Storm Chase Details
Miles Logged: 655
States Chased: KS
Storm Mode: Supercell - HP
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks
Severe Reports: Storm Reports
Saturday was the first day of the first Chasecation. I had not taken a chasecation in a number of years, but had planned for a week long chasecation, following the weather wherever it may be. We commenced right around noon, upon the sound of the Oklahoma City tornado sirens.
Leaving Norman
JR came and picked me up. I had a bit of gear, but we were on the way pretty quickly northbound on I-35 to start our chasecation. Traffic was moderate until we were out of the metro.
Oklahoma MCV – Stopping near South Haven
An MCV was evident on visible satellite in Oklahoma, with an outflow boundary across Northern Oklahoma. I really questioned whether we should stop or continue north. While we decided, we stopped in South Haven KS and sat around for a bit. Storms would eventually fire on this boundary, but JR and I decided to continue north towards the main target up near the Topeka area.
Frankfort Kansas Supercell
We continued up the Kansas Turnpike all the way to Topeka, and then worked our way north on US75 to Holton. The main storm was near Marysville at this point, so we set a course for that storm. We’d end up intercepting near Frankfort, Kansas.
As we approached, we were greeted with a pretty nice shelf cloud on the HP Supercell structure.
Once we dropped south out of Frankfort, we were able to find a place to pull off and grab some pictures and a time lapse. The inflow region spun pretty well for a short window before blowing out. No tornado, but it came pretty close.
Calling the chase – heading to Grand Island
As it quickly lined out, we grabbed some shelf cloud pictures before deciding to head north to Grand Island for some Buffalo Wild Wings and spent the night in Kearney.
