Our 2023 stormchasing trip started with a classic chase. Across New Mexico and into Texas, lots of lightning and a bit of structure.
We started the day in Denver and had an early start heading South towards Eastern New Mexico.
Storms started to form over the mountains and by 4pm we had our target for the day, forming over Hereford TX and our first severe warned storm of the trip.
The updraft of our target stormHeading into our emerging supercelNot quite sure what this is other than a pretty cloud that seemed slightly pearlescent just above the horizon.Mammatus near Dimmit TX
The lightning storm was truly spectacular! The power lines were audibly crackling and we had some incredible lightning. The following photos really don’t do it justice but this makes my top 5 lightning shows!
As we started to lose the light we were treated to an awesome moonrise
After observing the storm just outside of Dimmit we were back on the road and made our way towards Amarillo for the night.
A screenshot of a pretty close lightning bolt that I captured in the video below.
I could see the shape of this bolt in my vision for about 15 minutes!
Core punching through the lightning storm! With appropriate music.
Overall a great start to the week especially considering this was only a marginal risk day. A trickier forecast awaits us for Sunday, but we’ll certainly be trying for anything we can get.
Thursday was the last day of stormchasing for this trip with forecasts for Friday not looking promising. It’s crazy how quickly 10 days fly by.
We’ve been extremely fortunate this trip with storms to chase on all but 1 day, if we had 4-5 days with chaseable weather it would have been great so this really was excellent!
We started Thursday in Burlington, CO where we’d spent our only non chase day of the trip on Wednesday. We were well positioned for storms with just a short initial set up drive to Colby, KS where we had some more time on our hands. Finding things to do can be challenging in this part of Kansas.
The world’s largest easel- From now on I only wish to appreciate Art that’s displayed on an 80ft easel- definitely the way Van Gogh intended his work to be appreciated.The 5% risk area in Western KS & NE we had targeted for the day.
After waiting until early afternoon our first potential target popped up on radar to our North so we headed into Southern NE to get a look.
The view of our first target for the dayOur storm on radar a we watched it developOur first target at its most developed before it started to fall apart.
In addition to our target storms, another cell began to develop 100 miles to our north, unfortunately a bit too far for us to realistically make it. I did however get a time-lapse of the storm to the north developing over the course of 30 minutes.
One of the most satisfying things to see is the way an updraft seemingly forms from nothing and develops into something intense over a very short amount of time.
The storm to our North.
Unfortunately our target storm started to peter out early so we decided to target a new storm to our South. The time-lapse below shows our drive into our 2nd target for the day.
This was the scariest moment of the drive! The deer just bolted out in front of us! The view from under our stormOur storm on radar as we were under it.One of my favorite lightning shots of the trip, and the thunder was not far behind!
After enjoying a spectacular lighting show it was time to reposition on our storm to keep up with it. With only small hail we were able to follow the storm closely as it rolled South East. The video below is 11 minutes of driving into the lightning! My favorite bit of stormchasing!
One of many lightning bolts striking around us as we drove through the storm
After relocating we had more awesome lighting, although I didn’t mange to get many good shots from this location.
There are few things more visceral than standing under a lightning storm like this. Brilliant!The view from under the storm after relocating Sunset on our last chase of the year
Back on the road for some night time lightning before calling it a day.
The next 2 photos are the same lightning bolt over the course of a second.
Electric fingers reach down from the stormIt connects with the ground and night becomes day for a mommentAnd the final view of the lightning bolt lingersThe darkness adds to the mystical quality of the stormFarewell storm!
Thursdays chase was a high note to end what had been a fantastic trip, reconnecting with some great friends and getting to know new ones, while soaking in the raw beauty that is mother nature.
Stay tuned for one more post with my highlights from this year’s trip!
Any prospect of storms on Wednesday would have taken us well out of our way for the much more promising set up on Thursday.
This meant a rest day and soaking up some local history. First stop was Fort Wallace, a former us cavalry fort. The fort no longer stands but a museum dedicated to the history of the local area.
Whenever I see a stagecoach I immediately feel like I’m in a western.The replica.of an Elasmosaurus platyurus skeleton, found in the area. For many years paleontologists incorrectly placed the head at the end of the tale instead of the neck.A genuine plesiosaur fossilized skull.
After Fort Wallace we went on to Burlington, CO, which would be our stop for the day, after a storm chase everyday for 7 days dome down time was welcome!
Burlington has an historic old town museum somewhat recreating the feel of the town in the late 19th century.
A view from inside the saloon, unfortunately no burlesque show.No gunfight at high noon either And this windmill had seen better daysA sod house, aparently quite common in Kansas as a cheaper alternative to wood. A pioneer chuck wagon, these would carry everything a cow boy on a cattle drive or a pioneer heading West would need to survive.
A late lunch and an early check in to the hotel was just the ticket and the best prep for our last day with good odds of a tornado on Thursday.
With a new Windshield fitted on Tuesday we were back on the hunt for some twisty winds! With Nebraska in our sights we were on the road again!
