The colorful maps make it look simple some days. I focused on north central Oklahoma and south central Kansas a few days earlier, not far from the stationary front. Actually that was not so different from the final outcome, but I took a roundabout path to eventual moderate success.
I left Broken Arrow and took the turnpike west to US177. The first batch of storms was increasing in strength but given the time of day I thought the cells were not surface-based. I went all the way to Arkansas City for a good look. If they were going to change character it would probably not happen until they were in the Ozarks. This turned out to be a good assessment. The HRRR was beginning to settle on new activity that would develop on the dryline out west.
The TIV rolled by in the opposite direction as I drove west to I-35. The cirrus that dominated the area during the morning was thinning so I had one less thing to worry about. The tornado watch came out and extended all the way to the panhandle border. One cell was moving into Roger Mills County and a couple of others developed to the north, over northwestern Oklahoma. My first urge was to go to the large storm departing the panhandle, but pretty soon the closer storms looked better. Since they were closer to the boundary, but not too close, I decided to stay north. I could always drop down on the other storm if these fizzled.
The severe warnings came out as I got closer. One of the storms showed the classic “flying eagle” signature in the reflectivity data as it crossed into Kansas. The other storm started back-building after I took a road north toward Kansas. The road situation more than anything else caused the greatest problem for the rest of the chase. There were no good options to get west to the southwest flank.
I drove on to Halstead, Kansas and decided to go west as far as I could on the paved segment of the highway. I had no intention of pressing west any further than that. As I left the little town I could see the rain-free base to the west-southwest against a faint orange backdrop. Eventually the pavement turned to something less than ideal but I kept going, knowing I could always turn back. A couple of chasers passed me, apparently with better tires. The lowering improved with a tail cloud forming from the core to the north. Classic. I kept going.
The lowering improved and I continued west in the mud. That is the power of magical thinking. The problem with driving on this kind of surface is that you have to pay attention. So I missed the rear-flank downdraft cut wrapping around the circulation. But I could easily see the developing funnel and then tornado to the northwest. It began as an elephant trunk, and it was hard to see if it was really on the ground, but I finally saw dust rising from the ground. Others who were closer apparently phoned the report in to NWS. I sprinted across a pasture for a better horizon but did not carry enough lenses. Still, I felt good about the entire day. I had made enough right decisions to get a decent vantage point, even if I wasn’t the fastest driver in mud. I could see that the vortex was up and down for a grand total of eleven minutes, from 6:16 to 6:27pm. The tornado roped out and left me to deal with the consequences of my road choice. I had passed the road to Aetna on my way west. It was an option to the north that might have given me a view of the large cone tornado that developed at 6:55. It lasted (visually) for five minutes before the precipitation obscured it. That road would have been even worse than the one I was on, so who knows what the right answer was. As it turned out, I missed the rest of the tornadoes while skating on margarine for over an hour.
By the time I recovered the circulation was bearing down on Medicine Lodge. I had a great view of the updraft looking down rt166. I took a few pictures with the road in the foreground; some of my best shots of the day. I enjoyed my approach to the storm despite being too late. I took pictures on the way to Medicine Lodge, and then shot some lightning after sunset, a short time later.
The odd sighting of the day occurred in Attica, where I ran into former employer and Accu-Weather vice president of something or other, Mike Smith. I wish we had more time to chat but he and his entourage of attractive young women were in a rush. We did pictures and then separated. I found the Braum’s in Wellington for a salad. Then spent the night at the Oak Tree Inn.