MikeUpjohn

Today is a down day and we are based in McCook, NE and a nice steakhouse later. Some of the guys have popped to the cinema, some of us lounging around the pool and in the sun. Chance at astrophotography later, so we want the skies to stay clear tonight! Nice to stop after a crazy 8 days plus a bonus chase day, and eat something that isn't a burrito out of the gas station!! Day 10 our last chase day looks really good for supercells again and another SLGT Risk around our area tomorrow. Mike. PS. If you stop in McCook, try Sehnert's Bakery on the main street

Day 8 began with us in McCook after last nights storms rolled away. Can't think of a trip so far where we've had more overnight lightning storms roll over the hotel than this year! Today was a warm front and surface low which would spark off South Eastward moving supercells, before they would line out and possibly become a derecho later. A late start from McCook, and headed North East for a late lunch stop and gas up in Imperial, NE before hopping back into MDT once again and gaining an hour on the chase. Headed up into the edge of the Nebraska panhandle, and found a severe storm near Chappell, NE coming in from Brideport, NE and moving South East. We followed the storm, constantly keeping ahead of it and stopping to look back as it became surface-based and started to rotate. We kept heading South and East back towards McCook, and as rotation increased, multiple gustnadoes were seen on the front edge, and finally, 2 brief landspout tornadoes. Some of the other guys have got video, but I couldn't capture it in time as it was so quick! One of the tornadoes, was barely 200 metres away in the field to our front right, with a small white funnel cloud above. Continued with the storm South and East as it rolled down into Southern Nebraska and eventually off into Kansas. Stopped in Benkelman, NE eventually for a loo break and watched a severe storm that briefly looked like it could produce another tornado, pass us by to the North with so much strong outflow, it was hard to open car doors and the canopy and roof of the gas station was rocking. Finally watched a storm to our East pass over Atwood, KS and Oberlin, KS watching an area of interest with a TVS marker, but no tornado or funnel this time. Reports then came in of large hail smashing windows and cars in Oberlin, KS and by the time we stopped their to gas up an hour later, large 2 inch plus hail was still on the ground. Headed North for food and back to the hotel in McCook, with another storm briefly popping up on the way, and hail fog along the road from the departing storm system. Early finish (relatively...) in McCook, with an 11pm finish in the hotel for some beers together. Enjoy the pictures below. Tour 3's tornado count: 3 Mike. 20220607_205740.mp4

Here is a late addition to Day 2, of the baseball sized hail storm. Watch late on in the video on the right hand side for the windshield breaking.

Day 7 saw us start in Enid, OK after a night of elevated storms rolling through and on South and East. Today featured a chance for a mix of multi-cell and supercell storm modes coming out of Eastern Colorado and into Western KS, before rolling off to the South and East. We headed out of Enid towards Woodward, and Braum's stop for their ice cream, before heading on up and stopping to gas up in Sublette, KS. Storms started firing West of us, so headed out towards Johnson City, KS, and then up on the Kansas side of the Colorado border, as storms got their act together and rolled across East all around us. Some good lightning, cloudscapes and hail shafts. Some of the storms became severe for a while, with the chance of landspout tornadoes, and we did witness a couple of spin ups. As we followed one storm North which became dominant, and had another storm merge with it, it became surface based, and as we pulled over, saw a funnel cloud North of us over the road ahead of us. Video below. Drove up and into the guts of the storm as it moved away but the funnel was brief and didn't touch down. Ended with a really close C-G, and then stopped for lightning pictures as a new storm blew up in Eastern Colorado and rolled towards us. Ended the day in McCook, NE watching storms over 100 miles away roll away from us. Mike.

A couple of videos from the storm rolling through Enid, OK about 2am.

