Tornado Alley - Saying Goodbye to My Second Home

Norman, OK

In about 4 hours, I'm heading to the airport. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I do look forward to seeing friends and family, sleeping in my own bed, and resuming my exercise routine.. But on the other hand, I'm sad that the chase is over. We had dinner tonight at a Cajun restaurant in Edmond, OK called Brent's Cajun. And then said our goodbyes in the parking lot of the Days Inn in Norman.

This hotel always brings back a flood of memories. Thad startling me in the lobby with the flash of his camera before I even knew who he was, that very first day of Tour 1 in 2014. George launching his new drone in the parking lot that same night. Climbing the fence drunk on my way back from Wal-Mart a few days later. Deciding to jump on Tour 2 during breakfast at "the trough" the day I was supposed to fly home. That time we found a snake while having drinks outside someone's room. Meeting Mark and Jaclyn for the first time, when they pulled up in their Weather Network vehicle. Being wheeled to the breakfast room in an office chair after my ankle broke in 2015. From the morning briefings in the lobby to the switchover parties in the rooms, this hotel will always hold a special place in my mind and feel like a second home.

Watched the sunrise at Oklahoma City airport while waiting for my flight. 

Tornado Alley - Last chase day in South Dakota

Sidney, NE

Today was our last chase day. Wasn't much rotation but we saw some great structure. We chased in South Dakota, almost up near Mount Rushmore. Then we made our way down to Nebraska and saw Carhenge (pics of that later). We then had some really good Chinese food in Alliance. We're in Sidney tonight.. In what is quite possibly the nicest Motel 6 I've ever been in. I'm pleasantly surprised. We have an early start tomorrow.. And then a long travel day back to Norman.

Tornado Alley - Northern Plains Bust

Rapid City, SD

Today was a bit of a bust again. We chased from Montana down into Wyoming and then ended up back in Rapid City, SD. We saw a bit of nice structure, but nothing too organized.

Tornado Alley - Sleepy Travel Day

Miles City, MT

Today was a travel day. We stopped at Salem Sue, which is a giant cow sculpture on top of a hill in North Dakota, just outside Bismarck. Here is a group shot of Tour 3. (That's me in the purple skirt)

Last night I was too wired and didn't get to bed until 3.. But then couldn't fall asleep because I could hear people in the adjacent room so clearly. They weren't even being that loud but the walls are so thin that I could hear someone crack open a can of beer or pop. There was a woman and I think maybe two men and they kept coming in and out. I kept hearing what sounded like packing tape being pulled and a bottle of pills being rattled around. I kept trying to imagine what they could be doing. Are they selling drugs? Hiding a body? Filming a porno? What could it be?? Eventually the sound of birds chirping at 5:20am drowned out any other noise and I was able to fall asleep as light started pouring in below the curtain.


Anyway.. After a big Mexican dinner and some sangria, I think I'm going to hit the sack early tonight.

Tomorrow is a chase day.. Time to rest up.

Tornado Alley - Late Initiation in North Dakota

Bismark, ND

And now we're in North Dakota. State number 10 on this trip! Today wasn't totally a bust, since we got some lightning at night, but there wasn't really much to chase since the storms took SO long to initiate.. And when they finally did, they were all too far south.

Earlier today we went to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We saw prairie dogs and even a bison on the side of the road. Then we hung out for about an hour at a park in the little town of Wing, right near their tornado siren.. Wishful thinking, I guess. They also had a bizzare bathroom with 2 toilets separated by a shower curtain. No toilet paper, but they did have soap and a tap with brown water coming out of it.

My best lightning shot of the night. Was able to catch a bit of the illuminated mammatus.

Tornado Alley - Mid Montana Chaser Convergence

Glendive, MT

Today was a bit of a bust. Didn't see much. We drove from Miles City over to Lewistown (the furthest west we travelled) and had a little mini chaser convergence, where we ran into Daniel Shaw and one of my favourite photographers, Mike Olbinski. I had never met him before. His does the most amazing timelapses. Then we decided to chase a severe-warned cell off to the East but it died off. Now we're in Glendive. Going to have an early start tomorrow and head over to North Dakota for the Enhanced risk.

I'm glad to have an early night tonight.  So happy to be staying at a Days Inn! It feels like the Fairmont Empress compared to the Motel 6.

Tornado Alley - Laundry Day and Mount Rushmore

Miles City, MT

Today was a travel and laundry day. We are now in Miles City, Montana and we stopped at Mount Rushmore on our way here. The last time I was in Montana was 25 years ago, when my parents and I drove to BC from Toronto via the US. We've been through 9 states in the last 8 days! The drive here from South Dakota via Wyoming was so beautiful.

I felt so content and relaxed today. I haven't felt this relaxed, happy, and present in a really long time. It took me a whole week to unwind/de-stress and forget about work and busy, overcrowded Vancouver. This cold is clearing up. I'm more comfortable with my cameras again. I'm finally in chase mode and feel completely myself. As much as Vancouver is comfortable because it's familiar, I feel more "at home" on the road with fellow weather nerds. In general, I think I've just always felt more at alive and present when I'm travelling.

Enjoying some ice cream at Mount Rushmore. They only had one size..

Driving through Windows XP

Rapid City, ND


Today was a travel day. We stopped at Niobrara state park in Nebraska, which I thought was beautiful. It really did look like the default Windows XP wallpaper.

We also stopped at this little town called Wall in South Dakota. A weird little place. Tonight we're in Rapid City. This is the first city we've stayed in, as opposed to the little tiny towns. There's no free Wi-Fi so I can't upload much. There's also a hint of cigarette smoke coming into my room so my allergies are acting up. Going to knock myself out with some Benadryl.

Shocking Mammatus

Norfolk, NE

Today's chase involved adventures in Nebraska. I got some amazing photos. There was no rotation on these storms, but we got to see some quarter sized hail. We took shelter at a bank in the little town of Bassett. Then, a resident invited us to a fundraser at a senior's center nearby, which was awesome. Super nice people. It was kind of surreal seeing a guy wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat. I was definitely in America's heartland.

Then we were off and we saw the most amazing mammatus I had ever witnessed. There was lightning in the distance, but none nearby. Everything was peaceful as I filmed a timelapse. Then, suddenly, Ray was like, "Your hair is standing up!" And I just asked, "Are you sure? It's probably just messy" and he's like, "there's electricity running through you, it's lifting up." I instantly thought, "Shit!, I'm about to be struck by lightning." I thought I should run back to the van.. But then I wanted to verify if that was indeed the case (I.e. I needed to take a photo). I could see other people's hair standing up a bit too. I checked my arm hairs but then remembered that I recently waxed my arms. No one seemed to be panicking.. So I just kept taking selfies and videos, even though, in the back of my mind, I kind of felt like I was playing with fire. I remember as a kid going to the Ontario Science Center and touching that big static orb that makes your hair stand up and I used to purposely rub my shoes on the carpet and shock people. Electricity always fascinated me. I am literally like a moth to a flame when it comes to this kind of stuff. My curiosity and fascination overrode any sense of personal safety. I guess I also just figured that if no one else is freaking out, then why should I? I also thought it might have been something else and not lightning, since it was happening to everyone and not just me and there was no lightning nearby. Though, after speaking to another chaser and doing some Googling, I learned that we probably were in the danger zone.



Here are a few of the selfies.

 

Despite the lightning danger, the mammatus we saw that night was absolutely breathtaking. 

There was A LOT of lightning on this storm so we were out late taking photos.