|
When I left for this chase, my expectations were not high. The near future wasn't looking terribly exciting on the models, so that helped me out the door. I liked the stronger mid-level flow prog'd in nc NE, as well as the fact it would be cold(at that height). I also liked the fact there was a large area to the south that would see sun, so the moisture issues would at least get some heating on the way up there. When I left, I felt I'd be happy just going for a long drive, which is odd this time of year. As I near Taylor NE I could see the target storm forming sw of Valentine. I head it off driving to Brewster where I lose any cell service. That sort of sucked, because it was just north of the outflow boundary and going ene towards Ainsworth. I didn't think that would continue and actually feared it'd backbuild and go south on me. So what to do at Brewster, go north or sw to Dunning. I flew north towards Ainsworth on that long desolate highway. I found it about 10 miles south of town, still looking like it was going east, maybe not as much ene...but still not turning that hard evidently. I wanted to jump up into town and top off as I am paranoid about gas out there. But I needed to drive back south as it crossed the n-s highway well south of Ainsworth. It took about as bad as path as it could there, splitting those long n-s highway options and roaming no mans land.
|
|
|
|
Above three images are as it is crossing south of Ainsworth. I'm going back south now. It would NOW start to organize...figures. And I need to go 30 miles south then a bunch east to ever get ahead of it again. It was highly green right up and behind the base the whole time it was moving across that highway. Surely the most obvious green I've seen. Or turquoise I guess.
|
|
I had no idea how good it was doing till I reached Taylor again and got data. I was like, DOH. Had a nice hook and had turned se...and been getting tornado warnings now. Seemed each time I'd look at the hail indicators it was saying 3.25 or 3.75 inch hail. Then the one hook weakens as a new updraft and hook formed just se of that one. Those two sort of messed with one another as they marched towards Bartlett, where I was headed for an intercept. Meanwhile, there was another supercell right behind it to the west dropping se that kept looking like it might stretch one down at any moment. The above radar image is of the storm nearing Bartlett, from where I shoot the next several stills and video. It and the other near it merged and started to form another hook, before it lines out and flies east. The supercell behind it to the west now weakening. It's almost freaky to me how many times now I've seen a big storm on radar like that, RIGHT there. Compare the above radar image from this chase to one other in 2004 and one from 2006. Follow the highway south from ONL in the upper right on it. In two locations that highway jogs southeast for a moment then goes north-south again. If you continue this radar above, the storm will soon be right over the highway between those two areas, much like the two below.
See this one from 2006, tornado warned supercell with its core right over the highway between those two jogs.
This one from 2004 in July was producing tornadoes. It's right there too, just zoomed in a bit more. You can still see the highway and those two southeast jogs, with it between them. A lot of my best storms have been seen in a small area out there in north central Nebraska....not that this was even close to one of them. Hell now I remember another from last year in August right there too, trying to ride a boundary southwest.
Anyway, above is the storm from north of Bartlett. The inflow notch would form towards the right side, north of the curling gust front. Surprisingly it really tried here. I'll have to get a video clip online showing it as it moved overhead. There was some strong ene to wsw motion in that e-w band, as a big wall of rain wrapped around to the south of me in the hook. I was actually looking for the 3+ inch stones if it had any, but I couldn't find them(looking as in for them to hit me, not looking as in later on the ground). The reflectivity let up a bit as it hit this location.
|
|
|
|
This is a frame from video, looking up at the east west inflow wall, which was now moving west rather rapidly, just north of a big wall of precip forming the hook, plowing east, to my south.
|
|
After the small hail from the storm's core, I fly east, getting back ahead of it east of Albion. It was very windy while trying to do this. As I start to gain on the front of the storm, this dust devil forms, moving south pretty quickly. I tried to drive into it, but I was too late. Two birds managing to fly north into the winds.
|
|
As I go by it to the north, I roll my window down and shoot video. It kicks up a bunch of something not far from the car. The base of it where it's kicking crap up is near the copyright notice. That little cloud tag above it is actually out ahead of it a good bit.
|
|
|
|
It was a little interesting this was behind the blowed to pieces gust front with the storm. Brief tube of sorts in it in the above frame.
|
|
Then I see this one form, and appearing to go west back towards the first. It was probably just my driving that made it look to be going west.
|
|
After a few dust encounters and some rain, I make it back home. I tried a new location for lightning in the rain. This area has a bonus, as not many people will come back here and it's got a big ol tower, maybe 1 block to the south. I stopped down to F9 for this one, but it still blew out.
|
|
The lightning really sucked, but at least got a couple and found a great spot to try when it's raining(there's an overhang above me). I also recieved my Canon HV20 in the mail right before leaving on the chase. I had to replace the Sony HC1(these are both HDV video cameras). It appears to do much better than the Sony. One thing I don't like though is their dumb manual focus method. Really really dumb wheel thingy, that never gives you any infinity icon. Not just that but it seems if you roll it and roll it, it never stops at some infinity focus amount. Just sucks because you can't leave it on auto-focus chasing storms. It's easy enough to get an infinity focus early on using auto, then flipping it to manual and not touching the wheel. But later if you question if you've accidently moved that wheel, well you have to figure out how to get it to infinity again(not an easy task at night, in the rain, while driving.....nothing like having a freaking icon that tells you you are there....I mean c'mon...how confusing would it have been to done something like Sony has done with that....but maybe I'm missing something since I've only started to use it).
|
