Turnpike Tornado Strategies

[Bill Tabor]

Turnpikes (toll roads) always present a unique situation when chasing tornadoes. They are always tempting because they are typically fast, but often they don't have any exits. This issue is twofold: 1) you can't get off to get closer to your chase target; and 2) if a tornado is headed directly for you it may be impossible to get off and take cover - particularly at night.

What are your feelings about using turnpikes while chasing? Have you had any interesting experiences you'd care to talk about? Any strategies you use around these things?

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Myself, I tend to avoid them. First of all I hate to pay for any road. When Austin created a bunch of new toll roads I've been boycotting driving on them from day 1. Guess I just feel that tax dollars should be enough to pay for the roads.

One of the more difficult turnpikes for chasing in my opinion is the one between OKC and Tulsa. This is a very tornadic area during the right time of the year and limited access. I generally try and avoid it, but sometimes take it during developing or ongoing severe storms if I think I can make it. I used is successfully a few years ago to capture a tornado at Sapulpa (near Tulsa) but it was dicey for awhile. I can remember at least 1 trip coming back down (from Tulsa toward OKC) during the night with tornadic supercells around where it got a bit spooky as some were interacting with my fairly closely, but close watch of the radar and slowing down avoided trouble.

 

[Craig Maire II]

I try to avoid chasing storms on turnpikes because my worse nightmare would be encountering a tornado and not being able to escape plus you would have to deal with many other possible drivers who are also frantically trying to escape. Also, I've found that it can be very frustrating to find a good exit to get to a storm esp. if you miss the only one for 5 miles Basically depending on the turnpike your on it just may be very difficult to exit and pursue "your" storm. Plus I too hate to pay to drive on a highway when I've already paid to much for the gas to drive on said highway in the first place

 

[Jay Barnes]

What are your feelings about using turnpikes while chasing? Have you had any interesting experiences you'd care to talk about? Any strategies you use around these things?

If storms are around I try to avoid them like the plague. I learned my lesson in 2000, Jeff Wear and I were leaving Wichita heading south on the Kansas turnpike, there were two huge awesome looking storms that were moving in from the west and stupid me I thought we could get south of them before they could catch us. Wrongo! We got caught a few miles north of Wellington in the rain and hail, so I pulled off at one of the gas stations in the center of the turnpike. The hail didn't look so bad so I decided to get back on the road and keep heading south. Then the rain and hail picked up and finally got so bad I couldn't see anything, so I pulled under a overpass bridge and sat for a few minutes. Every so often a big truck or a car would appear and whoosh past me, southbound. I was very uncomfortable driving south due to the intensifying rain, wind and hail and was beginning to worry someone might drive into the back of us while we were parked under the overpass. I finally decided to creep back out on the road and keep going south, and a few minutes later the winds picked up dramatically and visibility went back to nothing. We looked for a place to get off the turnpike but we weren't around any exits. Then we noticed the low clouds that were swirling around as they passed over the turnpike. I admit I felt pretty stupid for attempting to beat those storms, and when I saw those clouds swirling around I realized just how seriously stupid I was and how dangerous this whole thing was. We could have been hit by a passing vehicle, lost control in all the intense rain and hail, and had their been a tornado we had no where to run. Luckily for us we got through the storm finally without incident, and I learned my lesson. No more turnpike/toll roads for me while chasing a storm *unless* I have LOTS of exits and plenty of road options.

Bill I tend to agree with you I try to avoid the toll roads as much as possible as well, especially around Austin. One thing that really made me angry last year though was when I picked up my chase partners from the DFW airport. We headed north from the airport and somehow I got onto a toll road and didn't even know it. I got a bill in the mail for $1.67 and for the life of me I couldn't remember driving on it. So I called the toll collection office and the young lady said she had a picture of my truck, then told me there was no toll collection booth on the road and it was supposed to use the electronic tag, or if you didn't have one they sent you a bill in the mail. It made me angry not because of the toll, but because I would like to know if I'm getting on a toll road or not. Sorry for the long story here, but besides avoiding the toll roads on a chase, I'd caution folks to watch out for poorly marked toll roads, especially in Texas. You could wind up paying a hefty fine for not even realizing you were on a toll road.

 

[Gene Moore]

Turnpikes (toll roads) always present a unique situation when chasing tornadoes. One of the more difficult turnpikes for chasing in my opinion is the one between OKC and Tulsa. This is a very tornadic area during the right time of the year and limited access. I generally try and avoid it, but sometimes take it during developing or ongoing severe storms if I think I can make it. I used is successfully a few years ago to capture a tornado at Sapulpa (near Tulsa) but it was dicey for awhile. I can remember at least 1 trip coming back down (from Tulsa toward OKC) during the night with tornadic supercells around where it got a bit spooky as some were interacting with my fairly closely, but close watch of the radar and slowing down avoided trouble.

