And just like that we were on our final day of this year’s stormchase. We had to get back to Denver on Saturday night so the enhanced risk down in Texas wasn’t an option, and even if it was there were many reasons to not get sucked into some crazy chaser convergence!
Our target area was initially Western Kansas/ South Eastern Colorado where there is a good chance the storms that formed over the mountains would run into good air for storm development.
As we headed West towards our target area we picked an initial setup drive, taking us into Colorado.
A regular sight in the MidWest, and something that I always enjoy, because who doesn’t find massive trains slightly exciting!
Our first storm of the day, moving towards us as the sun set behind.
Darkness has descended as the structure of the storm takes shape The base and area of interest for any twisty windsThe vibrant green of a wheat field bending towards the stormFor a few seconds we thought this could be a landspout or GustnadoPrecipitation the lowering base cloud and the dark core of the storm.She’s going green…
William Tell- Twister version, as we race down dirt roads
High speed Winds! At some points I was struggling to hold my phone!At this point the storm was chasing usAs well as intense winds in front of us we had intense lighting behind and overhead!The spec in front of the lightning bolt is a bird having a difficult time flying in the wind
Deep Purple, child in time and lightning bolts striking all around us!
In slow motion, it’s fascinating to see the lightning follow the same path through multiple paths. This bolt took a loopy detour on it’s way to the ground
Another base with areas of lowering Lightning was right above us, as we reced out of the storm along dirt roadsThe sun setting on our last chase of the tripWe found a reasonable highway as the storm continued to put on a show. This captured some of the pretty colors on show, but misses the constant lightning overhead!I-70 on our final drive to Denver and the end of our 2023 storm chase!
Overall it was a great week, over 3200 miles driven. Severe warned storms on 6 out of 8 days and only one truly storm free day.
Dan’s forecasting was always on point extracting the best possible show from the set ups available.
Every year I’ve been out has had a different character, and this year, the theme has been lightning! Tuesday, in particular, was probably the best storm for lightning I’ve ever chased. Both the proximity, the long-lasting nature of each bolt, and the New Mexico mountains as a backdrop were just something else. Having a beer with my fellow chasers on an empty road as the light faded and the storm put on a show was truly one of life’s best moments.
Ah well, all good things come to an end. Enjoyed reading these posts and look forward to next year’s!