May 9, 2015

Post date: May 9, 2015 1:28:00 PM

Saturday, May 9, 2015 @ 0830 CDT: Well well well... Yesterday's chase has quite the story, but I don't have the time to adequately cover that now... nor do I have any pictures to show you yet. More on that later, as time allows and I start to catch up a bit... while also trying to position for another chase today. Sorry, but everything will make sense later, after you hear the story.

For now, though, here's what the SPC says about today's setup:

Saturday, May 9, 2015 @ 1200 CDT: Apologies for disappearing so suddenly yesterday, but we had... ummmm... extenuating circumstances. As most stories are, it's a long story, but here's the Reader's Digest version of what I experienced:

When last I reported, we were tracking a very strong cell between Crowell, TX and Quanah, TX. It was very impressive visually and on radar, and we were convinced that there was a tornado in there somewhere... but our view of it was blocked by rain and the terrain itself. Later, we heard that a tornado HAD, in fact, been reported on it.

As the hook approached, we tried to move farther east along a gravel road (Hurst Williams Road, I think?). Unfortunately for us, that gravel road quickly turned to Texas red clay and mud... and both vans were stuck deep. Fortunately for us, the hook passed slightly to our north and we were out of immediate danger, but we were still quite stuck. Efforts to extract ourselves just served to sink us deeper and deeper.

Some Good Samaritan chasers --- Core Punchers, out of Arkansas --- who had a 4-wheel drive truck, were nice enough to stop and try to assist. They were successful in extracting Brad's van #1, and having escaped, we sent them onward to continue the chase without the rest of us... thinking that we would get pulled out of the muck soon ourselves and would rejoin them on the chase.

No such luck. We were ***REALLY*** stuck.

So eventually Charles called Brad and requested that he turn around and come back for us. Charles and George would stay with van #1 to get it out with a tractor or a tow truck.

After Brad came to get us, we continued chasing farther south... all twelve of us... in van #2. It's a good thing we all get along so well!

Eventually, after we drove well south of our original chase area, we caught up with a signigficant cell near Throckmorton, TX... and were in the bear's cage several times while attempting to find a road that would put us south of the circulation in the storm's hook. Quite exciting, to say the least! We caught a wedge tornado there (Wooohoooo!!!), and even though I don't have any pictures or video of it (since we had left all of our gear in van #1), I will try to get something later to show you from the other chasers.

Soooooooo... eventually we started back north, and heard that van #1 was finally free of the mud. Apparently the tow truck almost got stuck itself, and had also snapped a cable in the attempt to extract the van!

We finally pulled into the parking lot of the Super 8 in Childress, TX at around midnight... tired, muddy and happy chasers! We had seen one tornado, seen another that had produced a tornado ***AND*** were all in one piece, prepared to chase again on Saturday.

It had been QUITE the chase day!

I would really like to thank Core Punchers for everything that those guys did for us. They didn't need to stop and help, but they did, and we all are eternally grateful for their help. I would like to get back together with them at some point when we have more time, to buy them all dinner and drinks. They were awesome.

I'd also like to thank Charles and George for everything that they did in staying behind and dealing with the mess that was van #1. That was one stuck van!

Many thanks, too, to all of the inhabitants of van #2, who made room for the five of us who bailed out of van #1 when we were fully burrowed into the muck. They let us see another tornado, and it was glorious!then

Finally, I want to thank Brad for everything that he did. He led us into the storm, where we sampled the bear's cage a few times and bagged us another tornado! Brad, you da MAN!!!

So that's the story... Now I will return you to your regularly-scheduled programming...

...and more chasing for us... probably in southwestern Kansas...