Most Intense storm chasing moments...

[Chris Hayes]

Two events come to mind:

May 15, 2003: We were chasing in the TX Panhandle (who wasn't? :lol: ) We had teamed up with some other chasers earlier in the day. The cap didnt break till later in the evening and we started getting on some storms. Eventually we got onto a storm near the TX PH/OK border. This was after nightfall, and we were with more exprienced chasers so we tried to get into an area where we could view a tornado. Soon we got into a 50-60mph inflow jet and dust storm. A few days later I found out we were less than a couple miles from a mile wide wedge.

May 22, 2005: This was a late night storm chase. At approximately 11pm, I was watching some radar images and saw storms blowing up to the east of ICT (Wichita). We decided to go watch the storms and do lighting photography. As we headed east, storms began blowing up all around us. Several times during the night we got into hail core as storms continued to explode. Largest hail we got in was baseball. We got dents all over our truck, but looking back at it, we find it to be an awesome experience.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

Anyone that's seen my website has heard of this one. Aaron Kennedy and I, our freshman year OU, along with our other roommate, were chasing a low-toppep LP near Granite, OK, on May 5, 2001. We're cruising along on a highway, when all of a sudden another chaser runs a stop sign and almost t-bone's us on Aaron's side of the car. He only missed us by a couple of inches.

You can't see the incident on the video, but Aaron's reaction is priceless. This ranks right up there as probably the most intense/funniest moment ever for me.

Language is NSFW: http://ww2.convectionconnection.com:8080/w...5/nearwreck.avi

Second most extreme moment: Driving through the hail blender in North Texas on April 5, 2003. I fell asleep at some point and woke up to the sound of hail pounding my car. I had just got my car back from the shop after getting a new hood from where I rear-ended someone.

http://ww2.convectionconnection.com:8080/w...03/april_5.html

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Mark that down as one of the several times some one else has almost given me a horrible end to a chase day. My excited response was due to the fact I was busy looking out the side of the car at the supercell... I turned around at the last second to see the person pulling out.

#1 intense moment came on a gentleman's chase to see severe convection in W. OK (the date escapes me). It was about 10pm and pitch black out. We were cresting a hill on HWY9 when a large pickup truck passed another oncoming vehicle AT THE CREST OF THE HILL. I had to swerve half way off the road to avoid the collision. The weird thing was we didn't realize what had happened till a few minutes later. I'm fully convinced if I was a second or two late with the reaction I wouldn't be around.... an at least 130mph combined head on collion Pickup vs Saturn usually has a bad outcome...

Aaron

 

[Shane Adams]

May 5, 2002. Power poles snapping, flying through the air, smashing into our truck, being pushed across dry pavement like we're on ice, back wheels coming off the ground in a 125mph gust, you know the usual...

 

[Marc Austin]

Shane Adams wrote:

Eventually we got onto a storm near the TX PH/OK border

Shane, I tried to post a story about this last night, but for some reason it wouldn't post and I ended up losing it after writing the story for about an hour. I'm pretty sure that we were on the same storm. Was that the storm that flipped several semis along the interstate near Lela, TX? We also had a close encounter with that storm. It was an hour or so past dark and the only thing you could see was the lowest could base ever on the horizon and a constant strobe of lightning. We were watching the storm near some other chasers. The chasers finally pulled out and went over a hill in the distance. We decided to follow after a few minutes and as we got to the base of the hill the same chasers came over the top of the hill flashing us and honking their horn. We turned around immediately. The inflow from the storm alone was doing damage to weak structures and trees. We passed a billboard that had been fully intact before the storm and it was entirely blown out. Anyway, we headed east fast and pulled in behind the storm chasers at a truck stop in shamrock, TX. They were all taking cover in the bathroom and assured me that the tornado, which they had seen not more than a mile away when they drove over the hill was heading for Shamrock. We were way to interested in seeing the tornado, and we figured if debris started flying we could get in fast enough that we would be alright. Well to make a long story short, the storm ended up pulling northeast, but not before we got a quick silouhette of a tornado in front of a lightning flash. I think you might have intercepted it near the OK/TX border Shane, because according to reports, that tornado was up to 2 miles wide at times and caused F-2 damage near Wheeler, TX. Not sure, but if that was the same storm... I know what you mean... It was pretty intense!

