Re-living chases

[Matthew E. Engelbrecht]

I'll probably be running GRL3 with in car wi-fi next year but I admit that I'm aware of the risk that I might get closer to rotation than I might without it so there are mixed feelings there.

I would caution you against relying too much on radar information to make your decisions on positioning while in the near-storm environment no matter how good the radar data and corresponding GIS overlays are. Depending on the distance from the radar site, the structure of the storm, and the delay between the volume scan being performed and arriving at your computer the radar can indicate large hail and/or rotation several miles off from where that danger is actually exists at the surface. Roger Edwards (possibly with others) authored a paper on those factors but I can't find a link to it at the moment.

Conversely, I would urge you to use the storm's visual clues and experience you have gained by chasing with more veteran chasers to guide your decisions near storms.

 

[Doug Raflik]

Like the others have said... Use your eyes WITH the data you have, and have an escape route. I have threat net and was just fine on Quinter 1 and 2...

Keeping with the OPs question of reliving a bad chase decision... May 5th 2002, Happy TX. I was set up on top of the overpass of 27 filming the wall cloud and the start of the big dusty tornado west of Happy. I didnt like my escape route to the east, if the tornado turned even slightly right, so I packed up and headed down to the south bound on ramp. Would have had the whole thing tripoded from the start, to going thru Happy, from a mile away, but chose to be safe just in case.


Doug Raflik

 

[Paul Knightley]

The 2nd Quinter tube was cool; I also was at a gas station that was located just S of I-70. I was about 1 1/2 - 2 mi E of the tube. I often kick myself that I was not closer to the event. But the angle of the shot and its distance makes it unique. I just want to be closer the next tube when I get my pics. I am marginally satisfied with the shots that I got, but I can see too easily that there is room for improvement.
Now that I have a better camera and know how to use it, I'm all revved up for this coming season.
My hindsight is as good as anybody else's; that it is always 20/20.
The search is for the perfect storm that can never be found,

I was also at that same Quinter gas station (Sinclair?) that had a vehicle with a busted rear window.
Were you one of the camera crewman that interviewed me?
Shoot me a PM and discuss it if you want!

Paul K; where are you in this picture?
http://picasaweb.google.com/trebor171/StormChaseIowa#5222647693303471394

Stuart is correct - I'm not in that pic, although was somewhere close by. One of my chase team, Matt, is in the shot (striped shirt) being interviewed. BTW, we did know the next tornado was coming!

Re: observing storms/radar, etc, I totally agree. It's just there was not much structure to be had on that day TBH. Our knowledge of storm structure and not relying on radar too much helped us get the 2 Pratt tornadoes on the 26th May, positioning ourselves in the notch just NE of the meso.

 

[Paul Harrop]

Like the others have said... Use your eyes WITH the data you have, and have an escape route. I have threat net and was just fine on Quinter 1 and 2...

Keeping with the OPs question of reliving a bad chase decision... May 5th 2002, Happy TX. I was set up on top of the overpass of 27 filming the wall cloud and the start of the big dusty tornado west of Happy. I didnt like my escape route to the east, if the tornado turned even slightly right, so I packed up and headed down to the south bound on ramp. Would have had the whole thing tripoded from the start, to going thru Happy, from a mile away, but chose to be safe just in case.


Doug Raflik

I love the "minimum maintenance" disclosure on that first pic.

You can't live life second-guessing yourself, so why live storm chasing doing it?

I come from the school of thought that no tornado is worth your windshield, much less your life. You made the only call there was to make: you felt nervous, you did what you needed to. End of story.

 

[Bob Hartig]

What strikes me about this topic is how many seasoned Great Plains chasers tend to hang back, stressing safety over getting in close. I've been chasing for twelve years now, but I don't have the kind of experience and knowledge that come from extensive chasing in tornado alley. These past couple of years have been my best, very instructive, and this May in particular has taught me a few things about high-precipitation supercells. (My conclusion: don't trust 'em, don't like 'em.)

May 22 in Kansas was a great day for me both last year and this year, but the storm modes were quite different. Comparing them has been helpful for me.

* May 22, 2007, Hill City tornado: Slow-moving, high-visibility supercell with beautiful structure--meso like an upside-down birthday cake with striated frosting. We parked on the edge of the meso for quite a while at one point and just let it drift by. As it started to tornado, we bumped north a couple miles and got caught in a mud-induced chaser convergence on one of those Kansas clay backroads. Lessons learned: * Slow-moving, high-visibility classic supercells are a joy to chase. You can see what's going on, both distant and overhead. Nice for parking and setting up a tripod. * Choose your roads carefully. Hard dirt can turn to clay in a heartbeat, and once you're on wet clay, there's no turning back. Getting stuck isn't a good thing. You can lose your storm, or, much worse, get eaten by it.

* May 22, 2008, Oberlin: two very dark, low-visibility, fast-moving HP supercells with large tornadoes. The second crossed the road very close to us, within a half-mile. Exciting, but I think we were too close, particularly given the poor visibility. There was just too much we couldn't see. Rain wrapping in partially obscured the meso, and it's that hidden part that bothers me. Lessons learned: * If you can't see it, you're taking a big risk. * Steer clear of the meso in an HP supercell. * When parked by an HP storm, keep your vehicle pointed toward your escape route.

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all...

Above: Quinter #1 - A bit far, but not bad.

Above: Quinter #2b-Satellite (goin' around "main Quinter #2a")!

Above: Quinter #2a-Main (and a bit too close)!