Date: May 7, 2019
Time: 2:30 - 7:10 PM CDT
Place: Amarillo, Bushland, Palo Duro, TX
Distance: 729 mi (279 positioning, 124 chasing, 326 to home)
Camera: T3i, GoPro3 & 7, Note5 & 9
Warnings: SVR, TOR
Rating: S4

Pre-Chase
Hi! I wanted to check in about storm-chasing. How likely is it that you will be going this weekend? When do you typically know that a day or weekend will be good for it? Or do you just plan to go and then scout for the best location?
Ok crazy question: interested in a 1 day storm chase tomorrow in the TX panhandle? I'm considering leaving early morning tomorrow and getting back late evening. Full day out of work, but it's looking like a really solid chase day.
I'm in





7:00 AM MDT - 12:40 PM CDT: And with that simple FB exchange, plans were set to host our first ever in-car storm chase tour with our good friend Corbin. For each week of 2019, Corbin's goal is to learn or experience something new - and this week's new thing is chasing! And he may have just picked the perfect week.

A classic TX panhandle setup is taking shape today - complete with just-in-time upper-level winds, a deepening surface low on the TX/NM border, excellent moisture, and a crisp dryline. All signs point towards a great tornado day in excellent terrain. Spirits were high as we packed the Crosstrek and headed east from ABQ, with a general target of Amarillo for lunch and reanalysis.

Corbin was a perfect addition to the car during the long morning drive across the New Mexico high plains. We all took turns DJ-ing music, chatting, and even batting around possible ideas for the day's chase video theme. All this, plus the excitement for the chase, made the drive fly by. As we climbed the caprock escarpment of the Llano Estacado and onto the plains west of Amarillo, Corbin noted that "Texas has never seemed this green." And he was right, the high plains were as verdant as we'd ever seen them.

12:40 - 2:30 PM CDT: All good storm chase tours stop at the breathtaking Cadillac Ranch on the west side of Amarillo, and of course we were no exception. Hilariously, a huge muddy puddle surrounded the half-buried sedans, but we took the moment to enjoy the moist air and ponder the clouds to our southwest that would soon be our afternoon storms.

We hit Cane's for lunch, and while devouring chicken tenders, I laid out the day's setup to Corbin - the dryline to our west and the cold front/outflow to the northwest serving as the boundaries of our chase target. Corbin quickly picked up the gist of things and even noted correctly how the HRRR was trending westward with supercell development each run. After lunch, we headed to the NW corner of the Hwy 335 loop that encircles Amarillo - peeking at the first few thundershowers already initiating to our west.

The Chase

2:30 - 3:57 PM CDT: I warned Corbin that the beginning of most chases are boring and grungy, as the high sun angle and mushy early storms provide poor contrast and visuals. He took it in good stride as we observed some early cells fly away to our northwest. Thus began a calm-before-the-storm waiting game - trying to figure out which blip on radar we might commit to. Don't get suckered into the first storm, but also don't hedge too long; Corbin really took to this strategic element and threw in his own navigation suggestions.

By 3:12 PM, a storm just to our SW went SVR-warned and looked to be rapidly organizing. We had our first target of the day and getting ahead of it couldn't be easier!! A quick jaunt west on 1061 then south on 2381 put us directly in front of the growing storm (along the way Corbin couldn't help but point out the dichotomous road sign: Boy's Ranch right, Bushland left). By 3:30, we posted up just north of I-40 with a great southerly view - our incipient supercell still showing an elongated base but with hints at stubby inflow features on the southern end. Corbin and I spent the next 25 minutes ducking in and out of the car as various rain and nickel-hail shafts passed over our location - our storm's base organizing thicker and darker the entire time.

3:57 - 4:35 PM CDT: Just as we headed back north to keep pace with the storm, an all-to-familiar tone blared from all 3 phones simultaneously - TORNADO WARNING FOR OUR CELL! A fresh cycle was forming just a mile to our east, and we needed to retrace our steps for the intercept. At the 2381/1061 intersection, hail on the road thickened as we passed through the core's path. Corbin was floored by the sudden white transformation of the landscape, and especially the one unfortunate vehicle we passed with all windows blown out. At 4:16 a funnel was reported 9 miles NE of Bushland. "Uh guys, aren't we 9 miles NE of Bushland?!?" We noted some scuddy fingers that might have been the source of the report, but didn't see anything imminently tornadic.

I wanted to get well ahead of our supercell again as it was now showing a beautiful hook on radar and taking a right turn. Corbin, now fully immersed in his navigation role, got to see some absolutely classic structure as we paralleled the storm from the south - including beautiful inflow bands and a churning, surging RFD horseshoe. Cutting north on Hwy 87, we were about 5 minutes ahead of the storm. Other chasers were everywhere now, and everyone in the car could feel that we might be about to see something amazing. I pulled over safely north of where the obvious rotation was going to cross; Corbin and I climbed the hill next to the highway for an amazing vantage point. This was it, all the pieces were coming together. The rotation gathered, swirled over the highway, and then it just.... broke apart. A chilly blast of north wind then told the tale - our storm was undercut by the cold northern outflow we'd discussed during lunch.

4:35 - 7:10 PM CDT: The chase day was far from over however. Another supercell way to the south near Tulia had just gotten a tornado warning. Gassing up at the Pilot on the east side of Amarillo, Corbin was super excited to get some roller-grill Tornadoes "...because at least we got one tornado on this chase!"

By 5:30, we set up on the north end of the Palo Duro canyon staring down the barrel of an HP supercell. And by "staring down the barrel," I mean squinting through the murk for any tidbits of structure. Tornado reports from Tulia began coming in around 6:12, and still there was nothing to be seen from our northern vantage. I just wasn't going to risk a trip south through the canyon and perhaps drive blind into a rain-wrapped tornado. And so we made the best of it, finally finding a nice little overlook where Hwy 207 first dips into the canyon.

Toni began to feel nervous as Corbin and I stood defiantly on the canyon overlook with continuous thunder rumbling overhead. Still, nothing in the murk to our south could be seen, and we relied 100% on radar for situational awareness. Soon, the HP core enveloped us and we grew even more reliant on radar. As the rain-wrapped area of rotation crossed the canyon just a couple miles to our south, still completely invisible, I suggested one last thrill for the day: sneak closer to the rear of the circulation just to get into some intense RFD action. Corbin liked it; Toni did not.

With Toni dubbed the official "Survival Czar" who could order an immediate retreat, we began creeping east on FM2272, watching the wind direction and radar constantly. To be clear, this was not a safe move; a northern rotation wobble would have immediate put us much closer than intended. RFD began howling and rocking the Crosstrek as we crept 1 then 1.5 miles east. At the 2 mile mark, pavement ended and Toni ordered a hault - definitely the right call. The 70MPH RFD shifted from NW to W and then to SW as the circulation passed invisibly just to our east. We had our brush with the cloaked beast, and now it was time to call it a chase.

7:10 - 11:55 PM MDT: After a quick drive back to Amarillo, we had a wonderful dinner at the local Joe Taco as early evening elevated thunderstorms brought some rumbling ambiance. The 4 hour drive back to ABQ was filled with more music, re-strategizing what we could have done differently throughout the day, and plans for another storm chase in the near future. It was altogether one of the most pleasant post-chase drives we've ever had - arriving home just before midnight.

Recap, Filmmaking Notes, and Lessons Learned