Day 6 saw us start in Colby, KS with a large ENH Risk across much of South Central KS and into North Central OK. Forecast wording was for severe storms, possible tornado risk, before growing upscale, and a possible derecho as the storms shot off to the SE into Oklahoma. We drove from Colby, KS down to Dodge City, KS for some lunch and waited around the area for storms to fire somewhere around and South of Dodge City, KS and move off to the East South East according to HRRR. Our first stop looked very flat for convection but clearing and towers to the South ultimately broke the cap and kicked things off just before dusk. Hung around for a final time near the big train in Kinsley, KS and then headed South towards the OK border. The storm that we ended up on fired off NW of Medicine Lodge and started moving South East. Straight away, the lightning was positive and you could head tornadic thunder (a sort of explosive deep booming thunder rather than the crackling rumbling), and the lightning was all smooth channel (pics below). We tracked with the storm keeping an eye on it's wall cloud at the back all the way down towards Waynoka, OK, where the structure of the developing squall line was stunning, with a mix of shelf cloud and stacked plate supercells. As we watched lightning was jumping out from the top of the storm over and behind our heads, one hitting a wind turbine in the wind field behind us. Followed the storms to Enid, OK, where we got ahead of the line of now severe warned storms with hail and strong winds, and had dinner (at 1.30am :D). Got checked in at the hotel, and let the same line of storms which was now outflow dominant, roll over the hotel about 2.30am, before finally heading to sleep. Enjoy the pictures and videos below!

Day 5 saw us start in Seminole, TX once again, and the hotel staff starting to think we were staying forever, and heralding a severe storm every time we came! A long drive North today with a 7am get away to head for Western KS, for a SLGT Risk for severe weather, a couple of supercells and a 2% tornado risk. Glad to be leaving Seminole, as the forecast there was for 100° temps and blue skies! Arrived onto a storm NW of Tribune, KS and watched it grow over the border in Colorado, but storms were generally struggling as the better moisture and winds were further East into Western KS. The storm did briefly yield a wall cloud but then collapsed back again. Further down the road, new storms were popping and although the tornado risk had now gone pretty much, we were in for a treat with the lightning....and I mean a real treat. See pics below! A storm went up to our East that ultimately became tornado warned, and we did see a brief funnel out of it, lit up by the lightning. Now, to say the storm went nuts is an understatement, the lightning pics below are between 10 and 25 second exposures, with C-G's literally raining out in front of us! Best lightning display I have ever seen (until Day 6 surpassed it!) Enjoy! Mike.

I've spent about $400 on food and drink across my pre-pay card and in cash. And another $100 or so on souvenirs, beers etc.

I used a mix of prepaid card from Caxton but everywhere takes cash. Had some problems with my prepay card declining so cash is a must. You can pay for anything here with a UK debit card but typically a £2.50 fee for each transaction. So you can get more dollars out here but take a bigger amount out at once and you only get hit by one transaction fee then.

Day 4 saw us start again in Seminole, TX amongst the oil fields and refineries that are down here. Initially it looked like the Amarillo, TX area would be best for storms with HRRR showing a supercell near Boise City. Got to Lubbock, and as often is the way the weather changed and back towards Seminole, TX and into Eastern New Mexico loked the best. Headed back down and crossed into New Mexico again, and storms started firing, so we did some timelapse of them building. As storms matured, we got on a storm North of Jal, NM and followed it as it matured produced wall clouds, went green with hail and chucked out some biblical lightning. We left the storm as it trundled off down towards Pecos, TX and ended the day with lightning before eating in Hobbs, NM and overnighting one more time in Seminole, TX. Pictures below!

Started today with a small MRGL Risk for severe hail and gusty winds coming off the mountains in South Central New Mexico. We lunched in Hobbs, NM, crossing the time zone again to make it -7, and then stopped in Roswell, NM for a couple of hours. About 5pm we rolled West from Roswell, for some storms that started to fire up on the mountains, but they were taking their time to come off the mountains, so left them for a bit longer and went back for an early dinner in Roswell. While sat in Applebees, the storm to the NW that was heading for Roswell, went severe, and a radar coverage hole meant we couldn't see it fully on radar. Ended the day with a quick shot at some lightning, before it caught us and we were forced to take cover from the dust and rain. Ended back in Seminole, TX again about midnight, and the storm then caught us a couple of hours later, giving us a stunning 1.30am marginally severe storm right over the hotel with anvil crawlers and C-G's. Not at all bad for a Marginal Risk day!

