Storm Chase Details
Miles Logged: 1017
States Chased: KS, MO
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks
Severe Reports: Storm Reports
Chase Recap:
We left North Platte the previous afternoon and drove all afternoon to Salina, Kansas. We woke up with high hopes for the day. A moderate risk was issued just to the west of us along with a 10% hatched tornado risk. SPC would drop the Moderate at 13Z due to all the ongoing convection.
Moisture Transport
The clouds managed to clear in Kansas and the state got some sun. Unfortunately, Oklahoma never did clear out and had ongoing convection most of the day. This cut off the moisture return from the south, which ultimately caused this day to bust. We departed the hotel and went after the morning crapvection as Jari wanted to get some lightning photos.
Staying on Pavement
Being in a rental and not my truck, I wanted to stay on pavement but Jari insisted we get closer. The dirt road didn’t look so bad and we were still right by I-70, so we took a dirt road. Jari setup and took some photos.
As the storms reached us, I told Jari that we needed to get going. I didn’t communicate a sense of urgency and it took a minute for him to pack up and get back in the car. We didn’t beat the rain, but I figured it out be OK as we started down this road towards the entrance back to I-70.
Stuck in the Mud
As the rain started pouring, I became stuck in the mud about a mile from the entrance/exit ramp on I-70. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the car had traction control which stopped me from getting up a hill and ultimately getting stuck.
We tried pushing the car as well as going back and forth trying to build momentum. Unfortunately we were stuck and looking to miss a chase day. I was pretty frustrated for the next hour or two while we attempted to free ourselves. Luckily the sun came back out quickly after the storm, so things started drying out pretty quickly.
Free from the Mud
Eventually we were able to clean the mud out of the wheel wells with our hands and sticks and were ultimately able to get free and to the entrance of I-70. I was just about to the point of calling a wrecker, so it was good we were able to get free.
Car Wash
The tires were horribly out of balance and the car was covered in mud, so we headed to Ellsworth to find a car wash. We ended up spending $20 in quarters to clean all of the mud off. After cleaning off the mud, we both changed and then hit the road westbound. Storms were firing in Eastern Colorado and had become tornado warned. We were still 150 miles away but continued west to Goodland before we decided to stop for dinner at Taco Johns.
Getting Lightning Photos in the Cold
After Taco Johns, we decided to chase the storms north and northeast of Goodland. Jari wanted some more lightning photos, so we continued after extremely cold supercells. Temperatures were in the 40s and I stayed in the car with the heater blasting. Jari shott lightning for a good hour and a half while I talked to Bill and Bob along the side of a road in Kansas.
Getting Dinner and helping other chasers
It was about 10pm when we finally decided to hit the road and get some McDonalds before continuing east on US36. We passed a broken down chaser on 36 and stopped to help. We ended up taking 2 chasers to St Joe Missouri that night while another stayed with the vehicle to get it repaired in Phillipsburg.
Apparently there are no gas stations along US36 for a long distance, and we almost ran out of fuel. Luckily we found a station with 24/7 gas pumps and were able to fill up. We arrived and checked into the Motel 6 in St Joseph at around 4am.
