Day 4: Surprise Conclusion

I’m writing this final post while we’re on the road from Plainview, TX back to Oklahoma City- although I won’t be able to post this until we’ve arrived in OKC. Today was our final chase day, and after 3 sweet dates with nature, today ended up being meteorologically unexciting. The highlight of my day was getting up early, eating breakfast, and then going back to bed until 10. Oh, and I finished my second novel in five days- storm chasing is good for bookworms.

---Postscript---

After we struck out in Plainview we stopped in Amarillo to divest ourselves of the larger group and our driver, Ryan (thanks for being so awesome, Ryan!). Caryn (who is also fantastic- thanks for everything, Caryn!) took the wheel, we grabbed sandwiches, and hunkered down for an uneventful ride back to Oklahoma City...but nature had some other ideas, and surprised us with a fabulous parting gift- an unexpected cell popped up and escorted the van towards OKC. Beyond a tripmate's unexpected close encounter of the rattlesnake kind, it was a beautiful drive east:

It’s hard to believe this adventure is over; after so many days of preparation, counting down, analyzing the spring weather patterns to the best of my amateur abilities, and avidly following the professional chasers’ endeavors. We did it- this trip accomplished everything I was hoping for and then some! The storms I saw were so powerful and captivating, they won’t be easily forgotten. It was both exhilarating and exhausting to witness such intensity, but it was so worth it. I think I need a little while to recover from my tempestuous, brief affair with extreme nature.

Much as I wrote about profound changes a couple of posts ago, over the past three days I’ve come to realize that I will return to Chicago a different person after all. Now I’m someone who has finally accomplished my childhood dream- one I’ve sought to realize for most of my life. I try to make consistent, dedicated efforts in terms of maintaining the lifestyle, career, friendships, relationships, and goals I possess, and in this instance, I’ve succeeded...so now what?

I might go chasing again in a couple of years- as a hobbyist, perhaps, rather than an acolyte. I know I won’t give up my penchant for being a weather geek, that’s for sure! It might take a couple of weeks, several months, or a year or two to conceptualize a new, unique kernel of aspiration to nurture, but in the meantime- I’m in no rush. Life is pretty wonderful, there are always new adventures and opportunities on the horizon- and I finally got my tornado.

An ending, a beginning, or something in between.

Music: Fall Outta Love, Illenium

Mood: Worn out

Day 3: Meandering to Tucumcari

Firstly- old business. There was a confirmed touchdown on Monday's New Arkansas/Newkirk tornado. As we checked out of our hotel in Woodward this morning, they were even talking about it on the Weather Channel. Although my photo wasn't as obvious as the one below- at least I can say that my tornado was legit!

This morning I'm writing from the familiar confines of the Ashmore Inn, here in Amarillo. Three days out of the week I spent chasing in 2016 were spent in and around Amarillo- hiking Palo Duro and Capulin on down days. It's nice to be back, and it was equally pleasant to be back in New Mexico yesterday.

There's something about crossing the western border of Texas into New Mexico- it seems like the state becomes prettier, somehow. After our group joined Roger's new tour group here in Amarillo, we set a brisk pace towards our target- the town of Tucumcari. Try saying that three times fast! The meteorological set up seemed a little sloppier than Sunday or Monday, but the scenery and eventual storm structure made up for the cells' lack of organization.

Evolution of a New Mexico storm- the 4th picture in this line up is my favorite. The white stuff on the ground in the last picture is hail!

As our storm worked to absorb other cells nearby, we repositioned several times to see what different views had to offer. The landscape alone seemed to defer to the dynamic energy of the storm. I also took a moment to pay more attention to the ground than what was going on above me- the next image is for my mom, who takes photos of flowers the way I take pictures of the sky.

But wait- there's more! We had our third consecutive day of rainbow-y goodness on our way back towards Amarillo, after Roger decided to call it a day.

Amarillo seemed to welcome us back with open arms- and a sky filled with glorious mammatus clouds that started off looking like marble and slowly deepened into orange as the sun set. The view from my sweet suite wasn't bad, either. 

Today's the final day of chasing before I have to head back to vacationless reality; after several days of cooperative weather and good company, I truly couldn't have asked for a more fulfilling experience. I can't wait to see what today will bring. I know it's going to be a long day- we have to end up in OKC for Thursday's departure, so my final chase day post may not be until Thursday afternoon or evening, after I've returned to Chicago.

