Mike McMahon,
Robbie Reeves
Target:
Lincoln, NE
Distance:
1066 miles
Duration:
˜20 hours
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Partners: Mike McMahon, Robbie Reeves Target: Lincoln, NE Distance: 1066 miles Duration: ˜20 hours |
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A juicy setup was in place in SE Nebraska, and with it being a Saturday we decided to head out for a marathon chase day. We left just before 8am CDT and took turns driving...and sleeping. We stopped about 3:30pm just west of Lincoln, and could see a few storms breaking the cap to our west. SPC issued a tornado watch as well. Just an hour earlier we began to wonder if storms would even fire, so we were rejuvenated once the cap broke and the tor watch was issued.
We continued east where better moisture was in place, and stopped at a gas station at exit 432 on I-80 to check data. While we checked, a storm to our south had become tor warned near the NE-KS border. We headed south and caught up with the storm north of Syracuse, NE on Hwy 50. A visible rotation existed with the storm, however, it was cut off by storms that formed upstream. We punched the storm and headed east on Hwy. 2, which was our only option to cross the Missouri River to re-position in front of the storms.
After stopping at a gas station across the river in Iowa, we went south on I-29 to intercept a storm coming out of NE Kansas. We should have stayed put. Just after crossing into Missouri, Mike and I looked back to the WNW to see a wedge tornado drop across the river in Nebraska. The tornado was about 15 miles away. It was so far away that we doubted that it was a tornado at first. About a minute after spotting it, a tornado warning came across on our scanner. After only a couple of minutes, the tornado lifted as quickly as it had dropped. We turned around and chased the rotation through Hamburg, IA. The storm increased in speed, and we had a hard time keeping up. Then we made the decision to go after the NE Kansas storm we were after originally. Unfortunately, the distant, brief tornado we spotted and turned around for cost us time. The storm was now in front of us, and impossible to catch back up with(we tried). We saw some nice scud on the backside of the storm, but decided to start trying to find a place to eat. After dinner, we headed home and arrived at almost 4am Sunday. The tornado we debated about was confirmed on storm reports as being 2N of Julian, NE. Mike and I got to see it, but unfortunately Robbie did not because he happened to be driving at the wrong time.
 Initial storm approaches north of Syracuse, NE on Hwy. 50 |
Second storm NE of Hamburg, IA...after Julian, NE tornado lifted |
 Cloud formations behind the third storm in NW MO |
 Cloud formations behind the third storm in NW MO |