May 21, 2013

Post date: May 21, 2013 2:18:06 PM

Tuesday, May 21 @0915 CDT: There was a LOT of activity yesterday... in fact, WAY TOO MUCH activity... but we didn't see any tornadoes. We saw a bit of the damage done to the Shawnee, OK area from Sunday's tornado there, and then later, we were horrified when we saw on radar that Moore, OK was in the crosshairs of a killer storm. We listened to reports coming in about that tornado, and I must admit, the group's enthusiasm for the chase itself seemed to fade significantly as we heard of more and more death and destruction. Moore has had more than its share of really bad tornadoes, and this one may have been the worst. Awful... Just awful...

In any case, the chase will go on. Today, it appears that we will move south, farther down into Texas. It's yet another Moderate Risk day, too, so we have another pretty decent chance of seeing what we came for.

I only have a few shots from yesterday, and they may be found HERE. Here's yesterday's travel map, too:

Tuesday, May 21 @1345 CDT: After a delay, we are now heading south out of Denton. The chase goes on!

Tuesday, May 21 @2315 CDT: As heavy as my heart was yesterday, after the horrendous events of the Moore tornado, today has been even worse. FAR worse.

During the night, one of our Cloud 9 family left this earth... and way too soon. Chris Curtis, our long-time friend and chaser, apparently suffered a massive heart attack as he was sitting in front of his laptop computer in his hotel room.

For those who have already heard rumors about this, our sincerest apologies, but we were waiting until his relatives could be informed before passing on the sad news.

Our hearts are broken... and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Knowing Chris, he would have been VERY angry with us if we were to stop chasing as a result of this, so a group decision was made to go on. Our hearts are not into it, for now, but we all know that Chris would want us to continue... so we will do exactly that.

Rest In Peace, Chris... You are sorely missed!