John Farley
Supporter
With the big Arctic outbreak overrunning the country, it looks like chasing may be pretty much done for 2014, so let's get started posting our chase stats for the year. (If the pattern changes and something does still happen before the end of the year, feel free to update your stats.)
I know 2014 wasn't a great chase year overall, but for me it turned out to be my best ever in terms of the number of tornadoes and tornado days. Now granted I don't chase nearly as many days or miles a season as some of you do, LOL! Anyway, here are my stats. These include only chase days on which there appeared to be a real risk of tornadoes, not local outings purely for lightning, thundersnow, rainbows, or other forms of photogenic but non-severe weather.
CHASE DAYS: 8
CHASE MILES: 3,114
BEST CHASE DAYS: A tie between June 6 east of Trinidad, CO and September 29 west of Chama, NM
WORST CHASE DAY: Probably May 22 in eastern CO, which looked like it had potential but really did not pan out. Didn't help that I started the day in the shop to have a leaky tire repaired.
TORNADO DAYS: 4 (May 11, May 21, June 6, September 29)
TORNADOES: 6 (3 on June 6, 1 each the other three tornado days)
STRONGEST TORNADO: High end EF-1 (Two on June 6 and one on September 29)
DAYS I SAW TORNADOES WITHIN SIGHT OF SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS: 2 (June 6 and September 29)
LARGEST HAIL: 1-inch, on May 11 and September 29
STRONGEST WIND (non-tornadic): Around 60 mph on May 11
GUSTNADOES: Several on May 11 and one on June 7
FUNNEL CLOUDS: Saw a nice one nearly halfway to the ground near Garfield, KS on May 11. Pretty sure it was never down, though.
STATES CHASED IN: KS, CO, NM
OTHER STATES CHASED THROUGH: TX, OK
MOST DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO: West of Chama, NM on September 29 - Destroyed two buildings, badly damaged several others, and downed possibly hundreds of trees.
TIMES STUCK: Zero, but came VERY close on a dirt road near Last Chance, CO
LONGEST CHASE: Kansas, May 11, 1175 miles including getting there and back the day before and day after the active chase.
SHORTEST CHASE: New Mexico September 29, 84 miles.
WORST CHASER JAM: May 21 east of Denver, for miles and miles!
FIRSTS: First tornado in CO (I ended up seeing four in CO this season) and first tornado in NM. Also my first tornado in September, first tornado above 7,000 feet above sea level, and my first tornado west of the Continental Divide (all Sept. 29).
SECONDS: The tornado I saw west of Chama, NM on September 29 was the second tornado on record, ever, in Rio Arriba County, NM.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Just because an unpaved road doesn't look too bad, don't assume that it isn't too bad.
2. There is no internet service (at least that I could get) in most of southeastern Colorado.
3. You don't have to go into hailstorms to bust windshields. I had to replace two this year, but neither was related to chasing, just ordinary driving in CO and NM.
4. Watch out for raccoons.
5. You CAN see tornadoes in mountainous areas, if the conditions are right.
All of my chase summaries for this year are posted at:
http://www.johnefarley.com/svrwx2014.htm
I know 2014 wasn't a great chase year overall, but for me it turned out to be my best ever in terms of the number of tornadoes and tornado days. Now granted I don't chase nearly as many days or miles a season as some of you do, LOL! Anyway, here are my stats. These include only chase days on which there appeared to be a real risk of tornadoes, not local outings purely for lightning, thundersnow, rainbows, or other forms of photogenic but non-severe weather.
CHASE DAYS: 8
CHASE MILES: 3,114
BEST CHASE DAYS: A tie between June 6 east of Trinidad, CO and September 29 west of Chama, NM
WORST CHASE DAY: Probably May 22 in eastern CO, which looked like it had potential but really did not pan out. Didn't help that I started the day in the shop to have a leaky tire repaired.
TORNADO DAYS: 4 (May 11, May 21, June 6, September 29)
TORNADOES: 6 (3 on June 6, 1 each the other three tornado days)
STRONGEST TORNADO: High end EF-1 (Two on June 6 and one on September 29)
DAYS I SAW TORNADOES WITHIN SIGHT OF SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS: 2 (June 6 and September 29)
LARGEST HAIL: 1-inch, on May 11 and September 29
STRONGEST WIND (non-tornadic): Around 60 mph on May 11
GUSTNADOES: Several on May 11 and one on June 7
FUNNEL CLOUDS: Saw a nice one nearly halfway to the ground near Garfield, KS on May 11. Pretty sure it was never down, though.
STATES CHASED IN: KS, CO, NM
OTHER STATES CHASED THROUGH: TX, OK
MOST DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO: West of Chama, NM on September 29 - Destroyed two buildings, badly damaged several others, and downed possibly hundreds of trees.
TIMES STUCK: Zero, but came VERY close on a dirt road near Last Chance, CO
LONGEST CHASE: Kansas, May 11, 1175 miles including getting there and back the day before and day after the active chase.
SHORTEST CHASE: New Mexico September 29, 84 miles.
WORST CHASER JAM: May 21 east of Denver, for miles and miles!
FIRSTS: First tornado in CO (I ended up seeing four in CO this season) and first tornado in NM. Also my first tornado in September, first tornado above 7,000 feet above sea level, and my first tornado west of the Continental Divide (all Sept. 29).
SECONDS: The tornado I saw west of Chama, NM on September 29 was the second tornado on record, ever, in Rio Arriba County, NM.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Just because an unpaved road doesn't look too bad, don't assume that it isn't too bad.
2. There is no internet service (at least that I could get) in most of southeastern Colorado.
3. You don't have to go into hailstorms to bust windshields. I had to replace two this year, but neither was related to chasing, just ordinary driving in CO and NM.
4. Watch out for raccoons.
5. You CAN see tornadoes in mountainous areas, if the conditions are right.
All of my chase summaries for this year are posted at:
http://www.johnefarley.com/svrwx2014.htm
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