17 June 2023
Denver, CO to Woodward, OK
With weather expected in the same area of Texas that we had just chased on Tour 6, Bill set a time for the briefing for 8:30. By morning, he decided to do a quick briefing and to hit the road for the six hour drive to the Oklahoma Panhandle.
We made quick lunch and pit stops along the way and made it to Hooker, OK just in time to intercept the expected supercell.
We went south towards Hardesty and stopped to watch the system form.
Bill was very happy with the set up with nice inflow and backed winds.
There was a brief funnel cloud that other chasers said had touched the ground. I didn’t see it but realized later that the time-lapse above had caught it.
Objects in mirror may be funnel clouds.
We watched for a while and then went east shadowing the storm to our left. It was definitely rotating.
We stopped at one point to watch the rotation that was right in front of us.
I didn’t get enough time for a time-lapse, so I made a gif.
Getting out from the side roads was getting increasingly difficult given the shear number of chasers on the road, but the storm conveniently stayed just north of the eastward highway and stayed on that path.
Eventually, we got ahead of the storm and the size of it became very apparent.
It was a monster.
We pulled off to get a panorama of the beast and then joined the long line of chasers heading towards Woodward. (You can see the string of headlights in the time-lapse above).
The radar indicated the storm was only going 20 knots but it was overtaking us at highway speeds.
By the time we got to Woodward, the lightning was starting.
We ate at Braum’s for dinner and went to the Candlewood Suites for the night.
Sweet room.
Bill Reid’s entry for 17 June.
Go to Day Two
Go to Table of Contents
