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.
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| Going Right |
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| 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)!
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| Rotating mesocyclone FTW |
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| 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
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