STORM TRACK: July 31, 1987 (Volume 10 Issue 5)

1987 was a good year for this chaser. I photographed six tornadoes and eight funnel clouds in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. Regarding number of storms, it was my best year ever.

It began May 2, when I arrived in Dodge City, Kansas to do a forecast. Shortly afterwards, Pete Stamus and a crew of eager young chasers arrived fran the PROFS program in Boulder, All of us were sizing up western Oklahoma, as was the National Weather Service (NWS) -which was calling for a "Moderate Risk" for that area. the way dawn to west-central Oklahoma, I passed Jim Leonard and Steve Wachholder fram Florida -on a hilltop by the side of a road near Laverne. We exchanged greetings and compared notes under a mostly clear sky. The stratocumulus to the SW bubbled weakly in the heat but never developed. The PROFS crew and I happened to meet again near Hammon, looking for same positive signs -but it was not to be. I finally left them and about half a dozen cars (plus an eager-beaver TV news van/man) on a dusty mad north of Mooreland, playing frisbee and listening to country western at full blast. Sunday took me to a Wichita forecast and then to Salina, where I found a rapidly building Cb about 20 miles east of town -moving to the NNW around a 500 mb low over the Oklahoma panhandle. It rapidly developed a crescent shaped shelf cloud along the leading edge of the base -with slaw, intermittent rotation at the center. Later, a second/small Cb to the SW produced a very small, high base funnel at 1755 CST.

On Monday, anticipated upper air support for the rest of the week failed to develop (as earlier forecast) and a persistent trough deepened across the eastern half of the U.S. Seeing the "writing on the [AFOS] wall," I consulted with the home front and decided to fly back -leaving my VW Rabbit in Wichita (first time for this sort of thing). Two weeks later, when the long awaited western trough began digging and moving onshore, I flew back on the 17th.

May 18 found me in Concordia, looking at a slight risk day across eastern Kansas. The morning sky had that hot, humid milky look -with small, soft clouds scattered about. My forecast called for east central Kansas, so I drove down to the Hutchinson area as a temporary observation site -just ahead of a weak northerly wind shift line. At Hutchinson, I was in very light but persistent northerly winds. It was mostly clear NE-SE-SW, with only scattered law clouds. Nore low and intermediate clouds were to my SW-W. Expecting possible recovery of strong southerly winds and buildups to the west, I waited and watched. Suddenly, a small golden dame began rising to the distant NE. I needed only 5 seconds to decide -and took off at full gallop to Emporia.

Initial Emporia tornado from 0.4 miles -- at about 5:27 PM CDT

"Flying low" up US 50, I passed Newton and crossed I-35, steering wheel in one hand and hanging out the window with a camera in the other -snapping as I went. Dome became tower -became hard tower --became anvil. It was building fast -isolated and magnificent. The anvil back-sheared quickly and spread out like an atom bomb! About 5:20 PM CDT, a clear, urgent tone leaped fram the car radio, and my adrenalin reached "critical." The Emporia FM station was giving the first tornado warning.

Still too far to see anything, the accelerator went down and I passed that last trailer blocking a clear shot to the storm -and there it was!!

As if coming out of a mist, the large cone took shape as I approached. It was conical at the top, with a tube to the ground. it then became a narrow tube to cloud base and -finally- broadened to a narrow cone with tube. Ground contact was maintained throughout these evolu- tionary stages -about 5-7 minutes. I stopped several times within a half mile, as it crossed an open field to my NE. The highway at this point had a narrow shoulder, so I had to film through an open window on the driver's side, with rain and small hail pounding in -pushed back against the seat to keep the camera gear from being soaked (Only minimally successful). It did 1/2 million dollars damage to at least 8 homes in Toledo -but fortunately, no casualties.

I then drove 5 miles east and filmed a second tornado at 5:35 PM as it touched down in a trailer park west of Emporia -destroying several trailers (again no injuries). Although the slides don't shaw it, I could see small debris rotating underneath. It lasted a few minutes.

