I started slowly getting into chasing in 1998. I saw a few dirt whirls with some being gustnadoes and maybe 1 or 2 being legitimate weak tornadoes, but my first real tornado was Oct 9th, 2001 near Cordell, OK. The actual tornado I saw was not the one that hit Cordell that day. I was a little further east. Also a big plus...I met SPC forecaster Rich Thompson while viewing the tornado which was pretty cool.
That night I got a media pass to go into Cordell and document the damage. The east side of town had very heavy damage. It was the first time I had seen tornado damage in person, and that was the point where I really began my respect for the power of tornadoes.
Oct. 9, 2001 was the scariest night of my entire life. I was accually not in town when it happened. I was in Canton, OK playing football for Cordell JHS. At halftime, the coach pulled all of us into the locker room and informed us that Cordell had been hit. There was still no word of where the track was, how strong it was, if there were any injuries, etc., just that the school had been hit. All we could do is hope and pray that everyone was safe.
On the way home, we had a portable radio that we all listened to. There were reports starting to come in that over 200 homes and businesses had been destroyed and more than 50 people were still missing. This was not information that helped us feel any better. There were multiple attempts to contact family members but, all phones were out. Not even cell phones were working.
As we arrived home we were all relieved to find all of our parents waiting at the field house to pick us up. My parents accually took a direct hit as they took shelter in my grandmothers celler. When all was said and done more than 150 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, 6 people had been seriously injured but thankfully, no one was killed. This in itself was a miracle given this monster F3 had traveled across the entire town from SW to NE.
Although I had already been interested in weather, this event pushed me over the edge to learn as much as I could about tornadoes and drove me to begin chasing. I was too young at the time but, in 2005 when I got my liscense, I began to intercept storms that came to me. This was not a very productive way to chase and led me to really no success.
Finally, in Feb 2007 I worked up the nerve to contact Gene Thieszen who is also a local chaser. With he and his chase partner, Walt Gish's help, I was able to go on my first "real" chase on Mar. 23, 2007. On this chase, I saw my first tornado near Tatum, NM. I can't even describe the feeling when you see your first tornado on your first chase. It trully was one of the most awe inspiring moments of my life.
-Eric
