Robbie Reeves,
Zac Keever
Nowcast Target:
Midwest City, OK (My house!)
Distance:
˜148 miles
Duration:
˜3 hrs. 30 min.
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Partners: Robbie Reeves, Zac Keever Nowcast Target: Midwest City, OK (My house!) Distance: ˜148 miles Duration: ˜3 hrs. 30 min. |
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The cap was a huge question mark as the afternoon passed. To complicate matters, I had to work early. The opportunity did exist for me to chase if I got off early enough AND if convection could break the cap in Central Oklahoma. Wow, did I get lucky! I got off work at 7pm and was greeted to the sounds of sirens, due to a tor warned storm located on the north side of Moore (go figure). I raced home and met Zac and Robbie. Zac informed me that 15 minutes earlier he took cover at a nearby gas station to protect his truck from baseball-sized hail. The hail was still on the ground when I arrived (although it had melted to near golfball size by then).
I snapped a few quick shots of the hail, and put some stones in the freezer for keepsake. Then, it was off to the races! We followed the storm NE through Oklahoma County, but we had a hard time keeping up due to stop signs approx. every mile and horrible chaser convergence (which was about half chasers and half general public). It has gotten to the point that I would rather drive farther away from home to chase, just to avoid the circus that accompanies any chase in Central Oklahoma these days. We were also scolded severely by a county cop on an ego-trip. I guess this idiot thinks that a degreed meteorologist would not know how to chase a storm and relay relevant information. But I digress!
In any event, we hopped on I-44 to get ahead of the storm. It paid off as we ended up ESE of a beautifully striated wall cloud just before sunset. We also outran the chaser convergence and got to stop and enjoy the view. A nice beaver-tail extended across the horizon to the SSW, and visible lowerings dropped from the wall cloud. Unfortunately, the lowerings were cut-off by outflow and the storm became disorganized about 15 minutes after sunset. All in all a nice way to start the month of May. The best chase of the year so far. We followed a tor warned storm, which almost produced tornadoes several times during the life cycle. Definitely the first real adrenaline rush of the season!
 My house. Midwest City, OK Baseball size hail, which melted to golfballs by the time I arrived. |
 Looking north near I-44 in Lincoln County, OK. A slight lowering from the base of the wall cloud. |
 Lincoln County, OK. Sunset in the wake of the storm. |
 North of I-44, Lincoln County, OK. Striated updraft. |
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Lincoln County, OK. A shot of the wall cloud from I-44. |
 Midwest City, looking west toward OKC. Lightning from an intense squall line that came through overnight. |