Your "Oh no..." moments

[Stephen Levine]

Thank you for linking to this story on your site, David.. Powerful description and so personal - I was right there with you!
Thanks for sharing.
I'll bet that the chase bug has not left you yet

 

[Bill Tabor]

I have had a number of these type moments. Probably usually it is related to the fact I am chasing alone and possibly at night. When alone you are forced to multitask which is tough. Sometimes storm environments are very dynamic and deceptive. At night it is easy to make a mistake and not realize you are doing it. Perhaps in some of these cases I am just spooking myself out, but sometimes it can get a bit 'spooky' - .

Anyway I'd say one of my better cases would be the dynamic storm / tornado on May 12, 2005. It was probably the closest I have been to a fairly strong tornado and in a powerful dynamic HP supercell sporting up to grapefruit hail. The first 'Oh no' moment came after I was photographing the tornado to my west which had quickly developed and was quickly coming across the field in front of me. I had a N/S road with South Plains to my south. I waited too long as I was seeing what possibly appeared to be violent rain curtains possibly RFD extending across the field in the direction of South Plains.. I thought I had better reach South Plains before that does. I've been in some strong RFD's and sometimes they are tough. So I jumped in and raced south, only to learn the tornado was coming out even quicker - likely being slung around the outside of the rotating mesocyclone. I wasn't used to being out of position. Normally I like to either be at a right angle to the path such as south in this case, or already on an east road option to stay ahead of the tornado. I needed to beat the tornado to South Plains! I jumped in the Tahoe and floored it. It maxes at 100 where the speed governor kills the engine. I used most of the speed of what I had. I passed all other vehicles quickly and eventually the tornado filled the right half of the front windshield and the entire passenger window. It became clear that I wasn't going to beat it...and I am a persistent type person not wishing to admit defeat, but if I continued it was going to punish me...no doubt. I got to about 1/4 mile or so and then whipped it 180 and punched back another 1/2 mile or so for clearance. The tornado passed, & broke down. But the wall cloud stayed active. Trying to be reasonable I didn't want to drive on the east road option now under the active wall cloud which had just produced a fairly large tornado. So, I held back. The wall cloud then crossed to the south side of the east road and produced another tornado. Meanwhile in my position back on the N/S road I have my 2nd 'Oh no' moment on this day. Suddenly there is a loud roar - probably about the same time as the other tornado in progress. The wind from the west - the RFD / hook / inflow jet wind is coming in and wrapping toward the tornado and around the inflow area which I am basically still in. I pull off the side of the road facing west, and the realize right in the middle of the rushing wind - I'd guess at least 80+ I notice there are telephone poles and wire above me. I decide to follow the rest on the east road option. Here the hail begins and then it gets to be large hail, and then larger. With Threatnet showing about 6 or 8 shear markers directly above me I wonder if this storm could do the Hallam thing and the inflow region grow very large. I decide I should get out of that region. Of course by now it is slinging baseball to grapefruit hail at me and I decide to turn INTO the wind to the west to get back to the N road and into the core to clear the active inflow region. Probably not well thought out...but it all happened quickly like some kind of cruel severe weather test. Sure the hail broke the windows and banged up the Tahoe. One stone came through and frogged me on the arm. What I forgot was that this was a very large storm and the hail region would be very large. Meaning it would take a long while to get to the smaller hail and then to just rain. It did.

I survived...all the wiser but still ponder my options and what I should have done different. The original position was part of the problem but it was a great photogenic position. I've been in that position before at least another time with an LP dropping a tornado. It also dropped baseball hail on me but was more manageable - not nearly as violent a supercell with high wind, etc. You have to be in such a position to get the good dark colored contrasted tornado, but without a direct east road option it can be tricky. Also, tornadoes I learned can be VERY fast. There are times you really can't beat them if you wait too long. Perhaps I should have taken the east road and taken my chance under the active wall, but then seems a tornado could have dropped on me almost as easy as it dropped next to the road. Perhaps the best move would have been to not be in the direct east position of the tornado originally but instead south of it's future path as I normally chase. That would have put me near South Plains. Somewhere in that region the telephone poles and line did go down. I believe from what I heard later that the tornado was somewhat obscured from that position as well - so that isn't too good. I guess next time if I am getting slammed by possibly up to 100 mph RFD with baseball + hail I should just sit with the vehicle backend facing the onslaught. Looking back now, I realize that the whole region wasn't becoming an inflow region creating a larger tornado but then with the misguided help of Threatnet I was concerned. 'Oh no' was more like 'Oh ****!'.

 

[B Doss]

dangerous divismo

It seems like those 'oh-no' moments are on the increase. The number of chasers, professional and non, that are suddenly being "caught" on the fringe of a forming tornado has just exploded in the past few years. I think our next true on-the-chase death won't be because of bad drivers it will be someone who got "trapped inside" the tornado. Its a lack of respect for the uncertainty and power of mother nature and it's just plain stupid.