 

[Shane Adams]

Originally posted by Marc Austin


Shane, I tried to post a story about this last night, but for some reason it wouldn't post and I ended up losing it after writing the story for about an hour. I'm pretty sure that we were on the same storm. Was that the storm that flipped several semis along the interstate near Lela, TX? We also had a close encounter with that storm. It was an hour or so past dark and the only thing you could see was the lowest could base ever on the horizon and a constant strobe of lightning. We were watching the storm near some other chasers. The chasers finally pulled out and went over a hill in the distance. We decided to follow after a few minutes and as we got to the base of the hill the same chasers came over the top of the hill flashing us and honking their horn. We turned around immediately. The inflow from the storm alone was doing damage to weak structures and trees. We passed a billboard that had been fully intact before the storm and it was entirely blown out. Anyway, we headed east fast and pulled in behind the storm chasers at a truck stop in shamrock, TX. They were all taking cover in the bathroom and assured me that the tornado, which they had seen not more than a mile away when they drove over the hill was heading for Shamrock. We were way to interested in seeing the tornado, and we figured if debris started flying we could get in fast enough that we would be alright. Well to make a long story short, the storm ended up pulling northeast, but not before we got a quick silouhette of a tornado in front of a lightning flash. I think you might have intercepted it near the OK/TX border Shane, because according to reports, that tornado was up to 2 miles wide at times and caused F-2 damage near Wheeler, TX. Not sure, but if that was the same storm... I know what you mean... It was pretty intense!

I think you're talking about May 15, 2003. Our storm was May 5, 2002, and our intercept happened well into the Texas panhandle, east of the caprock near a town called Lesley. However I did once encounter a large tornado that flipped some vehicles on I-40 near Lela, TX...but that was back on June 11, 1997.

 

[Marc Austin]

Sorry Shane, I thought you mentioned May 15, 2003. You must have been further west than we were.

 

[Marc Austin]

Sorry Shane, I meant to address Chris Haye's post

Chris Hayes wrote:

[/quote]May 15, 2003: We were chasing in the TX Panhandle (who wasn't? ) We had teamed up with some other chasers earlier in the day. The cap didnt break till later in the evening and we started getting on some storms. Eventually we got onto a storm near the TX PH/OK border. This was after nightfall, and we were with more exprienced chasers so we tried to get into an area where we could view a tornado. Soon we got into a 50-60mph inflow jet and dust storm. A few days later I found out we were less than a couple miles from a mile wide wedge.

my reply was this:

I tried to post a story about this last night, but for some reason it wouldn't post and I ended up losing it after writing the story for about an hour. I'm pretty sure that we were on the same storm. Was that the storm that flipped several semis along the interstate near Lela, TX? We also had a close encounter with that storm. It was an hour or so past dark and the only thing you could see was the lowest could base ever on the horizon and a constant strobe of lightning. We were watching the storm near some other chasers. The chasers finally pulled out and went over a hill in the distance. We decided to follow after a few minutes and as we got to the base of the hill the same chasers came over the top of the hill flashing us and honking their horn. We turned around immediately. The inflow from the storm alone was doing damage to weak structures and trees. We passed a billboard that had been fully intact before the storm and it was entirely blown out. Anyway, we headed east fast and pulled in behind the storm chasers at a truck stop in shamrock, TX. They were all taking cover in the bathroom and assured me that the tornado, which they had seen not more than a mile away when they drove over the hill was heading for Shamrock. We were way to interested in seeing the tornado, and we figured if debris started flying we could get in fast enough that we would be alright. Well to make a long story short, the storm ended up pulling northeast, but not before we got a quick silouhette of a tornado in front of a lightning flash. I think you might have intercepted it near the OK/TX border Shane, because according to reports, that tornado was up to 2 miles wide at times and caused F-2 damage near Wheeler, TX. Not sure, but if that was the same storm... I know what you mean... It was pretty intense!

