GA around 2 p.m. and waited. I checked radar and headed a little west to Cairo, then north and lost all data and cell coverage. Visually I could see a strong storm to the north heading east very quickly. I checked Street Altas and headed back east targeting Pelham, GA. I arrived there just as the tornado sirens went off. Apparently the storm I was running parallel to was targeting Pelham, also. I debated staying or leaving... for a second. I tuned in the local law enforcement and they were reporting powerlines and trees down to the west of town, I chose to bail southeast back to Thomasville. Met the Austins, Marc, Paul, Sarah and Sharon in Thomasville before departing back to Gainesville. Not a bad day, equipment worked great. It was a good shakedown for the season.
Mike
