06.05.2024: Shamrock, TX - Woodward, OK - Coldwater, KS - Helena, OK - Covington - Oklahoma City - Shamrock, TX (570 miles)
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Today the Storm Prediction Center issued a high risk for severe weather across Oklahoma and
south-central Kansas. Our plan is basically to drive north along the dryline and then catch
storm after storm from north to south: After a while I start to laugh about this plan, because I cannot count the number of times I had a similar idea in the past and every time in reality it turned out completely different. Still, with this in our heads, Cleo and I start driving north at around 10am. After a short gas and food stop in Woodward, Oklahoma, we reach Coldwater in Kansas. The sky looks like this:  Note the low grey cloud bands on the left that often indicate a convergence line and sometimes hint you the direction the storm is going to move next:  Another storm cell coming up from the southwest already looks much better than the previous ones!  We leave for another storm further south that moves towards Helena, Oklahoma. It shows signs of rotation on radar:  It tries really hard to drop down a funnel. Reports were made that it touched the ground, yet we did not see anything like that:  In this time lapse you can see how the system is moving and rotating: We decide to stay on that system for a while and head east together with hundreds of other chasers that have the same idea:  North of Enid we give it a last glance. It looks intriguing but does not drop a tornado:  Now we're heading south on highway 74 to catch another supercell storm coming from Hennessey, OK. It has tight rotation and a reported tornado. However, we are aware that this is an HP type storm with dense rain and hail curtains, which often shroud tornadoes invisible. Expectations need to be managed with those HP monsters, otherwise frustration and/or mistakes are going to happen. Video of the approaching storm, showing canon-like thunder strokes: And here comes the mesocyclone mothership, what a beast!  Note how it is closing down our Hwy 74 south option for good:  Nasty looking right side of the core. Inflow notch with lowerings close to the ground:  As we see some promising rotational pattern on the doppler radar, we stay put for another five minues, knowing that we might have to pay for that, if we'd like to continue south. A cone shaped lowering lingers above us:  And luckily, we get to see the short spin-up under it, 3 miles south of Covington, Oklahoma. One of the very few tornadoes that got observed today:  Another short clip of our escape south through hail and rain of the angry mother. Doppler signatures as well as vertically integrated liquid are showing a borderline "go" on this one. A little additional luck needed for sure: At dawn we finally do bigger distance to the storm cores (we promised this to ourselves) and enjoy the lightning show from within the warm air to the southeast of the storm system near Piedmont:   1-min video clip to show the lightning frequency: Another stop between El Reno and Weatherford delivers even greater storm magic. It is hard not to fall in love with or getting addicted to such beauty:     |