Music: Koto, ODESZA

Mood: Grateful

Day 2: Dreams Really Do Come True

I was lying in bed on Sunday night in Woodward after our first day of incredible success, and I started to shiver. I needed to put on a pair of socks and my favorite sweater and curl up in a ball for a few minutes before it passed. I was puzzled, until I realized it was the adrenaline of the day catching up with me. Usually the only things that make me feel that way are HHDs (my busiest days at work), working funerals or other big events, or occasional social situations- like a first date. These are all things I care about deeply- where I want to make sure everything goes well, and that others are contented- this is how I know I've done my best. As I said in my last post, Sunday WAS my first date- with this trip’s storm chasing, with nature. I slept well after the shivers passed, and was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as we left Woodward at noon on Monday- day 2. Our target was the area around Arkansas City, KS and Newkirk, OK.

Developing blob

We had the unique opportunity to watch a storm evolve from a messy little blob to a beautiful, striated supercell over the course of ~5 hours. We meandered through these little towns on the Kansas-Oklahoma border, watching the storm and hoping it would grow up into a prolific supercell. First it was HP- high precipitation- and eventually our blobular cell started pitching hail the size of golf balls. We stopped under a corrugated tin shelter to preserve the van and watch the rain/hail show safely. Everyone was sort of lowkey and goofy as our shelter pinged with the sound of the ice.

Hail yes!

Things changed in an instant as our storm became tornado warned- the structure of the storm on radar had indicated tornadic rotation! After a couple of hours, our storm had matured into a full-fledged adult! The mood in the van immediately shifted to one of focused intensity as we zipped out of town to find a good vantage point.

The mesocyclone and the sun- these pictures were taken at about the same time

When I graduated college in 2009 I had to make several trips to the Burlington airport to ferry various relatives and bid them farewell. I knew that as soon as everyone was gone I’d have to start tearing down my first apartment. As I shut the door on the last trip to the airport, I couldn’t help it- I burst into tears. It was the end of an amazing four years, the economy was a wreck, job prospects were few, and alluvasudden I was a legit adult. When my brother graduated college two years later, I gave him advice about this very scenerio- it’s good to be prepared to have a profound emotional moment whenever things change on a grand scale.

It’s been 23 years since I became a weather geek at the beginning of the third grade, 22 years since the movie Twister was released, 5 years since I started my annual tradition of rewatching Storm Chasers, 3 years since I started researching chase trips, and 2 years since I embarked upon my first wonderful storm chasing adventure for my 30th birthday- which unfortunately did not include a twister.

Dreams really do come true

So what do I do now that I’ve achieved my childhood dream of seeing a tornado, a dream that has surpassed my childhood fear of thunderstorms and taken me thousands of miles through 7 states? I feel like I did after I finished college- only instead of anticipating the pressures of impending adulthood, it’s like I’ve finished an incredibly unique journey of growth and learning- and we still have two whole chase days left!

Btdubs, this storm also produced a rainbow. My cup runneth over.

There was a brief, unconfirmed touchdown with the tornado we saw. I don’t know if there was any damage, but our funnel didn’t last long. After that brief, fierce moment of personal triumph the storm continued to rotate southeast, and once it became clear that the storm’s potential to produce a second tornado had diminished, we made one more play to see the entire structure of our supercell one last time before the light faded. We stopped to gas up, and I bought myself a celebratory bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. Because I’m an adult.

This is my "I JUST SAW A TORNADO!" face

Music: The Best Is Yet To Come, Michael Buble

Mood: Introspective

Day 1: The Little Supercell That Could- Lipscomb, TX

I couldn't ask for a more perfect first chase day; I got up at a decent hour, had breakfast, worked out, and met up with everyone at 10:30 for a leisurely drive with Caryn from OKC to Woodward, about 2 hours northwest. The temps quickly rose into the 90s, and we met up with Roger's larger group for lunch. I wolfed down a burger, and we headed in a westerly direction towards where Roger thought the action would be. We waited for a couple of hours throughout the mid-to-late afternoon at a closed gas station, and I added a couple of birds to my trip list, despite the heat. A male Eastern Meadowlark sang vigorously from the telephone lines across the street- his lilting voice seemed like a good omen to me.

 

Above: the drive to Woodward, a moment of happiness, developing anvil clouds

Severe thunderstorms generally move from southwest to northeast. When Roger decided it was time to move, there was some momentary indecision about whether to follow target storms to the northeast- which would require some difficult maneuvering to catch up- and storms that were headed directly our way from the southwest. The latter won out, and we repositioned through a herd of Hereford beef cows. I tried to set my general dislike for bovines (beyond their edible byproducts, of course!) in the face of a unique severe weather setup that no one on either Roger's or Caryn's tours had seen. The storm we were on was splitting into two features, the outflow from the weaker, left-moving supercell was feeding directly into the stronger, right mover.

Going Right

Beyonce would recommend "to the left, to the left."

