Nate Weikal
EF0
Here's how my chase went down yesterday.
I arrived in Independence, KS around 4pm because te SPC and the models were indicating a reaction occuring in that vicinity. To the west, I immediately noticed cumulus clouds trying to bubble up. I parked my car at a gas station to have a good view of the action. For nearly three hours, I remained in that one spot observing the agitated cumulus clouds.
Around 6:30pm, I noticed true updrafts were trying to punch their way through the cap. I took several pictures of the process. One of the updrafts started forming an anvil, but then, the top got sheared off. As the top went over, it actually sprinkled a little.
However, I noticed the updraft's second attempt looked like it would be more successful, so the chase was on. (storm 15 min later)
(storm 20 min after that)
I initially travelled West to take a closer look at the developing supercell. I met up with another chaser and we both observed the storm for about an hour before deciding to head back east to catch up with the storm. The storm became severe and tornado warnedwhile en route to Thayer to try and observe it more closely. For a moment, we could see the large tornado , although it quickly roped out. There were reports of damage done by this twister. The number of times the updraft recycled and its change in speed and direction filled me with awe. The mothership structure was breath taking, though I had to head south to avoid the hook that was constantly heading south. Finally, after chasing this storm for nearly 4 hours, it finally became outflow dominated and I decided it was time to call it a night to get a good night's sleep in order to get ready for tomorrow.
I arrived in Independence, KS around 4pm because te SPC and the models were indicating a reaction occuring in that vicinity. To the west, I immediately noticed cumulus clouds trying to bubble up. I parked my car at a gas station to have a good view of the action. For nearly three hours, I remained in that one spot observing the agitated cumulus clouds.
Around 6:30pm, I noticed true updrafts were trying to punch their way through the cap. I took several pictures of the process. One of the updrafts started forming an anvil, but then, the top got sheared off. As the top went over, it actually sprinkled a little.
However, I noticed the updraft's second attempt looked like it would be more successful, so the chase was on. (storm 15 min later)
(storm 20 min after that)
I initially travelled West to take a closer look at the developing supercell. I met up with another chaser and we both observed the storm for about an hour before deciding to head back east to catch up with the storm. The storm became severe and tornado warnedwhile en route to Thayer to try and observe it more closely. For a moment, we could see the large tornado , although it quickly roped out. There were reports of damage done by this twister. The number of times the updraft recycled and its change in speed and direction filled me with awe. The mothership structure was breath taking, though I had to head south to avoid the hook that was constantly heading south. Finally, after chasing this storm for nearly 4 hours, it finally became outflow dominated and I decided it was time to call it a night to get a good night's sleep in order to get ready for tomorrow.