Day 2 saw us start in Lawton, OK after several more hours of overnight storms (some severe) in Lawton and an incredible lightning display plus deluge. Headed West and South towards Lubbock for a SLGT Risk and 2% tornado risk from supercells that would go up in the untouched warm moist air to the South West, before a cold front came crashing down from the North. AAs soon as cells crossed the cold front, they would become outflow dominant, so headed down to Seminole, TX in the warm juicy air, and then across (and back a timezone) into Hobbs, NM and down towards Jal, NM. As we went under the cold front, the temperature shot up from 68° to 86° in 10 miles or so. Three or four supercells went up, the Northern one which initially looked good but was flirting with the cold front got pulled into the more Southerly one, which then gained strong rotation and a very low wall cloud. Massive C-G's started raining out the whole time we were watching. It came close to a tornado but the cells started to line out, so we headed out East to a new cell that we had been watching, which was ahead of the line and severe. Again, this had rotation and a loose wall cloud, with rotation over the road in front of us. Turned up into the storm while it got it's act together and came across some HUGE hail, around 3.75 inches, which ultimately took out two of the windshields and numerous. It was incredibly loud! Backed off and let the hail go through then went up behind the back of the storm after it had passed, and some some baseball sized hail on the side of the road, and witnessed an incredible hail fog display. The storm complex had now become an MCS but with a huge anvil and mammatus, we left it to roll away and stayed back for sunset mammatus and a lightning display. Ended the day in Seminole, TX which was now 68° after the cold front went through. Video of the aftermath of the hail.

Another video from the severe storm rolling over Lawton, OK at the end of Day 1.

Day 1 proper of Tour 3 started in Blackwell, OK and after dropping South to Guthrie, OK for breakfast, we headed West and South via Kingfisher to the I40 and headed West to Clinton for lunch, waiting for the cold front to initiate somewhere along the TX/OK border. Storms would move Eastwards into a better environment favourable of large hail, damaging winds and maybe a tornado. Watched the towers bubble for a while about 15 miles North of Clinton, and a few storms started getting their act together after while. Temperatures were up in the 90's and with a screaming wind, it was only a matter of time before storms got organised. Followed the storms as they hung around and near the I40 and one storm gained a huge wall cloud and so very very nearly put down a tornado right in front of us, but not quite unfortunately this time. We followed the storms along I40 for a bit, before leaving the first storm as it headed off into Weatherford, OK direction. Headed South to the next storm which was coming out of the TX panhandle, and as dusk came, the lightning really kicked up several gears. For the next hour we were treated to a mix of anvil crawler and CG lightning against a dramatic sunset backdrop, all the while keeping an eye on a wall cloud to the South West on the left edge of the storm. Jernej then shouted tornado and sure enough the wall cloud produced a brief cone tornado backlit by C-G lightning. Moved back as the storm slowly trundled towards us and stopped one last time to watch a newly developed tornado warned wall cloud at about 10pm. After a few minutes we headed East to Lawton, OK for dinner and checked into the hotel as the severe storms rolled in overhead with torrential rain, very close C-G lightning and massive wind gusts. Storms continued until gone 3am, making this a 12-hour storm binge, from a 2% tornado. Awesome!! Pics and videos below.

Tour 3 is off to a great start with an ENHANCED Risk across Eastern KS yesterday for supercells with large to very large hail, hurricane force wind gusts and a couple of tornadoes possible. 10% tornado risk too. With Tour 2 dropped off at Denver, we've all headed East down I-70 into Kansas as far as Salina, and turned South. As we came towards Salina, huge towers were popping up off the dryline, and after heading South, Paul picked us a storm and we busted through it, to the base on the other side. The storms were top, but were all more diurnal in nature and after some decent structure and a couple of wall clouds with some brief rotation, we ended the day in a VERY MUGGY Blackwell, OK. Some pics and video below.

I've bought Battleface. Sat in the Crown Rivers at Heathrow T5 with a cheeky pint ready for the Denver flight. Looks like some storms even if not all severe floating around Denver and points North tomorrow. Hope T2 get in on that Enhanced Risk up in NE. Mike.

I fly out a week on Sat for Netweather Tour 3 to Denver. 30C by then again!

Thunder in Macclesfield now from the Knutsford cell.

In Macclesfield and ready to head out in the car when it goes off!

Looks like a few cells popped up nearby. One over Knutsford, and one in the Pennies. No lightning as yet...

Yellow warning for Thunderstorms between 1pm and 10pm issued for the NW today now. Maybe something later. Day off today and getting the camera equipment ready for Netweathers Storm Chase Tour 3 so night be a good chance to see if I can remember how to use the camera after 3 years!! Mike.

See you there!

Finally managed to book at hotel for the day I arrive, and a car for the day after before T3 starts. Anyone else for T3 landing on Saturday 28th from LHR?

This!!!! It is the best thing ever. I've got another 5 weeks before I fly out May 28th, and I can barely concentrate with excitement

Yeah, I messaged them and not heard back either.