Sky Diary: the blog

Turkey towers loom over storm chasers in Saint John, Kansas, as they await real storms May 19. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

The prospects seemed good today for tornadic supercells, the kind I’ve been waiting for, especially in south-central Kansas. Sometimes, you take a chance on an area where you hope for long-lived, photogenic storms rather than going after the other stuff. Today, it was all “other stuff,” as storms fired off the dryline and zoomed north, prompting a few unimpressive tornado reports. (To clarify: Yes, there were tornadoes, just not what I hoped for.) But meeting other storm chasers was fun.

You can’t always get what you want. Today, I don’t think I got what I needed, either – I’m still looking for Mr. Goodstorm, the supercell that will make this trip photographically worthwhile, before I go broke. See the photos from May 19.

Decrepit structures like this one north of Watonga, Oklahoma, make for interesting photos, as do wildflowers, in the place of storms. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

There was a chance of an isolated severe storm in western Oklahoma today, May 18, and I was sure I could get to it. I targeted Watonga, and adjusted the target a little north and west, only to get a doomed turkey tower – a cloud that tried and died. For the whole area, it was a bust for many chasers.

Along the way, I continued Dilapidated Shack Tour 2011, and I shot a few images of a horseshoe funnel, which was pretty neat. But day after day of massive drives for little in the way of storms is starting to wear thin. Prospects should get better over the next couple of days. I know, I’ve thought that before.

See photos from May 18.

You have to love Liberal, Kansas, home of "Dorothy's House" and fun signs. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Though I knew the best chance for storms was in northeast Colorado on what was a marginal day on Tuesday, I decided not to go for them, because I wanted to be in good position to chase the next day farther south. So I split the difference, driving from Amarillo to southeast Colorado – then Kansas and Oklahoma – seeing lots of blowing dust and road construction, along with picturesque ruins and a nice sunset. That’s four states in one day, and I didn’t get near the tornadic storms in northeast Colorado. See the photos.

To top things off – well, you know when people spray perfume and then run into the cloud so they get a light spritz of scent? I think I got a similar treatment from a freshly road-killed skunk. It was dead when I drove by it, but the smell was overpowering, and my car is still kinda funky, at least on the outside. I also saw elk and pheasants today, but at least they were alive. And not stinky.

Mike Theiss of Cloud 9 Tours enjoys his beer sampler at The Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

I went to The Big Texan in Amarillo last night. It’s kind of a tradition while chasing storms; chasers actually reward themselves with a steak if they catch a tornado, but I had no such reason. I was hanging out with Cloud 9 Tours, always a fun group.

I had some hopes for popup storms today, maybe storms with a little structure, but I’m wondering if I’ll see anything here in Texas. Chances will be marginally better in northeast Colorado, but I question whether it’s worth it for me to drive all the way there and then back into western Oklahoma (probably) for tomorrow. I will look over the data one more time before making a decision, but I don’t think I will go to the northern extremes, given the time and gas money involved.

Risotto Arancini at Benvenuti's in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Too often when on the road, I end up eating fast food or “convenience” food, like those Tornado things (probably because they are called Tornadoes) or string cheese and a banana from a gas station. So when I get a chance to eat a real meal, I relish the moment. Last night I enjoyed a fantastic Italian meal at Benvenuti’s in Norman, Oklahoma. Except for a bird bombing my outdoor table, it was a delightful experience.

I ordered off the seasonal menu. As much as I love traditional Italian food – after all, I was raised with it – I enjoy a fresh take, and Benvenuti’s offers new specials every few months.

Moppina at Benvenuti's in Norman, Oklahoma, lit by the blue patio lights. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

It also offers wine flights, three-glass samplers on a variety of themes. I went for the First Class Cabernet flight ($10), which included The Show from California; Penfolds Thomas Highland from Australia; and Cult from Napa Valley. I especially liked the California wines, and they went well with my starter, the Risotto Arancini ($9), essentially a fried risotto ball stuffed with mozzarella and pesto and served with a tangy plum tomato sauce.

Chocolate Caramel Pot du Creme at Benvenuti's in Norman, Oklahoma. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

For an entree, I got the Moppina ($17), with sheets of pasta, asparagus, peas, fava beans and flavorful fresh herbs in a butter sauce with a dollop of black pepper mascarpone cheese. It was just light enough, and delicious, and I had leftovers, to boot.

I wrapped up with the decadent Chocolate Caramel Pot du Creme ($6), a rich, chocolaty custard with just a touch of sea salt.