Leaving Garden City Kansas we headed North to Nebraska where there was a good risk of isolated supercells forming and sustaining themselves throughout the evening.
By 4pm we had our target storm, and we’re in position ahead of it.
The storm was moving consistently South East but at around 40 mph so staying on this storm was going to be tricky. The game of cat and mouse was on
The base of the stormThe lowering wall cloud, if a tornado was going to form this is where it would beA tornado warning popped up mid photo!A brief dusty tornado was reported while we were observingOur view of the storm while it was tornado warned. There was lots of rotation and several times it looked like a Tornado was about to emerge.Clouds kept dropping down from the base of the storm that looked very much like the beginning of a tornado, but nothing quite got going.
With Storm moving so quickly there were few opportunities to stop and take photos, the following time-lapse videos show the chase, including some pretty intense winds kicking up dust as we zig zagged South and East to try and keep up.
The storm as it’s about to cross the road ahead of us. A rainbow forming from the rain in the core of the storm aheadThe sky was angry and turbulent, but no Tornados for us todayThe sun highlighting a new updraft forming at the back of our stormSunset on another day
An exhilarating chase thst tooks is across 3 ststes trying to keep up with this fast moving storm. Not the most photogenic of storms but certainly an exciting chase.
After Sundays run in with some hail damaging the car we were somewhat limited to West Kansas as our target region. Fortunately there was a good probability of isolated super cells within reach so we had some time to kill in Garden City where discovered a genuinely excellent and free! Zoo. The perfect setting for Dan to celebrate his 35th Birthday!
By around 2pm it was time to head back out and try to find some storms!
With a damaged wind screen we played it very cautiously so although we caught several storms before they formed into a line over Kansas we maintained a safe distance.
Not a huge amount of lightning, this was the most impressive I was able to capture.The severe warned storm over Cheyenne Wells was our target
Staying out of the chaos meant we did have the opportunity to take in some atmospheric vista’s over Kansas.
Some nice structure off in the distance.
With a new windshield on the car today we should be back at it as we search for that elusive tornado.
We started the day in Garden City, KS well positioned for storms forming right across Kansas later in the day.
We decided to position North to give us options as the target area for storms was fairly broad. We stopped along the way for some sightseeing at Monument Rocks in Kansas.
Monument Rocks KansasSwifts nesting on the rocks
By 3pm storms had begin to form and we targeted a storm to our South West over Cheyenne Wells. We were initially well placed to intercept near Tribune, KS. Unfortunately the storm split and sent the Southernmost cell on a due South course at about 25mph making for a very challenging chase to catch up and over take.
Our target storm for the day
In order to see the storms structure and stay out of the hail core we took a short cut on a dirt road to ensure we stayed South and East of the storm.
Driving South on Bob’s road to stay ahead of the stormAn emerging Beavers tail being pulled into the storm
We were able to successfully stay ahead of the storm and get some great views of the structure as it continued to evolve.
Mammatus viewed from under the stormThis turned out to be a pretty accurate forecast…The cell continued to intensifyZoomed in view of the rotating wall cloud within the storm. This is the area most likely to produce a tornado.Some impressive structure Racing the storm to get out ahead and avoid the core.
With limited roads options we had to drive further West bringing us closer to the storm.
The view North into the storm, dust is being kicked up by outflow The dust starts to clear, the white backdrop is an indication of hail approaching
With hail approaching it was time to make our escape, unfortunately this fast moving storm caught up with us on our way to seek shelter under a gas station.
Tennis ball sized hail started falling around us and unfortunately took out our windshield, so the chase was aborted early to seek shelter, and a room for the night.
Action shot, of the hail taking out our windshield. Definitely not a good thing, the first time we’ve lost a windscreen in 5 years chasing. Spot the falling hail stone…[photo courtesy of Dave Stevens]Extensive hail damage & chase over for the dayIf you can’t cry you have to laugh!
Not sure what Monday will bring as we wait to get a new Windshield installed.
We started Saturday in Clovis, NM and planned to drive North towards Kansas where there was a 2% Tornado risk and would leave us in a good position for the next few days of storm activity.
The SPC outlook for Saturday
The storms looked to be starting quite late in the afternoon so Saturday was one of the more leisurely set up drives.
Cadillac Ranch is Amarillo, TXLunch at the Big Texan
Any storm activity on Saturday was going to be starting late, and conditions were not ideal for super cells. After lunch we continued to track North towards Kansas. As we passed into the Oklahoma panhandle it looked like storms were starting to get going to the West and track towards us.
After a brief stop in Texhoma we continued North to get out of town and watch the storms develop.
A developing cell looking North from TexhomaWaiting and observing just North of Texhoma on highway 95
The risk of severe storms was highest later into the evening so we had the luxury of watching and waiting. While we did a rare cold air funnel cloud formed.
This patch of cumulus was being sucked into the storm and produced a cold air funnel that persisted for about 5 minutes.
Storms continued start and then peter out, the tine-lapse below shows cumulus forming into a beginnings of a storm over the course of 10 minutes.
