We headed out from Hays on Thursday to intercept a small supercell to the northwest. My job is simple. I drive the scout, leading the SMART radar to a suitable site. For a radar to capture good data, it should be on an elevated ridge, with no obstacles like trees or power lines in the way. In addition, the roads need to be solid, either packed gravel or concrete, so that we can escape if the storm starts to head toward our position. We found a great spot not too far north of I70, but it turned out that the storm was still too far north, so we headed north and west.
With Lou navigating, we maneuvered through several small towns, including Lenora (beautiful church), and then north on a high quality country road. Just south of Clayton we crested a ridge, and set up as quickly as we could, because the local NWS radar was showing a prominent “hook echo”, which can precede a tornado. Though there wasn’t any tornado, I got to witness some amazing structures as the storm crawled its way slowly across the sky, spreading tendrils to the east. It looked as though a great striped beast was slithering by us, with amoeba-like pseudopods. I posted some pictures on Facebook, though my photography skills are lacking.
After operations were called, we headed east to Norton and had dinner, and learned that some of our friends had gotten stuck in the mud far to the north near the border. Luckily for them, some local farmers were able to pull them free and everyone got home safely.
So we got back, with some data. Hooray!
Sean M. R. Crowell 