Distance:

Target area: Near the OK/KS border in northwestern OK

Chase area: Fairview - Mooreland - Waynoka - Cherokee, OK

I expected time to be a very difficult chase, largely because of the fast storm motions forecast (40-50 mph) moving at a bad angle relative to the nice N/S - E/W road grid system. I (with Howie B., Dan D., Robin T., etc.) targeted far northwestern Oklahoma, willing to head into southcentral KS if needed. We ended up chasing 3 supercells that developed southwest of Woodward through the afternoon and evening. It was actually the first time that I was able to employ, to near perfect [ :) ] the "hop down the line" chase strategy. Although I intended to be able do this before, it has never worked out so well. The storms developed near or just west of the OK / TX panhandle border every couple of hours and moved off the NE. Each time, we'd drop the existing supercell (or it was leave us in its wake as it plowed northeastward), drive southward a little, and wait for the next supercell to approach.

We saw a lot of nice low-level mesocyclones and rapidly-rotating wall-clouds, but something was apparently "missing" with the environment during the first the time we were on supercells #1 and #2. The third supercell was the "tail end Charlie" of the train of supercells and became a prolific tornado producer. It's difficult to come up with a tornado tally, since it not always clear where one tornado ends and another begins (e.g. with the first and third supercells, we saw "tornadoes" >5 mins apart from what appears to have been the same low-level mesocyclone -- are these separate tornadoes? One could argue either way, I think). The best opportunity to get nice, close-proximity video of a tornado would have occurred with the first two supercells. We never had the chance to get close enough to supercell #3 to get any good video of the circulation at the ground. To do so, you tend to need to have some luck on your side or be presented the opportunity to make a good decision at the perfect time. The storms didn't cooperate when we were close, but that's the name of the game when storms move as quickly as they did Saturday (and when road options may be limited).

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