April 13, 2012
Target: Altus, Oklahoma < March 28 | April 30 >
APRIL 13, 2012
Target: Altus, Oklahoma
Left Lawrence, Kansas around 9:30 with a preliminary goal to get to southwest Oklahoma. The exact location of initiation was a little uncertain, so flexibility was going to be needed. We transitioned from Interstate 35 to Interstate 44 with the intent to head west on Highway 62 toward Altus, Oklahoma. As we headed south on Interstate 44 we passed through some elevated convection that quickly became more organized to our north. We took a brief detour back to the north to see how the storms would develop. After a brief detour to the north, we continued our journey to the southwest. Incidently one of the developing storms became supercellular and produced a tornado in Norman, Oklahoma. Upon arriving to Altus the intial dryline supercell formed just west of town. We followed the storm northeast while it continued to develop. After developing some moderate rotation and a picturesque wall cloud north of Altus. This storm did not persist long and soon died near Blair, Oklahoma. The storms to the southwest underwent a few mergers and became supercellular after all the mergers were finished. Immediately the storm took on an HP appearance as a wet RFD came around the updraft of the storm. At this time I received word that a tornado was causing damage to the town of Blair, Oklahoma. As I watched the storm it was apparent that I would not see a tornado, due to the HP nature of the storm. So we took a jaunt to the east so we could get into a better road network. We stopped about 9 miles south of Cooperton, Oklahoma and watched the storm undergo a cyclic phase and become more organized. Upon realizing that we were on the western edge of the Wichita Mountains and no easterly route would be available we tried to beat the storm to Cooperton so we could head east. As we approached Cooperton the storm crossed our northerly route, effectively ending our pursuit. Before retreating to the south we witnessed another RFD swinging around the updraft and a very well defined and vigorour funnel appeared. Normally a funnel would not create much of a stir, but the motion and color of the storm was very remarkable. While watching the funnel we briefly stopped to speak with Bob and Rachel Fritchie on Highway 54. We decided to retreat south so we could find an easterly route through the Wichita Mountain State Park. This drive turned out to be very scenic with many longhorns and buffalo. In fact we almost hit a buffalo which was crossing the road in front of us. After stopping in the park for a few storm shots we resumed the chase and caught back up with the storm at the intersection of Highway 19 and 58 near Boone, Oklahoma. After shooting a few lightning pictures we decided to end the chase and head back to Interstate 44 at Chickasha, Oklahoma for our trip home. Ultimately this chase turned out well, as the scenery and storm structure were the highlights of the chase. Bad navigation, unhelpful road networks, and substandard photography definitely brought negatives to this chase.
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