Another Chase Case! #9

[Nathan Edwards]

Looks like I am in the right general area, but I'm not sure I'd have made it to the cells currently over KC. I guess there is a cell just to the NW behind the line which is just going up, or I could charge south east and punch the line. That would take me through the KC metro and I think I'd lose the cells. North it is onto the celll behind the current line. I would not be surprised to see more storms firing off the dry line over the next few hours, so this likely won't be the only storm I'll be on. I imagine I'll be following that cell over the river at St Joseph if I can keep up.

 

[Dann Cianca]

After initiation right near Topeka, I'm going to follow the storms east and pick the best, closest one. Not too happy about getting into the Kansas City metro area, but not a lot of options at this point.

 

[Corey Sloan]

I too was watching radar trends and moved from my positon in Ottawa, KS back to my home town of Cameron, MO...bad day when you drive to OK for storms and end up back at home by the time all is said and done.

 

[Brandon Ivey]

I think I figured out which day this is and I have not been able to keep up with this thread anyway. I was shocked at how fast the dryline mixed eastward, but I never had the time to do detailed analysis from the 12Z data. If this is the day I am thinking of, I saw an F4 tornado on one cell, then core punched the cell to my south to witness an F3 tornado crossing the highway about two miles away.

 

[Paul Austin]

I too was watching radar trends and moved from my positon in Ottawa, KS back to my home town of Cameron, MO...bad day when you drive to OK for storms and end up back at home by the time all is said and done.

I wouldn't call that a bad day, unless your town gets hit Yeah, it was a waste of gas and time, but at least you don't have a long drive home after the chase is over. Your trip back home is in chase mode, so it's less of a drag

 

[Randall Cooper]

based on 21z radar i have three storms to choose from, lol. I might just bag a tornado out of this one.

 

[Corey Sloan]

I wouldn't call that a bad day, unless your town gets hit Yeah, it was a waste of gas and time, but at least you don't have a long drive home after the chase is over. Your trip back home is in chase mode, so it's less of a drag

Very good point....bad day only for the $3 plus gas I figured I paid to get to OK......

 

[Brian Stertz]

Well it looks like a grand-daddy supercell to jump on just outside of Parsons...time to get after what appears to be a significant supercell with very nasty hail and a strong tornado potential. It is in a very good corridor of strong instability and shear so this one can only get tougher as it moves northeast. The chase is on !!

 

[Matt Gingery]

The satellite imagery is insane!

 

[Randall Cooper]

i have set up perfectly! I am currently watching a monster tornado near the Kansas Speedway, some damage is being reported, most likely f4 tornado. wow, im very impressed with myself!

 

[Matt Gingery]

Super Cells are pushing into SW Missouri, here is some video and news coverage of these Cells. I hope everyone has positioned well on this event. Reports are coming in of injuries in SW Missouri., The first video is news footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Af2ehLtl4, If you recognize the event, try not to give out too much info until all the confirmed reports have been listed. Some people may not know which event this is. The video has been edited to not give out clues. Many of you may remember, but some may not. Good luck, and as soon as I can, I will post pictures and additional video soon. I sure appreciate all the hard work that Marc and Paul have put into these chase cases. It takes alot of time and energy to do what they have done.

 

[Marc Austin]

Final Results

Alright, here are the final results from May 4, 2003. Actually Matt was the one who tipped me on turning this one into a chase case. Most of you did very well and most likely saw tornadoes. I was not out on the plains for this one in real life. Looks like many chasers got some great video from this day though!


Final Results:

2330Z Radar Images:
Central Plains
Lower Miss. Valley
Mid Miss. Valley
High Plains

Storm Reports

I didn't update the wayfaring map. I have too much homework to attempt that tonight, but I'll take your word for it. if you bagged a tornado on this virtual chase, good for you!

 

[Jeremy Perez]

After heading to the Tornado History Project to see times & locations for the touchdowns in SE Kansas for this event...

Based on my arrival time of 2:30 PM (20:30 Z) in Independence, and my move up Hwy 169 to Hwy 400, it looks like I was in position to view the meso cross the highway north of me at about 3:00 PM. I likely saw some humbling structure on this storm that later produced a devastating and fatal F4. Depending on how wrapped up it was, I may have been in position to see it drop an F0 at 3:18 PM east of Parsons on Hwy 400.

Beyond that, I'm sure it would have been moving too fast to even attempt following NE into Crawford county. While driving east on Hwy 400, I probably had some unbelievable views as it moved off, dropping another F0 5 mi NE of Parsons at 3:30 pm, and then the F4 at 3:35 pm. I doubt I would have seen the major touchdown from that position

Following my plan B to intercept the next set of storms further east, I should have hit Hwy 69 by about 4:10 PM (depending on road conditions). At this point, the next big cell to the SW would be moving in. I would technically have enough time to run south to a position near Riverton by 4:30 pm and be south of the meso before it crossed Hwy 69 a half hour later. The question is whether advancing precipitation would have looked messy. If so, I may have worried about getting cored and may have opted to stay out of the way and not seen a thing. However, if I had moved in to Riverton, I would have been in position to view the F3 that dug another horrific 25 mi. path into Missouri, crossing about 4 mi. north of Riverton.

Marc, I have to thank you again. This really got me thinking about a lot of practical issues I otherwise would not have considered. Although I theoretically could have been in position to see some amazing structure, and even tornadoes, I got started much too late, and all it would have taken was some poorly placed RV traffic to turn my just-in-time tour into a total miss. (I did estimate travel times at or below speed limit though, for just a bit of fudge factor...). The thing this also made me realize is that I would have been extremely shook up knowing how many lives were devastated by these same storms.

 

[Brian Stertz]

Yeah chased that day and was on MO side after jetting down from the KC area with Rich Thies early that afternoon. Here was the BIG catch..of sorts. This was the F4 as it approached the MO/KS State Line east of Franklin and just south of Mulberry KS. Many nasty tornadic supercells that day.

 

[Mike Ridgeway]

I'm a happy camper! All it took for me was that intial sounding from Topeka and I knew I was in the right place. Didn't have to go move much to see supercells and tornadoes. Wow, great day!
Great pic Brian!