Interesting you would name that one road. Of all the Interstate highways to get caught on I vote I-44 from OKC to Tulsa the worst. I can think of other tornado prone limited access roads on the plains, but they have visibility. On one chase in particular we started out good getting an F-3 in SW OKC and an F-2 in Spencer. The we had to go NE for the next cell. I wanted to take old highway 66 for the road options. These were big HP supercells, but the tornadoes were hanging out the back on the edge of the rain wall. We got about 25 miles and hit deep flooding at Arcadia, so we turned around and got on in NE OKC. The tornado crossed I-44 just north of us at Luther, I got some marginal shots of the elephant trunk approaching, but missed the big event. A construction worker decided to block the Interstate and wouldn't let us through. By the time we got by him the tornado crossed a few miles in front of us taking out four steel high tension towers while lightning went right down the center of the funnel, wow.

The next time a situation like that came up I immediately went for the Interstate. This time the supercell was pacing I-44 and I thought I was doing great. Unfortunately just as it got dark it turned hard right. No exit, no where to run....I had to sit there while a grinding block wall cloud on the ground passed right in front of me. Buildings were destroyed within a quarter mile of my position, which is too stinkin close at night. Yep, it's a difficult real time chase decision and to this day the old highway 66 option is no better than it was in the 1950's.

 

[Marcus Opitz]

I have used them for "pre initiation" travel to the target area or on the way back home but never in the heat of the chase. As for getting from A to B the day before or early in the morning en route to the area of initiation, I don’t mind using them.

 

[Steve Miller]

I have a friend who is an Oklahoma State Trooper who happens to patrol the Turner (I-44 between OKC and Tulsa). He says in the past year they have started stopping traffic on the Turnpike when a tornadic storm is set to pass over.
He is directed to mile markers or turnpike entrances by dispatch where and when necessary.
From my experience with NWS Tulsa, they call OHP dispatch just before or right after issuing warnings so that's where dispatch gets their info.
Anyway, long story short, be advised that during a (potentially) tornadic storm you could meet gridlock on an Oklahoma turnpike.

By the way, interesting topic!

 

[Chris Nuttall]

I have a friend who is an Oklahoma State Trooper who happens to patrol the Turner (I-44 between OKC and Tulsa). He says in the past year they have started stopping traffic on the Turnpike when a tornadic storm is set to pass over.
He is directed to mile markers or turnpike entrances by dispatch where and when necessary.
From my experience with NWS Tulsa, they call OHP dispatch just before or right after issuing warnings so that's where dispatch gets their info.
Anyway, long story short, be advised that during a (potentially) tornadic storm you could meet gridlock on an Oklahoma turnpike.

By the way, interesting topic!

I can tell you this for a fact! I was chasing on May 9, 2003. I was stopped by an OHP roadblock for an hour on the Turner as the storm moved NE along the turnpike. It was really frustrating, too...they stopped traffic about 400 feet from the Wellston exit. By the time they let traffic go again, it was already near Sapulpa.

 

[Gene Moore]

I have a friend who is an Oklahoma State Trooper who happens to patrol the Turner (I-44 between OKC and Tulsa). He says in the past year they have started stopping traffic on the Turnpike when a tornadic storm is set to pass over. He is directed to mile markers or turnpike entrances by dispatch where and when necessary.

Thanks Steve, I've seen that occasionally in the past, but I had no idea it had become policy. This approach to protecting people in vehicles should not be taken lightly. On the plus side it keeps people from driving into a tornado or extremely severe supercell. On the other had it can be very dangerous. To my knowledge there is no radar that can see a right move coming before the event happens. What if the storm changes course, or a new one develops passing over the roadblocked vehicles?

Right after the Red Rock tornado I dropped south and then east on the Cimarron Turnpike to catch a new supercell coming up from the south. Nearing the rear flank the whole back of the storm was in a rotating froth on the ground. It was an (unphotogenic) rain wrapped tornado. I tried to slow traffic (silly me) but no one paid attention because the tornado was not obvious. As it turned out one person did die when the tornado threw their vehicle off the road; although, that vehicle may have been coming from the east, I'm not sure. This was near Hallett OK I believe. In the case of one single supercell it's probably a good idea to block traffic, but a cluster of storms, perhaps not....it may create a bigger problem.