Chris, I think you were on this same storm.

 

[Marc Austin]

Sorry Shane, I meant to address Chris Haye's post

Chris Hayes wrote:

May 15, 2003: We were chasing in the TX Panhandle (who wasn't? ) We had teamed up with some other chasers earlier in the day. The cap didnt break till later in the evening and we started getting on some storms. Eventually we got onto a storm near the TX PH/OK border. This was after nightfall, and we were with more exprienced chasers so we tried to get into an area where we could view a tornado. Soon we got into a 50-60mph inflow jet and dust storm. A few days later I found out we were less than a couple miles from a mile wide wedge.

my reply was this:

I tried to post a story about this last night, but for some reason it wouldn't post and I ended up losing it after writing the story for about an hour. I'm pretty sure that we were on the same storm. Was that the storm that flipped several semis along the interstate near Lela, TX? We also had a close encounter with that storm. It was an hour or so past dark and the only thing you could see was the lowest could base ever on the horizon and a constant strobe of lightning. We were watching the storm near some other chasers. The chasers finally pulled out and went over a hill in the distance. We decided to follow after a few minutes and as we got to the base of the hill the same chasers came over the top of the hill flashing us and honking their horn. We turned around immediately. The inflow from the storm alone was doing damage to weak structures and trees. We passed a billboard that had been fully intact before the storm and it was entirely blown out. Anyway, we headed east fast and pulled in behind the storm chasers at a truck stop in shamrock, TX. They were all taking cover in the bathroom and assured me that the tornado, which they had seen not more than a mile away when they drove over the hill was heading for Shamrock. We were way to interested in seeing the tornado, and we figured if debris started flying we could get in fast enough that we would be alright. Well to make a long story short, the storm ended up pulling northeast, but not before we got a quick silouhette of a tornado in front of a lightning flash. I think you might have intercepted it near the OK/TX border Shane, because according to reports, that tornado was up to 2 miles wide at times and caused F-2 damage near Wheeler, TX. Not sure, but if that was the same storm... I know what you mean... It was pretty intense!

Chris, I think you were on this same storm.

 

[Sara Johnson]

Mine would probably be May 27, 2000... Not a tornadic situation but 100-110 mph straight-line winds! That was south of Meade, KS.

Amos has pictures of this on his website. You might remember that storm, Amos. A bunch of us were on the east side of it and we got too mesmerized by it and had to get to shelter. The shelter wound up being a huge pile of gravel. Needless to say we not only had the winds but gravel and glass fragments as the back windshield blew out.

 

[Laura Duchesne]

May 12, 2000. A rather large HP supercell came into Ontario from Michigan. It had 60k echo tops and a TVS at one point.

Keeping in mind we had no laptop for radar access... That day was very cloudy so seeing this storm from a distance was not likely. We knew we would be nearing it soon, as the gray sky got darker and darker. Soon enough it started to rain, but then, the winds and rain REALLY picked up. The lightning was very incredible... intense and frequent. The rain got so bad we had to pull over and just wait. And it was very dark! No wonder they call a HP's core a "bear cage".... once you are in, it seems there is no way out. There is no way anyone could drive in those conditions. It sure got our adrenaline going. A few branches and wires were broken, and the nearby town had some flash flooding in parts.

