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
Wow...just wow...💖
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