Cells continued to form and dissipate over the course of the afternoon with nothing within reach of our location developing enough to produce anything worth chasing.
We pulled into Garden City, KS for the evening well positioned for Sunday’s storms expected over Kansas and Southern Nebraska.
The Tornado risk for Sunday 6/5
This 5% risk is the highest risk for Tornados of my trip so far, let’s see what Sunday brings…
Fridays chase took us back North towards New Mexico. First stop was Roswell which proved to be a fitting location to start a chase that would produce a stunning rotsting mothership cloud. The truth is out there…
No UFOs today but plenty of ISOs, Identified Stormy Objects…Just because
After a quick stop for lunch and some sightseeing in Roswell we were ready to pick our target storm and head back on the road. Dan had a dilemma with viable storms starting to form North and South of us. This decision making when no single storm is an obvious target is where factors such as road options and the potential for storms the following day become important considerations. Having spent a day chasing earlier this week in Southern New Mexico oil country we knew the Southern storm would be a challenging target with limited roads and traffic from workers in the oil fields commuting home while we chased.
The decision was made we were going to target a storm forming North of Roswell.
After our drive North our target storm has picked up a severe warning and the chase is on!
Our target storm after driving north from Roswell
The time-lapse below is our drive through Fort Sumner (home of Billy The Kid’s grave) towards our target storm. With the storms structure becoming more aparent as we drew newr.
As we got closer to the storm the structure started to reveal itself, with the New Mexico landscape providing the perfect backdrop.
The structure continues to take shapeZoomed in on the shelf cloud
Thanks to Dan’s excellent forecasting we were perfectly positioned ahead of the storm on a road that aowed us to get multiple vantage points. We had plenty of time to observe as the storm moved towards us. A nice contrast to our last NM chase!
Smoke is visible from a nearby bushfire being sucked into the stormThis might be my new desktop image! The structure and colors present are brilliant.
After taking in some incredible shots we repositioned further South and West, heading into the storm and under the shelf cloud to get a view of the storms base.
We found a fantastic overlook that allowed us the luxury of just enjoying the show from the storm for a good 40 minutes.
Under the stormOur storm on radar from our main vantage point for the day
Watching the storm unfold from this location was just brilliant, we were away from the precipitation with unobstructed views. We were able sit back, relax and watch the lightning show, with its supporting soundtrack of almost constant rumbling thunder. This experience is why I love storm chasing.
Below is a selection of lightning shots, with many of the strikes we witnessed proving elusive to the camera.
Atmospheric dark skies and sunbeams
As the storm moved off to the South West we decided it was time to head home for the day, and round out an epic afternoon with some beers and BBQ.
A double rainbow to round out the day.
We’re almost at the halfway point of the trip and so far every weather related box but 1 gas been checked, that elusive T word! 6 days left to find some twisty winds! Next stop Kansas.
We started Thursdays chase in Odessa, TX with a plan to drive South towards the border with Mexico and watch the storms come to us.
We had to be patient but were treated to an utterly breath taking lightning show at sunset. The pictures that follow tell the story.
A replica of Stonehenge in Odessa, TX for some reason… 2nd time visiting and still just as…impressive ahem.Inspiration for attack of the Triffids? Turns out this is what a flowering agave plant looks like. No Tequila in sight though.The town of Marfa, TX a really pretty little townThe Prada, Marfa art installation, Dave is the cultured person on the trip and recommended this stop.There were plenty dust devils visible from the Prada Marfa installation, I think I appreciated these more.A view South into the Chihuanhan desert 🏜
The time lapse below gives a feel for the way we spent most of the day zipping up and down highway 90 between Marfa and Van Horn TX.
Just off the side of the road we came across a strange Monolith off in the distance which turned out to be a border patrol blimp.
An Aerostat radar, aka blimp
As the day wore on several storms had formed over the border into Mexico, as well as one just to our South East which became our target for the afternoon.
The time-lapse below shows the updraft rising over the course of 5 minutes.
Our storm continues to grow but is struggling to really take off
After watching and waiting for about an hour at various points on route 90 we decided to head into the nearby hills to get an elevated view.
McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis, TX
The radio telescope was in action the whole time we were up by the Observatory which I think I found just as interesting as the approaching storm.
Mammatus near Fort Davis, TX
After watching the storm and seeing some distant flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder reverberating around the hills for about 45 minutes we were going to call it a day…
And then on the drive out of the hills the storm we had tracking all day really started to get going and produced one of the most photogenic lightning storms I have ever witnessed. Conditions combined to produce a stunning rainbow framing the lightning show, while the sunset highlighted a variety of colors in the clouds.
The electric blue in the sky was just stunningSunset over the hills
This was a pretty close strike, just out of shot
After enjoying a truly breath taking light show, it was time to head to our stop for the night through the storm to Fort Stockton, TX.
Some AC/DC accompanied the ride home!
Friday looks to take us back into the Texas Panhandle with a 2% Tornado risk.
