Top 10 chase days of 2013

[Brett Roberts]

I tried this in 2011, then didn't bother with 2012 because I don't think many of us could even fill the list. With this year's fair number of big to huge days, but lackluster number of mediocre/decent days, it might actually be one of the easier years for a top 10.

Rules (copied from 2011 thread):

• You can rank your top 10 using whatever criteria you like, but keep in mind that my intention is to make this about the top days that the season offered up, as opposed to your personal best chase days. If you busted horribly on the "best" day in your mind and would like to erase it forever from your memory, it still deserves the #1 spot!
• Discussion is encouraged, but please make sure to bold your list, so as to make it easily distinguishable when scrolling through the thread. (Also, there's no need to list locations and link to reports threads for each day like I did, unless you want to).
• Lists, including mine, may be revised as additional dates are brought up in the discussion that we may have overlooked.

Depending on how many responses there are, it might be fun to calculate some sort of composite ranking, though I haven't decided exactly how yet.

01. May 18 (Rozel/Sanford)
02. May 28 (Bennington, Burlington CO)
03. October 4 (Wayne, Moville)
04. May 20 (Moore)
05. May 19 (Edmond/Carney, Shawnee)
06. May 15 (N TX outbreak)
07. May 31 (El Reno)
08. May 26 (Broken Bow/Ansley)
09. November 17 (IL/IN outbreak)
10. May 27 (Smith Center/Lebanon)

Comments: my criteria skew more toward the maximum potential a day offered, rather than the likelihood of a good chase. In other words, even though a day like 5/18 was difficult in terms of choosing the right storm, the quality of its best storm pushes it to the top in my eyes. Typically I'd use slightly different criteria, but this year just didn't have very many "easy" days at all. I don't think it would be fair to put something like 5/15 at the top just because several storms produced visible tornadoes, since few of them were jaw-dropping. Also, being a still photographer, photogenic storms count for a lot (thus my including a tornado-less day in 5/26).

2013 was the year of the daytime wedge. After seeing very few thus far in my career, I witnessed five this year on four separate days, and still missed several others. I totally expect a lot of folks to scoff at my #1 choice, but I'm just too big a sucker for photogenic tubes, and Rozel ranks way up there among the best of the decade thus far. It really sticks out like a sore thumb in a year otherwise dominated by grungy wedges.

Ranking May 31 is a very tough prospect, and my personal chase experience may have led to a low bias. A handful of chasers managed both to stay safe and shoot spectacular stills and video from ENE of the vortex. That material would suggest the day ought to be much closer to #1. However, my impression is that most of us endured far more stress and frustration in the field than the view warranted, to say nothing of the tragic outcome. (I realize now that this logic sort of contradicts what I said two paragraphs up, but oh well!). I'll be particularly interested to see where this lands on other lists.

 

[Jeff Duda]

I'm reluctant to make a top 10 list out of chases in 2013. I think the tragic nature of the events of 2013 have temporarily soured my taste for chasing. Nevertheless, here is my ranking.

1. 5/28 (Bennington, KS)
2. 5/27 (TIV intercept in NC KS)
3. 5/18 (Rozel, KS)
4. 5/19 (Wichita, South Haven, Edmond, Carney, Shawnee)
5. 10/4 (Wayne, NE & Sioux City, IA)
6. 4/17 (Lawton, OK & Vernon, TX)
7. 5/8 (widespread generally non-tornadic supercells across TX, OK, and KS)
8. 6/12 (N IA)
9. 5/20 (Moore, OK)
10. 5/31 (El Reno)

Dates you will noticed I did not include (and why):
-11/17: storms moving very fast...many chasers falling behind storms
-5/15: Lots of after dark action
-5/30: early day action and lots of floundering around with storms in OK
-6/14: non-tornadic supercells

Discussion
#1 and #2 seemed to be about the only days in my list that contained tornadic supercells that did not threaten large population centers or kill people close to me. #2 is there because of the amazing video of the TIV intercepting that tornado. That video is the highest-quality video of a direct intercept of a robust/large/strong tornado I have ever seen, and may actually garner some scientific merit. I suspect I will be one of the few to include 4/17 and 5/8, but they were the most fun chases of the year for me. There were multiple supercells in OK and TX on 4/17 that produced tornadoes, and there was some impressive structure, too. Also, storms weren't moving at 0.5 WORP or producing 500" diameter hail. 5/8 was fun because of how many different supercells there were and how many produced large hail. They were easy to chase. I had a fun encounter with one particular storm. From all accounts I've seen, the tornadoes in north-central IA on 6/12 were high contrast, photogenic, and easy to chase in the road network there. It's a shame more people weren't there to see it. 5/20 and 5/31 weren't really that good of chase days in my opinion. Both days were really a one-and-done type day. One cell producing one huge tornado and then that was basically it. I know there was another storm on 5/20 that produced a decent tornado, but big whoop. I still missed it and it was still in a jungle region of OK and difficult to chase with so many people around. 5/31 wasn't a good chase day if you were in Canadian, Oklahoma, Cleveland or McClain Counties, OK, after 6 PM. Doesn't matter how good the road network is if it's cutoff by a storm and 100,000 cars.