After the storm became more electrified and the photographers got some good shots, we repositioned to catch the mesocyclones- the rotating part of the storm that would produce a tornado if conditions are good. The stronger, right-moving storm had absorbed its weaker counterpart, and the rotation was GORGEOUS and tennis ball-sized hail had been reported with the core of the storm. I was thrilled. This supercell had already beaten all of the ones I saw in 2016 in terms of beauty, structure, and appeal- I was in heaven (okay, I was somewhere near Glazier, Texas)!

Rotating mesocyclone FTW

Golf ball-sized hail, whee!

After reveling in the photogenic, cooperative supercell that had gone above and beyond all expectations (aka the Little Supercell That Could) a little longer, Roger's group and our group decided to call it a night, and we split off from them as they returned to OKC. We headed back towards Woodward, and as the sun started to set I couldn't help but ask Caryn if we could stop for a moment. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen outside of Vermont.

So now we're in Woodward for the night and I kind of forgot eat dinner, but I'm elated. My first date with nature on this trip went above and beyond anything I saw in 2016, and the group doesn't have to reconvene until noon tomorrow- the perfect way to begin a Monday. There's something special about sharing a somewhat-dangerous natural phenomenon with like-minded people- I could never do something like this alone. It's good to remember that storm chasing isn't always about attaining the ultimate tornado shot- even non-tornadic storms can be beautiful and powerful. It looks like nature will tango with the group once again tomorrow afternoon, and I'm super excited to see what comes next.

Music: Finally Moving, Pretty Lights

Mood: Content

Arrival Day: Oklahoma City

Fun fact: Oklahoma City tests their tornado sirens every Saturday at noon. It was a little jarring to hear that sound in this place.

Now bring me that horizon.

I landed at 10a.m. marveling that in the exactly five hours from when I woke up to when the plane's wheels hit the ground I had gotten my act together, gone to Skokie, headed to O'Hare, hopped on a flight, and landed. Sometimes it takes a step or two outside the realm of normal routine to realize how far one can go in so little time. I finally had the chance to meet Caryn, and she told me that unfortunately the meteorological setup had deteriorated. We wouldn't be chasing after all, so we were staying in OKC for the night as initially planned. I had 7 hours to kill- hopefully this would be the quietest down time of the trip.

So I did what any rational person who has newly begun a much-needed vacation would do and found some good Mexican food (thanks for the recommendation, Kelly Fitzgerald!), a margarita, and a nap in my hotel room- in that order. I'm the kind of person who works hard to get stuff done, and holy moly is it weird to have a hotel room with cable and a king-sized bed all to myself; without pup/aquarium/Betta/gecko relying on my care or apartment-oriented things that need to be done. I'm a nurturer who is bad at sitting still; I rejoice when I have people and animals to care for- but it's weird when I don't have that dynamic. I'm not the best at taking a break when there's any chance that responsibility may come calling- hence the strangeness of relaxing on my own in a hotel room for the afternoon.

Eventually I headed to the hotel's fitness center in search of some endorphins, and I'll be joining the rest of the group at 6 for orientation. It will be nice to reacquaint myself with Silver Lining Tours' chase guidelines, and I'm excited to meet my tripmates. It helps to befriend the people you're going to be stuck with in a van for the next 4 days!

Storms come in all shapes, sizes, strengths, and durations. They can take form in a ragged group, coalesce into a bow echo, or very rarely form into a supercell- the kind that typically produces tornadoes. Turbulent weather can be glorious or disastrous- the impact varies. Thunder stimulates nitrogen in the soil, and sometimes the rain can be a blessing. The air after a storm is often cooler and clear. Things smell fresh; a sigh of relief. If the beauty, unpredictability, and tempestuousness of thunderstorms isn't a metaphor for romance, I don't know what is. Only 1 in 1000 thunderstorms produces a tornado, and I'm hoping for a tornadic supercell thunderstorm that defies the odds of the apps and algorithms that rule my generation's love lives. I guess you can say I have a date with nature over the next few days- here's hoping it meets me in the middle after I've come all this way.

Music: The Middle, Zedd Maren Morris, Grey
Mood: Thoughtful

Rituals and Blessings

I was up at 5:30 this morning. I didn't mean to be, and my 11-year-old standard schnauzer, Libby, was quite perturbed by my early morning activities. I maneuvered my suitcase and piles of clothing and equipment around Libby's curled up form on my bed, and she looked at me with concern. Schnauzers are smart- they know suitcases mean upheaval of some kind.

