If You Missed El Reno (2013-05-31), How Do You Feel About That?

[Michael Towers]

Missing events I don’t chase doesn’t bother me much unless I missed it due to poor forecasting (e.g. 6-5-10). Sure, I’d have loved to have been witness to the historic El Reno tornado but chasing that event just wasn’t in the cards, such is life. Missing Moore bothered me at first because I was chasing in Oklahoma the prior day but decided to head home instead of chase on 5/20 because I didn’t care for the target area. Sure enough that day’s action unfolded largely in territory I consider less than desirable and even if I had chased I’d have missed Moore anyway because I don’t chase in large metropolitan areas. That likely would have left me with the same feeling of resigned frustration I had after bailing on the Joplin storm minutes before that historic and tragic event unfolded. Missing significant events due to time constraints or conflicts with chasing methods can be frustrating but it’s something I accept without too much regret. Missing amazing stuff like Bowdle causes me much more frustration & regret because I would have witnessed it if not for a bonehead mistake. I’ll probably carry that angst to my grave while El Reno & Moore will be just two of many events that I was never meant to see.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I missed the event on purpose. Looking over data and knowing large tornadoes would be very close to the OKC metro quickly discouraged me from going. I will never go near OKC during a major severe wx event.

 

[Rick Schmidt]

I also did not want to go near OKC, but would have liked to see the historic event from a safe distance. Myself and a friend opted to go to Bartlesville from Topeka, because of time constraints. I would like to think that if we had ample time to get down there, we would have gone west of OKC, which would have placed us in a good area. But, who knows what we would have happened in that scenario. We also did not have data, but relied on cell phone call info.

 

[Elinor McLennon]

I saw the Edmond tornado on the 19th and the Moore tornado on the 20th so my season was already a success. I wanted to see the El Reno storm and I wish that I would've been there. However, I had a lot of anxiety that day. It just didn't feel right. So I held off on chasing, hoping for a northwest chase. By the time I realized that one storm had devoured the north and south storm it was too late. We spent 3 hours driving in complete chaos due to the mad exodus out of the city. We dodged cars, some abandoned, under every under pass we encountered. I will never again put myself or friends in that situation again. Last, due to our lack of knowledge about weather and knowing what I know now, I feel blessed that I wasn't there!