Robbie Reeves (1st leg)
Solo (2nd leg)
Target:
Weatherford, OK (1st leg)
Guthrie, OK (2nd leg)
Distance:
˜170 miles (1st leg)
˜60 miles (2nd leg)
Duration:
˜4.5 hrs (1st leg)
˜2 hrs (2nd leg)
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Partners: Robbie Reeves (1st leg) Solo (2nd leg) Target: Weatherford, OK (1st leg) Guthrie, OK (2nd leg) Distance: ˜170 miles (1st leg) ˜60 miles (2nd leg) Duration: ˜4.5 hrs (1st leg) ˜2 hrs (2nd leg) |
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I returned from a weekend trip to Dallas at about 14:30 CDT. I was worn out, and should have taken a nap, but I quickly checked data instead. I was not too optimistic about the prospects of daylight storms. I did call Robbie to see if he was interested in driving out to Weatherford to wait, since the target area was so close. We left his car in the UPS parking lot, and off we went. By 17:00, the cap was broken by two cells in SW OK. The storms wobbled very slowly East and ENE about 10 mph. We watched the NE storm develop a mesocyclone about 10 miles south of Weatherford. The meso developed striations and a broad circulation. Structure was beautiful and visible. Scud was lifted into the rotation, however, neither the scud or the inflow was impressive at this point. As the sun went down, the mesocyclone seemed to become better organized and inflow increased dramatically. We called it a chase and headed home. My car received a few golf-ball size hail dings on I-40 east of Hydro (from MM 90-92). I was going to take my chase truck but did not because I did not want to leave my camera in it when I went to work afterwards (ARGGGGGGGGGH!). Rookie mistake!
The same supercell we chased followed me to work. I was stuck there until it finally passed, since I was in charge of consulting the manager in his evacuation decision. The supercell finally passed, and I quickly finished my work. The cell re-intensified near Edmond, and I set off on a solo night chase. I certainly would not recommend a night chase to anyone, however, the media coverage of tornadoes in the OKC area is the best I have come across anywhere. They usually provide quasi real-time information down to the street level, so I felt confident (relatively) that I would know where all potential meso's were located. I exited at MM 157, on I-35, and stopped at the Hwy. 33 & 105 junction. I could make a lowering to the north. Power flashes were visible as well. I doubled back a few miles south to watch another area of rotation pass through. Another lowering was visible, however, power flashes did not occur. Pics of these two lowerings do not exist, as I was not going to set up the tripod in the intense lightning. I finally called it a chase about 02:30 CDT and headed home, while listening to storm reports on the radio coming in from a brief tornado in the Edmond area. I watched media coverage and radar data for another hour. The supercell was still being fed by the LLJ at that time. When I went to bed, the supercell was on it's 11th hour. Although I do not know how long it held together after that, it was definitely the longest I have personally seen a cell sustain itself.
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Looking NNW from Hwy. 54 & 152. Devloping mesocyclone. |
 Looking West from Hwy. 54, about 14 miles south of Weatherford. Mesocyclone stregthens. |
 2 miles east of Colony, OK Sunset through the rain-free base |
 WNW view. 2 miles east of Colony. Circulation tightens at dusk. |
 WNW view. 2 miles east of Colony. Brief funnel from the base of the meso after sunset. |
 WNW view. 2 miles east of Colony. Rotating base at last available sunlight. |