If only Toto had been a schnauzer

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from Silver Lining Tours that made me positively weak in the knees with excitement: Caryn told the other three mini-tour attendees and I that if we arrive in Oklahoma City early enough, we can join her for a chase right off the bat! Most SLT tours begin on the day after arrival- this gives guests enough time to get settled, attend orientation, and meet the other guests. I land in OKC at 10:20 tomorrow morning (fingers crossed!) and if everything goes according to plan, it looks like I'll be able to get in an extra day of chasing! I was thrilled to see that we will be meeting up with Roger's tour group as well. 

Last night almost a dozen friends and I partook in what has become one of my pre-chase trip rituals: dark 'n stormy cocktails and a viewing of Twister. We tore the 22-year-old movie apart with affectionate, acerbic glee and I reveled in celebrating this impending journey with my amazing friends. One friend even gave me a hardcover copy of the new book about Tim Samaras, which I might save for after my trip so as to prolong the experience.

One of the most profound changes in my life since my first chase trip in 2016 occurred when I accepted a position as the director of operations at a synagogue in my neighborhood- a block from where I live. It's truly my unanticipated dream job. I have the great fortune to work with some amazing colleagues, volunteers, and congregants. The ability to support my community on a daily basis has been a continual source of fulfillment and great joy. This evening I'll be working our monthly Share Shabbat dinner for 100+ attendees, and our rabbi has offered to bless my impending travels alongside those joining him on a trip abroad in a couple of weeks. It's humbling to be a part of an organizational culture where my personally significant childhood dream is acknowledged. I had a congregant come up to me at the grocery store the other day, and the first thing he said was: "you're going to chase tornadoes?" I was delighted!

Between dark 'n stormy cocktails, Twister, and Share Shabbat I feel like I'm embarking upon this adventure in proper fashion. Libby will go off to my mother's tonight, and I have to be up at 5 tomorrow morning to drop my car off in Skokie so I can get a ride to the airport from my dad (mad props to my parents for pet care and car rides). 

I don't know where I'll be at this time tomorrow, or when I'll have a chance to post about my first day of chasing, but stay tuned for a new post every day through next Friday. I guess I'll say it- I'm off to see the wizard!

Mood: Shpilkes!
Music: Scream & Shout, Will.I.Am

Reflections on the Tornadic Significance of April 20th

We all have those special places that mean the most to us on this planet. These are the locales whose features are etched so deeply into our souls that even after years of absence, the familiarity never fades. On April 20th, 2004 my special place was hit by an F-3 tornado. An astonishing 18 tornadoes swept across Illinois that day, part of an unexpected outbreak that produced 31 twisters in total.

I was a junior in high school, and I spent the afternoon and evening glued to the TV in my basement- where my desk was- as I earnestly messaged friends via AIM. It's worth a tangent to think about how much social media has influenced the multitude of hobbies associated with meteorology- like storm chasing. I watched the overwhelmed CLTV forecaster struggle to keep up with the increasing number of severe weather watches and warnings as they approached the Chicagoland area. When LaSalle County went under the gun- with a tornadic supercell headed straight towards the town of Utica- I knew things would never be the same. It was the first time I had followed a somewhat local severe weather event from inception to completion.

Utica, Illinois is home to Starved Rock State Park, a place my family had migrated to on an annual basis since the early 1980s. I learned to swim in the pool at Starved Rock Lodge, a beautiful 1930s stone and beam building that has only improved with age. We'd clean up trash on the hiking trails and take in the sights. I honed my fledgling bird watching skills in the canyons and along the Illinois River, where white pelicans and bald eagles can be found almost year round. I can still feel the rough stones of the lodge's great room under my feet. I've daydreamed about getting married at the lodge ever since I was a kid- if it's in the cards. Starved Rock is that important to me. 

April 20, 2004 Utica tornado radar stills courtesy of NWS Chicago

As the severe weather situation began to unfold, I warned my parents that we wouldn't recognize Utica on our next trip south. They were skeptical- until we went down to Starved Rock six months later to discover a small town that had been completely bisected by the twister. Eight people had lost their lives, and the worst part was that they had done exactly what they were supposed to do during a tornado warning- sheltering in the basement of a tavern. The lead time between the National Weather Service tornado warning and the arrival of the tornado itself had been decent, too- over half an hour. As we drove through town we saw trees that had been debarked and whole blocks that had been demolished. It was my first time directly observing the impact of a tornado.

Early on the evening of the 20th I remember making an estimate that the storms would arrive in my area around 8pm. At 8:01p.m. the first tornado warning was issued for southern Cook County- I even copied the warning text into my journal. My family and I watched the late night news, heartbroken, as rescue personnel converged on the town we knew so well. We were awed and saddened for the residents of Utica.

