My flight leaving Vancouver is delayed a bit because someone on the plane needed to be kicked off. The woman was being verbally abusive to the flight attendants. We find out after that she was in the process of being deported and that she had been in the terminal for 2 days already. This surreal journey has an interesting start to it already.
I almost miss my connection in Dallas because, for some weird reason, I had to clear customs in Dallas instead of in Canada. My flight to Oklahoma City leaves at 6:55am - I make it to the gate at 6:42am. I am the last person on the plane. I feel incredibly lucky to have made it on.
When I go to pick up my car, I am informed that they have run out of "intermediate SUVs" so I was upgraded, for free, to a Jeep Wrangler. A wave of excitement washes over me. This will be so great for chasing! Besides driving my parents' Jeep Grand Cherokee a handful of times, I didn't have a lot of experience driving a vehicle like this. I was renting a car for the first time, in a different country, and I was chasing tornadoes alone for the first time. And I had maybe an hour of sleep the night before. I touch base with George and he says to drive West on I-40, which is what I had planned to do anyway. I had to get to Amarillo as fast as possible. I only stop once or twice on the way. I have some coffee and only eat light, as to not feel sleepy.
I moved right in...
By the time I get near Amarillo, storms are already firing up. There are some nice looking ones in the south but I am too far away. I go north on highway 87, towards Dumas. George and them are North-East of me somewhere. Eventually we give up trying to meet up and we just chase whatever we can and keep in touch. The visibility is not great. There is a lot of low hanging cloud and fog, so I can't see much structure. I stop at Dumas and regroup. I decide to try and get in position for one of the cells coming up from the South West. Highway 87 eventually turns into an East-West highway, which caused me a bit of confusion. I head West, towards Hartley, along 87. My only South option at this point is the 385, towards Channing. As I'm driving West, a truck in the oncoming lane flickers his lights at me. I know that means I'm probably driving into something bad. I glance at the radar. It's a small cell. It can't be that bad.. I keep driving. Eventually the rain becomes louder and my visibility turns to near zero. I feel cross winds pushing the car as I am pummelled with sheets of hail. It was maybe only dime or quarter sized.. but I suddenly became terrified. What if it gets bigger? What if my windshield breaks? I look at the velocity scan. There is no couplet but there are definitely some opposing winds. A peculiar thought suddenly dawns on me - storm chasing is kind of scary. Who'd a thought? This is a very different experience than being on a tour in a van driven by somebody else. When you are alone, driving your own vehicle, it's a whole different ball game.
This is the only shot I took. I believe this is facing East on 385. It was literally the only marginally photogenic moment that day.
I finally get back down to I-40, near Vega, and proceed to go East. By this point, there is a tornado reported in Tulia, TX and that same cell is travelling North-East, heading towards Amarillo. There are so many chasers on it. The daylight is slowly fading. I had too much coffee and not enough sleep and start feeling a bit paranoid and jumpy. At one point I accidentally set off the car alarm and it takes me 2 minutes to figure out how to disable it. I want to get east and get ahead of this storm so that I can get a good look at it, but I realize that I am not driving fast enough. I am already getting hit by the outskirts of it and the head-winds keep pushing my vehicle side to side and it's jarring. I feel my nerve starting to slip. I start feeling dizzy. Something in my gut tells me that I need to pull over. I am disappointed in myself for being scared. I should be where the action is! I should at least be IN the tornado warning. This is why I was here! I see so many Spotter Network dots right in and around the circulation and feel sort of left out. However, after a couple scans, I see a hook forming. It's just a rain-wrapped monster. I am glad I am giving it some space.
I will wait until the circulation crosses the interstate before I proceed East.
I find out from George that they are staying in Shamrock. The storm is far away now. I head east, along I-40 and I am treated to a nice lightning show. When I arrive, I am so happy to see a familiar face. I hadn't talked to anyone all day. George endures a verbal explosion as I talk his ear off for the better part of an hour. I am so wired and tired. Today was one of the most challenging days of my life. I have never pushed myself so far out of my comfort zone in one shot like this before.
Distance driven: 807km
Yeah.. I look a little tired.
On a side note: my very first storm chase ever was exactly 5 years ago today. I saw my first supercell in Henrietta, TX on May 7th, 2014. We also had golfball sized hail smash through the side window that day. I keep the chards of glass in a clear locket.
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