 

[James McCormick]

I think mine would be May 22, 2004 in SC/SE Nebraska. Our car didn't have access to any radar data so we weren't really aware of what was happening, though we knew it had been a big day. We could see the structure of the Hallam storm, which was very impressive, and eventually dragging along Highways 74 and 4, we were starting to cross into some of the damage as we went eastward. We started hearing rumors of 'major damage' in Hallam and as we headed north back on H77 to get back to Lincoln, we saw no less than 25 emergency vehicles screaming south towards Hallam. I think it's very eerie when you don't exactly know what is going on as opposed to seeing a radar image of an F4 damage producing tornadic storm as its happening.

 

[Jason McIntosh]

My craziest moment in stormchasing was on 4/30/03 down in the Davenport, IA area. I had left work at 4 pm and drove south to catch what i hoped to be a good event. Well it was, but unfortunately the sunlight in late April still fades fast.

Just as I pulled into Davenport tornadoes started touching down just over the Mississippi River. I raced frantically across but it was pitch black by the time i reached the storm. Then the worst happened; I got lost on some highway. The rain was so blinding i couldn't see a thing 10 feet in front of my car. Then golfball sized hail started to hit my windshield. I gave up and parked just hoping one of the three tornadoes reported on the ground in my area weren't going to smoke me.

Chasing at night can be super dangerous as i learned quickly!
My adrenaline was pumping!
I guess thats why i love this crazy sport!
:lol:

 

[John Farley]

Mine came on one of my very first chases, back on December 23, 1996 near Evansville, IL. Lots of rookie mistakes got me in a very tense situation. I was intercepting a tornado-warned HP supercell embedded in a squall line in Randolph Co, IL. I had been watching a large lowering which was soon to become a tornado. Now the line was coming closer and I needed to get out of the way. However, I made a series of navigational mistakes and ended up in the town of Evansville as the storm swept over. Soon I encountered golfball hail, and knew I was in a bad spot. As I tried to get through the town as fast as I could, I saw brightening sky to my right, and thought about turning that way to escape. But I decided it was better to keep going, as I feared I might be turning right into a tornado if I turned toward the brighter spot.

As it turned out, that is exactly what would have happened - the bowling alley on my right as I made that decision was destroyed by the tornado a minute or two after I passed. The tornado was rain-wrapped, and I would have turned right into the middle of the bear's cage had I turned right. Returning to the spot later, I observed this scene near where I had almost turned:

The full chase report can be found at http://www.siue.edu/~jfarley/chased23.htm - but if you look at it, just remember I was an inexperienced rookie at the time. Two things I learned that day were always know an escape route, and always know which direction you are facing.

 

[Terry Tyler]

Im a new chaser, and did a bit of it in 2005. Id have to say my most intense was the high-risk day on Nov, 15 2005. I did not have a camcorder or camera at the time, which really sucked...but i chased it anyway. There was a very fast moving classic-LP supercell that came into lee county at its strongest point. It was a long-track storm that was around for a long time, but wasnt really intense until the RFD hit it, i guess. I saw it about 20 miles away, and i saw this wall cloud forming into it. I had never seen a storm like it, but it was textbook. It had extreme tilt, with a rock-hard updraft. It even had some striations on it, but they werent very photogenic. The wall cloud was probably about 8 miles away, and had very intense rotation in it. I reported it to the NWS, and told em what was up, and it got pretty hairy. A pretty big cone began developing and i really thought i was gonna see the real thing. By this time the storm was tornado warned, and the funnel...Which was more like a large cone than a funnel was begining to rotate very rapidly, just 2 miles from me. It then just cut-out as quick as it began...Even our local weatherman, John Dolusic reported the funnels at barnes crossing. The storm occluded about 20 mins later... Again, really sorry...but no pix. That was just plain cool, but the scariest was when i saw a Severe t-storm over Denver...It had extremely close CG lightining, and i could only shoot under a tree because the rain was so intense. I have pics of this one...These arent of the 11/15 storm. The lightining was striking yards away, and i felt my hair stand on end. This was the first time i was scared for my safety, and i went in the garage until the lightining relented a bit. Here is a shot.