April 20th is culturally significant to the United States in so many poignant ways, and I figured it was a good time to reflect upon how this day impacts my storm chasing persona. There have been many other tornadic tragedies- Joplin, Moore, and beyond- but this is the one that hit close to my heart. It's something that crosses every storm chaser's mind at some point- a reminder that the exhilaration of observing a storm can be directly related to destruction and devastation. Here's hoping that any storms I encounter in 22 DAYS are beautiful and harmless.

Zugunruhe, Storm Chasers, and Kirksville, Missouri

I've started my countdown: 48 days until departure day for Oklahoma City. The first couple of sporadic pseudo-spring days have come and gone here in Chicago, and a week ago I once again began my ritual viewing of the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers, which aired from 2007-2011. I first found the show in 2013, so I suppose this is my fifth year of binge watching this more extreme account of the adventure I'll be undertaking in just a couple of months.

I know it's time to start the cycle of Storm Chasers once Zugunruhe- migratory restlessness- has started to creep into my bones. Daylight savings has begun, and as a bird nerd I'm on the lookout for the first spring migrants to the Edgewater neighborhood. The weather's on the cusp of getting warmer- it's almost time for storms! Since I'll be focusing on birding opportunities on my trip if the weather isn't favorable for storms, it feels like birdwatching and storm chasing are very interconnected. I'm equally passionate and enthusiastic about both, although my interest in meteorology has a twelve year lead on my penchant for ornithology.

It's always interesting to revisit the teams that make up Storm Chasers:

Sean Casey: Beleaguered IMAX filmmaker of the now-complete epic Tornado Alley. Casey struggled for years to get his shot of a tornado coming straight at his tornado intercept vehicle (TIV). The TIV consistently breaks, Sean would get grumpily silly, and didn't always play well with others.

Dr. Josh Wurman: A preeminent tornado researcher and his team of mobile Doppler radars do science! He was very cautious, managed an enormous team, and one day I want to take the time to read his peer-reviewed research papers.

Tim Samaras: He and his team, TWISTEX, were always my favorite. He seemed to make good, conscious chasing decisions, and I admired his leadership skills. It was heartbreaking when Tim, his son, and his chase partner passed away while chasing the 2013 El Reno tornado.

Reed Timmer: The best advice I learned when shopping for storm chasing tours was when a friend's brother- a meteorologist for NWS- told me: "don't be like Reed Timmer." I didn't need to be told twice- Reed always seemed like a reckless, frat-boy persona when chasing storms, and he clearly copied the TIV design for his own Dominator. It's amusing to notice that as the show progressed, his girlfriends were local, then regional, and finally national meteorologists- in that order.

I'm currently on the 2009 episode that shows the last two teams converging on Kirksville, Missouri, as the town is devastated by a rain-wrapped tornado. It's my mom's home town, and she still has many close friends there who were impacted by the storm. The last time I was there was 1993, during the big Mississippi River flooding that took place that summer. I was seven. As the chase teams traverse the town, I keep expecting to recognize my grandparents' house, or the store that housed my great-grandfather's (now defunct) auto parts business.

Of course I paused the episode and texted my mom to see if we could take a trip down to Kirksville sometime. Perhaps this summer, after I get back from my chasing adventure. There's nothing like watching a disaster befall one's close ancestors' home turf to get the nostalgia flowing. Then again, perhaps it's the Zugunruhe talking.

New Years Resolutions

Seeking Toto, we meet again. It's time to dust off the old chase blog and swan dive into 2018. I've never been big on new year's resolutions, but this time around I'm going to make another attempt to accomplish my childhood dream of seeing a tornado.

There have been a lot of changes since I last posted- I started a dream job in July of 2016, the very week I turned 30. It was the best birthday present ever (except for maybe a twister, right?)! This year I'm looking forward to celebrating my fifth year of birthday fundraising with another campaign geared towards supporting disaster relief efforts (organization TBD).

When the incomparable Silver Lining Tours unexpectedly offered a mini-tour scheduled for the middle of May, I jumped at the chance to go storm chasing once again. My experience with SLT two years ago was incomparable- the people were fantastic, and the tour was expertly conducted. Even though the weather was uncooperative and sunny, if there was any chance of stormy weather to be found, Roger Hill took us right to the action.

New year's resolution goals. Photo courtesy of Silver Lining Tours

 With this in mind, I'm really looking forward to meeting Caryn and embarking upon this adventure once again. Since this is going to be a repeat experience, there are fewer uncertainties (beyond the weather, of course). I know what to pack and I have a good idea what to expect, but my excitement remains undiminished.

The adventure begins on May 12th in Oklahoma City- only 127 days to go until showtime!