JamesCaruso
Staff member
Been home over a week but still catching up on chase reports...
I tried a different approach to my chase trip this year, a mix of remote work and chasing so that I could stay on the Plains longer and use PTO more productively. I began the day in Midland, expecting a short drive to the target and assuming I would be able to work a solid half day or more before heading out. The hotel wouldn't give us a checkout any later than 12:30, so I booked the room for a second night, so now I was committed to returning from wherever we ended up.
My target was roughly Lamesa to Big Spring. The last data I checked was 18z. I went back to my work and hit the road at 2pm, planning to take a work call from the car. Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the main road, I was surprised to see the eerie yellow light of blowing dust. Knowing something was up, I checked radar and saw popcorn echoes all around, from northwest of Lubbock to south of Midland. I realized that a tornado watch had already been issued. I was dismayed to find that my target was between two different MSDs, and on the northern edge of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch instead of inside the Tornado Watch. I wasn't sure why - see my post in the Events thread.
We picked up a weak LP cell near Odonnell. Nothing much to look at, but I enjoyed the moment with my son at an intersection in classic, pancake-flat chase terrain, with wind blowing eerily through the power lines. This is some of the absolute best chase area, with an extensive road network superimposed on excellent terrain.
This storm died, so we intercepted another that we chased for hours from north of Brownfield, to Tahoka. It exhibited a decent, rounded rain-free base at times, but it looked better on reflectivity than it ever did in-person. At one point we were getting some sporadic large hailstones, falling individually from the sky like meteors and hitting the road with a splat. Fortunately, we were able to drive between them as we continued east, bailing south as soon as we could.
We bailed on the storm around 8:15pm to head back to Midland. In retrospect, we should have checked out of that hotel; it would have been much easier to stay in Lubbock.
I tried a different approach to my chase trip this year, a mix of remote work and chasing so that I could stay on the Plains longer and use PTO more productively. I began the day in Midland, expecting a short drive to the target and assuming I would be able to work a solid half day or more before heading out. The hotel wouldn't give us a checkout any later than 12:30, so I booked the room for a second night, so now I was committed to returning from wherever we ended up.
My target was roughly Lamesa to Big Spring. The last data I checked was 18z. I went back to my work and hit the road at 2pm, planning to take a work call from the car. Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the main road, I was surprised to see the eerie yellow light of blowing dust. Knowing something was up, I checked radar and saw popcorn echoes all around, from northwest of Lubbock to south of Midland. I realized that a tornado watch had already been issued. I was dismayed to find that my target was between two different MSDs, and on the northern edge of the Severe Thunderstorm Watch instead of inside the Tornado Watch. I wasn't sure why - see my post in the Events thread.
We picked up a weak LP cell near Odonnell. Nothing much to look at, but I enjoyed the moment with my son at an intersection in classic, pancake-flat chase terrain, with wind blowing eerily through the power lines. This is some of the absolute best chase area, with an extensive road network superimposed on excellent terrain.
This storm died, so we intercepted another that we chased for hours from north of Brownfield, to Tahoka. It exhibited a decent, rounded rain-free base at times, but it looked better on reflectivity than it ever did in-person. At one point we were getting some sporadic large hailstones, falling individually from the sky like meteors and hitting the road with a splat. Fortunately, we were able to drive between them as we continued east, bailing south as soon as we could.
We bailed on the storm around 8:15pm to head back to Midland. In retrospect, we should have checked out of that hotel; it would have been much easier to stay in Lubbock.
