Tornado Chasing

Chasecation 2019 Day 3 – Surprise Storms

Most of Wednesday was spent waiting. And waiting. We drifted from Ogallala, Nebraska to Julesburg, Colorado in case something popped early… we could run north back into Nebraska, or south to Wray. The storms near Wray went up just east of town, and by then we decided that we did not want to drop south and chase it, which would get us more out of position for today’s storms.

We eventually gave up on the day and went to dinner back in Ogallala. Showers with some embedded lightning were heading our way, but we did not pay much attention as we ate.

Coming out of the restaurant, the back side of a beautiful thunderstorm greeted us, and we rushed back to the hotel to grab our cameras. These storms did not exist or were supposed to be tiny showers, according to the models.

A cluster of thunderstorms blows up east of Ogallala, Nebraska, with the moon shining bright. To the southeast, the broad anvil of a cluster of storms that rode the Kansas/Nebraska border catches the fading Sun’s orange and red hues. May 15, 2019

The back of the parking lot at our hotel proved to have a great view of the storm to our east as the sun set. We could even still see the high clouds of the storms that we would have been on if we had dropped south to the Kansas/Nebraska border.

The models seems to be struggling with the storm potential around this area, as what has developed over the past couple of days has been bigger and longer-lived than any of the guidance has shown. We hope to see that again today as we remain in western/central Nebraska, hopefully with more shear and higher dew points to help make the storms even prettier.

The following two tabs change content below.
Operational Meteorologist at WeatherBug (Earth Networks). See full bio.

Latest posts by Mark Ellinwood (see all)

Mark Ellinwood

Operational Meteorologist at WeatherBug (Earth Networks). See full bio.

Share
Published by
Mark Ellinwood

Recent Posts

Girls Who Chase: Empowering Female Storm Chasers

In a field historically dominated by men, Jen Walton has emerged as a transformative figure…

5 months ago

The Storm Doctor: Dr. Jason Persoff

Jason Persoff, MD, SFHM, is recognized globally for his expertise in storm chasing. He earned…

10 months ago

Top tornado videos of 2023

Tornado numbers were near or above average. A chase season peak in June provided numerous…

12 months ago

March 31, 2023 tornado outbreak videos

One of the more widespread tornado outbreaks in years, from Iowa and Illinois to Arkansas.

2 years ago

Spring 2023 seasonal tornado outlook

The active start of the year could be a sign, but a mid-March pattern change…

2 years ago

Top tornado videos of 2022

A near average year for tornadoes across the country, with a cool season bend. We've…

2 years ago