Good Day Everyone. Monday May 10, 2010 will go down as an infamous day in Oklahoma tornado history. Thanks to a powerful low pressure system with strong dynamics, high dewpoints and good wind shear, we had numerous strong thunderstorms with tornadoes across northern Oklahoma. Unfortunately, several people lost their lives. My chase day began in Goodland, KS and ended in Wichita, KS. A five-hour drive out I-70 and then down I-35 brought me in range of one of the strongest storms by 4 p.m. I moved in from the north to get position in "The Notch", which is an area on the leading edge of the storm with strong air inflow. Since I was coming in from the north, my best chance to see any tornadoes would be in the notch.I got there in the nick of time and found myself directly under the mesocyclone, or the strongest area of rotation. To my great relief there was only one other chaser there! The tornado was rain-wrapped by that time, and thus invisible. Finding myself in the perfect position to get run over by the tornado, I skedaddled to the south to try and get around the southern edge of the thunderstorm and perhaps glimpse a tornado from the south. Moving back off the country roads to I-35, I headed out of the storm just before ten tractor-trailers were blown off the roadway. I quickly turned to see the dissipating tornado and then started back north on I-35, stopping to assist several truckers whose rigs were overturned. Several trees had been uprooted as well. This damage was done either by a tornado, or the extremely strong rear-flank downdraft winds coming around the south side of the storm.
Needless to say, it was a very exciting 30 minutes! Fortunately none of the truckers I encountered were injured. Several trucks had blown over onto other vehicles, but everyone was fine. Today I head out of Wichita for the Tulsa area to play along the existing frontal boundary. There will be favorable conditions for a few super-cells today.
Stay tuned and stay safe!
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