There are several more things I’d like to try at Benvenuti’s, which has a hip, friendly atmosphere … maybe the next time I’m in town, if I’ve survived the convenience store food in the meantime.

This lightning crawler occurred on a fantastic night of storms July 24, 2009, in east-central Florida. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Sometimes I’m asked if I’d like to chase storms full-time. And I would, except that it’s a seasonal gig. In addition, in between the storm systems, there is usually down time, as there is right now, when high pressure is sitting over Tornado Alley. I’ve always said, when I make my fortune, I’ll build my bunker vacation home in Oklahoma. Then I can hang out at my second home in between the storms. In the meantime, though, I’m languishing in a hotel, watching “Betelgeuse” and again wishing for a teleportation machine for easy cross-country commuting. It may be a few days before I have anything to update – whether it’s storms, or going home. In the meantime, have you seen my lightning gallery?

Tornado-warned storm between Cairo and Ravenna, Nebraska. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

Late update today, because I’m in another crappy hotel (in north-central Kansas) whose wireless wasn’t working last night. I called the front desk and asked what the name of the network was, because it wasn’t showing up in the list. “I think it would be some kind of Internet thing, America Online or something like that,” the gentleman informed me. After a few minutes of conversation, he confessed, “I’m almost computer illiterate, to tell you the truth.” Thanks. Oh, yeah, and they told me breakfast was over at 10, but I found out the hard way it ended at 9. No hot waffle for me!

Not that I’m complaining, though in a way I am. I was on the main storm show from the start yesterday. It was another day of a churning low and crazy storm motions as the cells in question formed and then moved north or west around the low pressure. My first thought was northeast Kansas, but as the low’s position became more evident on the computer models, I felt it was important to go to eastern Nebraska, where the surface winds would be backed, thus aiding rotation. I spoke with Steve Sponsler and with Daniel Shaw, and Daniel and I decided to go for the Nebraska target, despite the Storm Prediction Center’s more likely tornado risk farther south. It was a good call, even if we didn’t see the reported tornadoes. We were in York when the first storm went up and a tornado watch came out. We got to the storm fairly quickly, but as the whole line of convection exploded, the potential for photogenic storms fell. The photo is from that first storm, which was tornado-warned, between Cairo and Ravenna, Nebraska. It was an interesting chase, as storms kept training over the same area. The storm system almost looked like a hurricane over Nebraska on radar. Or, as I said on Facebook, a giant toilet that kept flushing supercells. It wasn’t exactly what I came out for, though. I’m still looking for a long-lived, isolated rotating storm that will pose for its picture. It doesn’t have to smile.

See the May 12 photos.

Clouds and cows, as the line of convection fades. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com

It’s hardly worth summarizing today, except to note that the days with the highest expectations – a couple of days ago, this seemed as if it would be the best Plains chase day of the first half of May – often don’t meet those expectations. Were there storms? Yes. But despite some tornadoes early in the day in an area deemed not worth chasing, overall, this was not a big tornado day, despite a strong upper trough and other good dynamics. In the morning, clouds and rain covered much of the area, but the grunge moved out, allowing for heating and therefore energy for storms. But the dewpoints stayed depressed, and the clustered storms in northeast Colorado/northwest Kansas didn’t quite get their act together to produce tornadoes. I made a conscious choice to go after an isolated cell in my target area instead, around Dodge City and north, but it fizzled, and I ended up seeing little worth noting. I did drive in a lot of big circles, though. See a few photos.

There’s nothing like eating your continental hotel breakfast of generic fruit loops and hard-boiled egg while hearing the morning “crapvection” spitting rain all over your hopes for the day. Not that I am entirely without hope, or I’d be at home, given that essentially all storm-chasing is about gambling time and gas money against a few moments of reward. But this morning, what it comes down to is that this big shield of clouds and rain is going to have to get out of the way in order for sunshine – and thus heat and destabilization – to occur to fuel severe storms later. How all that will play out is up to Mother Nature. In addition, there are multiple potential target areas. Northern Kansas? Oklahoma-Kansas border? Mars? Rather than rush out to chase the rain, I’ll do a little more analysis before I give up my wi-fi.

Lightning sparks near Rushville, Nebraska, on May 9, 2011. Photo by Chris Kridler, chriskridler.com, skydiary.com

This is the quick version, since it’s 2 a.m. central time, and I’m beat. South Dakota hills are beautiful; chasers always seem to end up in the same spot; the storms didn’t have quite what they needed where we wanted them; but a tornado-warned storm at dark managed to produce a great lightning show for me, and that was enough. See the pictures.