It's also amazing how NOT FUN a chase day is when the featured event threatens your local area.

 

[Jacob Ferden]

I'll bite. Bear in mind that I didn't see squat this year so my list is based off video and reports.

1. May 28 – Bennington ( huge, photogenic, nearly stationary)
2. May 18 – Rozel (huge, photogenic, high contrast, slow moving)
3. October 4- Nebraska / Iowa (multiple large tornadoes, unique fall event)
4. May 20 – Moore (photogenic if you could get on it at the right time, historic, tragic, multiple supercells to the south of the Moore storm as well)
5. May 19 – Kansas / Oklahoma (multiple large tornadoes, terrain wasn’t the best though)
6. November 17 – Illinois / Indiana / Kentucky (major outbreak, fast moving but some video from this day [Adam Lucio’s comes to mind] is impressive)
7. May 27 – Northern Kansas (very hard to see for those who weren’t in the bears cage, but the TIV intercept video speaks for itself)
8. May 31- El Reno (huge, historic, tragic, but has to be in the top 10)
9. April 1 – Texas Panhandle (a forgotten tornado for most, I think, but it was large and photogenic. David Drummond’s video is superb.)
10. June 12 – Northern Iowa (not too many saw this one either, but multiple photogenic tornadoes in great terrain)

The best of the rest:

11. May 17 – Northwest Texas
12. May 15 – North Texas / Granbury
13. May 30 – Central Oklahoma
14. April 17 – Southwest Oklahoma / Northwest Texas
15. February 10 – Mississippi / Alabama
16. May 26 – Central Nebraska
17. May 25 – South Dakota / Badlands
18. April 11 – Mississippi / Alabama
19. May 8 – Western Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas
20. May 29 – Western Oklahoma
21. May 23 – West Texas
22. April 8 – Kansas / Colorado / Nebraska
23. April 7 – Central Kansas
24. May 16 – East Texas / Louisiana
25. December 21 – Louisiana / Arkansas / Mississippi

 

[calvinkaskey]

May 29, 2013. Near Oneonta, N.Y. Fairly widespread hail up to 1.5 inches, several funnel clouds, two or three confirmed tornadoes. I saw nice anvils, "bolt from the blue" from one anvil, experienced 40 mph winds, fairly frequent lighting, flooding rain, two or more funnels with a well formed meso (two simultaneously) and a huge gust front.

 

[James Gustina]

I had a terrible time of it as well. I whiffed on a lot of early season stuff and then wasn't on the Plains for the two weeks of May that made the year so this is a mostly subjective list made off of what others got.

1. May 28 Bennington: This seems to be the consensus #1 and it easily is. Near stationary supercell with a photogenic wedge in beautiful terrain.
2. May 18 Rozel: Great supercell with a cool rope out at sunset for an awesome backdrop in western Kansas
3. May 20 Moore: A tornado that, behind El Reno, will always be associated with this season. Was decently photogenic although it was a tragedy.
4. October 4 Nebraska/Oklahoma: Big HP sups in Nebraska with some monster torns and an awesome mothership just west of Clinton on the marginal dryline play. My best day of the season.
5. May 26 Arcadia: Probably the best structure of the year on an amazing LP on a day that many people seem to have forgotten about between the tornado days.
6. November 17 Illinois: Fast moving, mean supercells but some pretty awesome tornadoes in decent chase terrain (Roanoke, IL & Lebanon, IN come to mind).
7. May 31 El Reno: Unfortunately this one makes the list for the sheer magnitude of the event
8. April 15 Sunset: Not many people will have this one in the top ten, but a great LP in the evening that ended up being the best thing to come out of that week.
9. May 27 N KS: Grungefest, but some bruisers for those brave enough to go into the bear's cage
10. May 15 N TX: A nice mixed bag with the Cleburne wedge and a photogenic torn around Millsap.

My Personal S**t List
April 17 SW OK: This day can go die in a dumpster fire. Crashing cold front that barely made it past Hobart with that distinct weakness and veering at 700 mb that just took a machete to this day's potential. Also got stuck in a terrible group who wanted to play patty cake with the storms from 10 miles away which just added to the frustration.

 

[calvinkaskey]

Stuck in New York I'm hoping VA gets 83 tornadoes again, or there are some f-4s in NE Ohio, W Pa or in N.C.