Second tornado at 5:35 PM CDT 1.0 mile west

A third tornado (as reported by NWS) formed at 5:45 PM just west of the I-35 exit to Emporia. A rise in the highway prevented a clear view of the surface, so I was personally unable to confirm ground rotation. This vortex persisted 4-5 minutes, mostly without ground contact, eventually tapering out into a persistent, smooth-sided rope funnel. With a new wall developing to the SE, I drove into Emporia looking for the highway south. The streets were strangely deserted. Another radio warning, and I looked up and filmed a small funnel directly overhead. Missing the right turns, I charged west of town (through golf ball hail) and then down to Hartford. South of there, I picked up another rotating wall cloud and a fourth tornado -which touched down 8 miles southwest of Gridley. Interestingly this one closely resembled the first Emporia area tornado -and was the initial vortex/

Third tornado at 5:45 PM from a second Cb that developed SE of Emporia.1.0 mile west

Several days followed of fruitless chasing north (As far as Huron, South Dakota, where my path up a county road was finally blocked by a herd of meandering cattle --an obvious sign that it was time to turn back). On the 21st, I picked up two small funnels in central Oklahoma, 7 miles NE of Guthrie at 4:03 PM CDT and a small rope funnel fran a cumulus pocket 3 miles S of Union City at 6:30 PM. The next rotation was a brief horizontal, sausage shaped funnel east of Springfield, Colorado on the 24th. Actually, the best part of that day was my transit through the NW Texas panhandle and a beautiful golden field of prairie flowers. It was one of those special moments that occasionally and surprisingly occurs in the midst of a chase-when oneis compelled to stop and pause to contemplate. Two wild antelope in the distance perfectly complemented the vista of gold and blue and white.

Fourth tornado at 7:25 PM CDT, 8.0 miles southwest

I started May 25 in Dodge City, Kansas but was soon charging south to Amarillo. There, I met up with Jim Leonard fram Florida and the teams of Al Moller and Chuck Doswell (Texas and Colorado), Sam Barricklow and his wife fram Texas, and Ed and Jerrine Verkaik fram Canada. We all thought the northern Panhandle looked good, so decided to wait at the NWS Forecast Office until late afternoon for same definite development. when it came, it began almost simultaneously in both the northern and central Panhandle -on both sides of Amarillo. I charged north, and everyone else went south. I understood that Gene Moore and Jim Leonard caught a few south of Amarillo. I fared well, also,

Initially with soft, thin but moderately sheared towers, the convective area north of Amarillo soon coalesced into one strong Cb NW of Morse. As I approached, the anvil blossomed and backsheared strongly (shades of Emporia!). Heart racing, I finally turned onto Texas 136, it took me straight north to the storm.

First tornado at 6:12 PM, 4.0 miles north

Initial formation of second tornado, at 6:18 PM, 2.0 northeast

The first tornado that I saw dropped down briefly (20-25 seconds) at 6:12 PM CDT fram the SE flank of the wall cloud -about 4 miles SW of Gruver and directly at the end of my road. Interestingly, this wall was much larger and had much stronger rotation than either of the two Emporia area wall clouds. Yet, ironically, the Emporia tornadoes lasted far longer (as much as 5-6 minutes). The second tornado dropped down briefly at 6:18 PM, then lifted into a persistent flat cone, until dropping once more about 1-2 minutes later (path length not more than 0.4 miles). Professor Howard Bluestein and a crew of Oklahoma University chasers tried out their portable Doppler radar for the first time just south of this ceil. I found them by the side of the road with what looked like two small TV satellite dishes, side-by-side (about 5 feet high), pointing at the wall cloud. The Gruver storm apparently reformed near Waca, Texas and caused slight damage there later that evening. I tried to follow it as it tracked northeast but missed a turn just south of my filming sight and had to go on south of Morse, before turning back northeast. By that time, nearby cells looked better, and I watched them until fading light and terminal exhaustion had taken their toll.

On the 29th, I went to Lubbock for forecast data but found that the AFOS was dawn for three hours. Therefore, I took the last best report -a slight risk for the area southwest of me- got same advice fram local staff, and drove down to the last reported Cb near Fort Stockton. It was an old and declining storm when I arrived. I again had the pleasure of seeing Ed and Jerrine Verkaik -when we both happened to pick the same gas station for fillup. We then proceeded NW to Pecos, where we encountered a respectable -though small- CB with intermittent slow rotation in a well defined wall cloud. It was isolated, with clear air to the SE-SW-NW. However, other than a cracked windshield fram 1-2 inch hail on the north side of the wall -I encountered nothing else significant that day (there was a public report of a funnel near Mentone), That was the end of Chase '87.

I have pondered many times over the difference a mere 5 minute earlier start would have made each of those two two days (18th and 25th). Closer and better pictures! However, in the same breath, I count it fantastically lucky that I didn't encounter road repairs (wait for the flagman, sir!) or have a flat tire!! Also, both roads took me straight to the tornadoes -which as most experienced chasers knew is often the most frustrating part of chasing, when back country roads don't go where you want. Therefore, I take a deep breath, express copious gratitude to the storm gods for what I have and say -like we all do- "wait 'till next year."