I'm sure there are other chasers here that have stood by helplessly and watched people drive into a tornadic supercell. The first time I saw it happen was on #287 SE of Amarillo. The trucker was warned by the local deputy but he demanded to pass. The south moving vortex turned north as it rounded the south side of the meso. We watched him drive right into the funnel that blew his vehicle off the road.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

I find the Turnpikes very useful when you have to reach your target before of the true action, even because if you're in late, because of whatever reaso, you can do 80mph. Also I must admitt that the cost is not that high. If someone of you guys were in Italy, you would shoot your head: every kinda highway is a toll highway and the cost is prohibitive; you do 250 km and you pay 22 dollars. Anyway I agree with someone before that said that doesn't agree with the concept of toll road.

 

[Greg Stumpf]

If someone of you guys were in Italy, you would shoot your head: every kinda highway is a toll highway and the cost is prohibitive; you do 250 km and you pay 22 dollars. Anyway I agree with someone before that said that doesn't agree with the concept of toll road.

Add to that the cost of gasoline in Italy, which is some of the highest in the world. I was traveling in northern Italy last September, and with the crummy exchange rate, I was paying about $6.50 per gallon, on top of the tolls.

As for the tolls, I do have to say you get what you pay for - the highway system over there is fantastic. And I couldn't believe how many tunnels and bridges there are in the mountains to keep the highways "level and straight".

 

[Gene Moore]

I find the Turnpikes very useful when you have to reach your target before of the true action, even because if you're in late, because of whatever reaso, you can do 80mph. Also I must admitt that the cost is not that high. If someone of you guys were in Italy, you would shoot your head: every kinda highway is a toll highway and the cost is prohibitive; you do 250 km and you pay 22 dollars. Anyway I agree with someone before that said that doesn't agree with the concept of toll road.

I think the issue here is actually confronting the storm on a turnpike or limited access highway....not using it to catch up to the storm or to get in position. For example, we can stop and take pictures on I-40 if need be (although it's better to get off). Meanwhile, try and stop on the Kansas Turnpike south of Wichita, much more difficult. And as mentioned before the ability to get out of a bad situation is quite limited especially with the concrete center barriers.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I'm mixed on the toll roads; they're great to get to-and-fro, but hard to use in the midst of an ongoing event.

With that said, I have various accounts with Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma that I've used only a handful of times. However, it beats sitting at a toll booth when you're trying to make every minute count.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Add to that the cost of gasoline in Italy, which is some of the highest in the world. I was traveling in northern Italy last September, and with the crummy exchange rate, I was paying about $6.50 per gallon, on top of the tolls.

Greg, you were travelling in Italy and you didn't tell me..Too bad, man Where did you come?

Now you understand the reason why chasing in Italy is like a gun : the gas price is the highest in Europe and toll highways are more numerous than ants.

As for the tolls, I do have to say you get what you pay for - the highway system over there is fantastic. And I couldn't believe how many tunnels and bridges there are in the mountains to keep the highways "level and straight".

Yes, in part you're right; even if the price is still high in the major part of the italian territory when there's the plain as well... Also I think that the high cost is due to the private nature of this kind of highway.At the end I just believe the high costs are a sad prerogative of italian culture.

 

[Bob Hall]

From my experience with NWS Tulsa, they call OHP dispatch just before or right after issuing warnings so that's where dispatch gets their info.[/color]
Anyway, long story short, be advised that during a (potentially) tornadic storm you could meet gridlock on an Oklahoma turnpike.

I noticed in the warnings that Tulsa issued Monday evening they often included the actual mile markers. I don’t recall seeing this before and wonder if they have upgraded the Warngen software to automatically include these now.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...MORRIS... COUNCIL HILL...BOYNTON...HASKELL...STONEBLUFF...TAFT...COWETA...PORTER...MUSKOGEE...
TULLAHASSEE...OKAY...FORT GIBSON...WAGONER... HULBERT AND PEGGS.

THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 40 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 244 AND 252.

 

[Stephen Levine]

In 1996, during my very first tour, I ran into this issue. Had no idea that they had turned I-70 into a tolled turnpike in Kansas. A SE moving tornado warned cell was approaching the area between Topeka and Leavenworth. Our goal was to interept the rear of the storm and watch for the wall cloud, funnels, etc and position from there.
Of course, there were utterly no exits, which started out being extremely frustrating and ended up being rather scary as the miles went on.
The result is that we ended up directly in the path of the storm's core before we could bail out in Leavenworth. Tornado sirens were blaring out when we reached the toll booth, and it was night.
As luck had it, there was an apparent eye in the storm right over us. We had frequent C-C lightning, some C-G and golfball hail. However, all around us, it was mayhem - the weather radio shifted from electronic to human announcer, who talked of baseball hail to our West, flooding rains in other directions and funnels just to our East.