Andy Wehrle
EF5
Good points, Jesse. I too was frustratingly close to the area but wasn't enthusiastic enough about prospects in the target to stick around. Part of the confusion was that, despite the fact that I was finally out of the warm frontal fog/showers into sunny skies in western Ogle County, I still didn't feel like I was in an unstable warm sector airmass. It was still rather cool (although a lot more moist, as my car windows fogged up a little bit) with no wind to speak of. Ob at Freeport said there were northerly winds which suggests they were still north of the front as your map indicates. There were a lot of little updrafts already popping up and some of them were already showering, so I threw in the towel deciding the airmass would be worked over and the "show" would be squally storms with the cold front. No guarantee I'd have seen the tornado had I stuck around, but I sure would have had a shot and definitely gotten a good storm!
