Sorry about the extremely late bump. I had the wind taken out of me by this busted 4-day chase trip and hadn't summoned the enthusiasm to compile notes and photos until now.
Like everyone else who was looking forward to a productive day along the dryline, hopes were dashed by the unexpected (at least to me) MCS moving northeast out of the panhandles and raining all over everything. I held on to some hope that it would move out and there might be some recovery. About the time the morning convection started to clear out, new development down in Texas started heaving a dense cirrus canopy northward to take its place.
That was all I needed to see. My forecast area was toast. I headed west toward Dodge City to look for a opportunities closer to the surface low and in clearer air. By the time I reached Dodge City, the SPC had posted a tornado watch discussion for northwest Kansas. The dryline was clearly visible from my position and on northward, but the cirrus canopy was hugging right along its eastern edge. So I got on Route 23 and took off for northwest Kansas. As I made my way north, a check of the rear view mirror showed new convection popping up right over Dodge City. One cell even looked like it was reaching for the ground and trying to get surface based. I almost turned around to give it a shot, but that cirrus deck was heavy and I figured the storm was going to have some very sad inflow. So I kept hauling north.
As I got closer to I-70, I could see storms to the north beginning to go up. Spending 15 minutes with Stop-Sign-Guy on a one lane road construction zone, waiting for the pilot car was a time of great sadness and anxiety. After that, I still managed to catch up with a decent severe-warned storm on Highway 83 south of Oberlin. I was on the wrong side, and it was outflow dominant, but it was still the best thing I had intercepted the entire trip. I caught sight of an interesting lowering behind the rain curtains, but it didn't go any further than that before gusting out in a spectacular torrent of ragged scud and spindled shear vortices. I followed its remains northward, past Oberlin, where I caught the beautifully lit sight of another cell to the southeast. Radar show it to be weakening, so I decided to head north then east and sample its core.</p>
Panorama of convection looking north along Highway 83 in NW Kansas (High Res Image).
Rain free base with tantalizing but tiny persistent lowering. (High Res Image).
Tattered scud and shear vortices twist and fray as the Oberlin storm gusts out. (High Res Image).
Nicely sculpted pillar of scud flows along the gust front. (High Res Image).
Dwindling light revealed another dying cell to the southeast. (High Res Image).
Time lapse video of the day's chase. Click through to YouTube to view HD version.
Watch video >
As I drove through the blinding rain, I noticed a car riding my tail. If they want to go play
Hydroplane-on-the-Highway, I figured that's their business. So I pulled off the side and motioned them to pass. Instead they pulled alongside and told me I better hurry since the worst was headed this way. I hollered over the pounding rain, that yes, thank you, I know, but that I wasn't willing to drive as fast as them. So off they went. A couple more miles got me out of the core, and a great view of another nice lightning display on a dark Nebraska road with the frogs and crickets jamming away into the night.
The last of the convection moves north, flickering with lightning as night descends. (High Res Image).
I eventually made my way back down to Highway 36 and west to just beyond the Colorado border. I pulled off on a dirt road and caught bursts of sleep while the surface low spun overhead entertaining and distracting with bursts of rain and lightning all night long.
The full report, additional images available here:
2011 Chase Trip - Day 4 - May 11, 2011
