2014-04-01 REPORTS: TX/OK

[Joshua Nall]

I picked a middle of the road target of Seymour, TX and hung around there hoping to see cumulus pop up to the SW of me on visible Sat. Saw some cumulus building along the warm front so I started to head north. About 20 minutes into my drive I saw the first sign of initiating storms on radar down North of Abilene. Decided to turn around and intercept those storms. I stayed close and sampled the hail and just enjoyed being so near a storm for the first time this year. Really too close to get a good picture. This is just half of the updraft which took on a very dramatic apearance for a short while. Wish now I had been a mile or so further away and gotten a good photo of it. I did learn one thing this day though, it's near impossible to see cumulus under higher level clouds. I guess it is the way they are in the shadow of the higher level cloud deck and I was more out in the bright sun. I knew they wouldn't show up on vis sat, but I figured I should be able to actually see them from where I was. So I was pretty surpised when the first returns started showing up on radar with no view of a developing tower. I thought this day would just be the warm up day for the trip, but it turned out to be the best storm I would see.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Jenn Brindley Ubl and I stuck to the triple point in southern OK hoping for better chances at a tornado than down the dryline in Texas where directional shear looked to be lower and where the capping would force storms into an elevated state at dusk. Needless to say, we cap busted spectacularly. We had a fun and photogenic day though. Full write-up, pics, video, map:

http://www.skip.cc/chase/140401/

 

[James Gustina]

Thankfully the mid-March day in Central Texas managed to offset the crushing feeling of busting to start April. Made my way out of Norman with Brady Kendrick around 3 with a target of Waurika. Made great time and got to sit there and watch towers go up and collapse in on themselves when they hit the cap. Almost was comical when twenty people in a truck stop parking lot went "ooh" at a tower and five minutes later there were expletives being hurled at the atmosphere. Didn't even bother to consider the Throckmorton storm due to daylight issues.

 

[Brett Roberts]

Full account: http://skyinmotion.com/chase/chase.php?id=171

Chased with Daniel Betten and Derek Stratman, targeting the dryline-warm front intersection SW of SPS. Hedged around the Red River for a bit just to keep the secondary warm front target honest, then blasted SW once initiation began. Got on the Throckmorton area storm pretty early, but this ended up being a curse in disguise as we continually found ourselves too close for optimal structure shots once it got good.

Sampled some golfballs (somewhat unintentionally) wrapping around the hook as the storm neared South Bend. Let the storm go into the increasingly nasty Cross Timbers and made our way back N toward SPS, but were cut off by another cell around Olney, so we snapped some nice CGs while waiting for it to pass.

 

[Ric Burney]

Approached the Throckmorton storm from the east then cut to the south. With Jenny Brown and Justin Terveen.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXpG_e3GXEQ

 

[Joe Pudlik]

Ended up with a cap bust in S. Oklahoma...But it was nice to be out there again.

http://www.turbulentstorm.com/1/post/2014/04/april-1st-2014-s-oklahoma-chase.html