Jason Boggs
I want to know what some of you may have learned from this event. It was a true eye opener for me, and I'm sure it was for others as well. Here are some of the things I learned, or was reminded of.
No matter what, if you don't take that first step out the door, you'll never see a tornado. I almost decided not to go chasing on Monday.
Go with your gut instinct. I went back and forth in my mind whether or not to go SE on 287 or NE on Hwy 60 from Amarillo. My first instinct was to go NE, and that's where I went. I probably would have missed the tornado if I had gone SE.
Be patient! I sat north of Canadian, TX for a little over an hour twiddling my thumbs watching crap all around me. I almost ventured north to the convection around the Spearman-Perryton area. I waited and realized that the convection to the SE of me was more robust than any I had seen that day.
Don't give up! Even though I saw the robust convection to my SE, I still almost decided to go back home. I was honestly thinking that this convection wouldn't do anything anyway. Besides, it was a low end day, right?
Be ready and expect the unexpected. I filmed pea to quarter size hail just south of Roll, OK. I went south to catch I-40 to head home. When I popped over a hill and saw the base and the tornado. I didn't expect that, but I had my gear ready and took advantage of the situation. Always be ready, because you may only get one chance.
Daytime heating, CAPE, and other factors have to work together to create the right conditions for tornadic development. Just because the CAPE isn't 3,000 j/kg, or the Td isn't 60 or 65 doesn't mean that tornadoes can't or won't form. Sure, these factors are important, but they all have to work in sync to form the right environment for storms, and ultimately tornadoes. By the way, I think the surface conditions during the tornado were 58 over 51 or somewhere near those values.
I've really thought about some of these points since Monday, and my reasons and motivations for chasing has changed in a whole new way. Some may laugh, but in 12 years of chasing, this is probably the best tornado I've captured on film.
No matter what, if you don't take that first step out the door, you'll never see a tornado. I almost decided not to go chasing on Monday.
Go with your gut instinct. I went back and forth in my mind whether or not to go SE on 287 or NE on Hwy 60 from Amarillo. My first instinct was to go NE, and that's where I went. I probably would have missed the tornado if I had gone SE.
Be patient! I sat north of Canadian, TX for a little over an hour twiddling my thumbs watching crap all around me. I almost ventured north to the convection around the Spearman-Perryton area. I waited and realized that the convection to the SE of me was more robust than any I had seen that day.
Don't give up! Even though I saw the robust convection to my SE, I still almost decided to go back home. I was honestly thinking that this convection wouldn't do anything anyway. Besides, it was a low end day, right?
Be ready and expect the unexpected. I filmed pea to quarter size hail just south of Roll, OK. I went south to catch I-40 to head home. When I popped over a hill and saw the base and the tornado. I didn't expect that, but I had my gear ready and took advantage of the situation. Always be ready, because you may only get one chance.
Daytime heating, CAPE, and other factors have to work together to create the right conditions for tornadic development. Just because the CAPE isn't 3,000 j/kg, or the Td isn't 60 or 65 doesn't mean that tornadoes can't or won't form. Sure, these factors are important, but they all have to work in sync to form the right environment for storms, and ultimately tornadoes. By the way, I think the surface conditions during the tornado were 58 over 51 or somewhere near those values.
I've really thought about some of these points since Monday, and my reasons and motivations for chasing has changed in a whole new way. Some may laugh, but in 12 years of chasing, this is probably the best tornado I've captured on film.
