2014-04-23 REPORTS: TX OK KS NE

[StephenHenry]

I got the impression a lot of people were pretty disappointed with this day, but it was my first 2014 chase without car trouble and I couldn't have been more excited. We caught the Wellington HP supercell as it crossed Hwy 283 near Willow, OK. Things got real messy in the inflow region as it neared, with lots of convection congealing. We were sitting just south of Willow when one of the small cells started to get ingested into the main storm and spun up a new circulation right on top of us. It was quite an intense treat to sit just a couple hundred yards west of the developing circulation in the howling inflow winds. If we'd been a little more aggressive in pursuit, we might have seen the brief spinup near Hobart, but I just don't have as much fun chasing under tons of rain. We instead dropped south to see a sunset elevated storm near Blair before heading back to Albuquerque. All in all a fun day, even if the moisture didn't pan out as hoped.

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[James Gustina]

Just realized I never even posted my photos and account for this day. Uber late but what the hell.

Started off with an initial target of Sayre and rolled into the McDonald's about 45 minutes before the first storms got their act together west of Wellington. Decided to avoid jumping into the TX PH and picked the Wellington supercell as it crossed the state line between Erick and HWY 9. Had some terrain issues for a bit so a lot of my photos of the elevated updraft base are really grainy/blurred but managed to get some cool shots of it as it slowly gusted out heading towards Mangum. Decided against continuing into the convective mess unfolding further north after a gas stop in Mangum and continued south across the Red River to check out two more discrete storms. Watched the first near Electra before seeing a better velocity presentation on the other storm and bailed to get after it. Was a bad choice as the first storm had a much more enticing look than our final storm which looking like a giant, elevated doughnut with rain curtains dancing around in the clear slot. Called the chase and ate in Wichita Falls before making the trek back to Norman.

 

[Alex Heimberger]

Pictures were shot around Meade Kansas