The Missing Paragraphs - More Lessons Learned From A Rookie Storm Chase

Special Update #3
By Aaron Graves

Dalhart received more rain the past week. The Amarillo NWS reports 1.82" was recorded at the Dalhart airport since June 22. The big event was Wednesday morning when 1.46" of rain fell just after midnight in a wild lightning-infested thunderstorm extravaganza that lasted two hours! This brings our June rain total to 3.77". Rain chances continue over the next several days. 

In a previous post, “Lessons From A Rookie Storm Chase”, I wrote about using my Skywarn training to watch a potentially tornadic thunderstorm in Hartley County. I deleted several paragraphs before posting, paragraphs that expressed doubt and concern over the events that transpired. What basically happened was this: I ended up trying to beat a line of severe storms back to Dalhart and got caught in a blinding downpour. Several miles behind the rain, a confirmed tornado was on the ground. 

Thus, despite my best efforts and training, I basically ended up in harm's way. In retrospect, I think those missing paragraphs are worth revisiting. Here are a few more lessons learned from my recent "chase". 

Lesson 1 - Vehicles provide little protection. You are surrounded by glass, which does little to stop flying debris and large hailstones. In addition, driving down the highway in a virtual deluge just adds to the risk of injury. Cars are hard to handle on wet roads, even more so when the driver’s attention is divided between the storm and what’s in front of him. There is a big difference between riding out a storm in a sturdy building and riding out a storm in a moving vehicle. 

Lesson 2 - Despite training, bad decisions can be made when one is being rushed. In my overwhelming desire to glimpse a tornado, I picked an iffy target. My little isolated storm was too close to a line of severe storms that was closing in fast. Instead of sitting on some back country road and enjoying a discrete thunderstorm, I had to make a sudden decision on which direction to flee. In my desire to return home to the safety and comfort of familiar surroundings, I tried to race back north and got caught. 

Hindsight being 20/20, the smart play would have been to drive east and stay ahead of the line. I would have wound up in Dumas, which offers several good locations in which to seek shelter had it been necessary. The idea of going east never crossed my mind at the time. 

Lesson 3 - You cannot outguess the atmosphere. Since my target storm never went severe, I thought I could safely race ahead of it. Honestly, however, I cannot predict the future. It could have developed a hail core or a torandic circulation of its own. I sure didn't expect the shear amount of rain I had to contend with, or the fact that the storm directly behind it dropped a tornado.  

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the weather. The next isolated storm that comes within 30 miles of town, I'm going to drive out and take pictures of it -- if it is safe to do so. My recent "chase", however, has helped me to better understand what staying safe entails.