For more on Turner Falls
webpage Here are a few images from this area, but there are many more on
the webpage.
 |
We stopped for a bite to eat,
stretch our legs, and check radar. Still the NOAA forecast was
holding up and nothing was popping up yet. We clowned around and
talked about my upcoming wedding and parties.
This day Carrie won the VWbug
game and we saw this little pink one that made us think of mom. :) |
 |
Oklahoma City Capital Building |
We continued our drive up through
Oklahoma City. Passing the Capital building Carrie grabbed a shot
and then got on the laptop 'a.k.a. Internet in a box'. Still no
change in the weather forecast from NOAA.
Our target was still Miami at this point. I
was already getting tired of being on the road and was ready to
switch drivers. We changed drivers and Carrie drove the drive on the
Toll Road towards Tulsa. |
|
 |
All the way up to Miami, the forecast remained the same...then suddenly like
magic in Tulsa it changed. Just rain and embedded storms and What!?! Storms
headed for Ardmore? We looked at those lines in Texas...
"Uh, Christie," Carrie said, "Those Texas storms are going to
go tornadic."
"Well, crap!!!"
OMG! We were there! Should have followed my
instincts and stayed down that way. I was just hard pressed for good
stuff and saw that % on SPC's severe weather forecast. GRR!!!! What
do we do?
Carrie and I thought fast and thought me
might catch a cell as it intersected the city of McAlester. So we
gunned it back south. |
As we approached the cell our Nowcasters for the trip
called in to tell us what was going on. Andrew called to see where we were and help with Nowcasting.
As we approached Mark Egan began texting the latest
reports to us. We kept to our goal...McAlester.
The cell started forming a bow echo just as it was approaching McAlester.
That meant some strong winds to this storm. As we approached the city Carrie
and I got a text from Mark...punch the Core!!!!! Whoo hoo! I'm game! So we
moved toward the center of the storm and had to stop and get some shots of a
nice layered gust line as it came through McAlester.
We got slammed by a great gust front and held
our ground as strong winds rocked my RAV4 and the occasional hailstone hit
us. Lightning was sporadically seen hitting the ground, most of it was up high
in this HP(high precip) storm.
| Carrie got some video as I took
images with my Canon DSLR. After things died down a bit, we continued south catching a turnpike to
Hugo, hoping to get maybe some lightning for the evening. The storm lost
that bow echo on the other side of McAlester. |
 |
 |
Even the drive away
from the storm gave us some cool cloud structures. |
 |
By the time we arrived in Hugo, the long day had taken its toll. We had
driven from about 20 miles north of the Tx border almost into Kansas and
then ended up 10 miles north of the Tx border. That's approximately 400
miles that day. Whew!!! Tired of
driving...big time. But such is Storm Chasing.
I called Andrew and Mom for updates, before we totally gave up. And then we
saw lightning. There were a few bolts and none all in the same place.
Managed to catch weak ones, but that's it. Now we are settling down.
Our plan: with tomorrows slight risk spread everywhere we are ready to just
take in some sights and wait to see what happens storm wise. Might take in
some caves. We only have 3 caves left in Arkansas to have visited all of
them. There is also Crater of Diamonds State Park which is a Rockhounds dream. The
Arkansas mountains are quite nice.
We would have gotten more storm chasing in if school had not let out so
late. :(
We have to cut the trip short and be back in town Sunday instead of Monday.
The good thing about that is the Andrew will be off so I can spend some time
with him. :)
Well....This tired and slightly frustrated storm chaser is off for the
night...later!
Using Streets & Trips
Approximate mileage: 398
Estimated gas cost at $4 a gallon (note:
most stations were around $3.59) $59.10
Actual gas costs: $15.85, Checotah $17.95, Broken
Arrow $18.21 total: 52.01
Dinner at Pizza Inn, $18 total.
Hotel cost: $
Day 3
