Storm Driven

No tornado but found a few funnels……

Wildfires in Oklahoma and tornadoes in Kansas both fast moving. Most of the storms this day where moving at more than 50 mph. It was a tough but successful lucky day.

It was Friday night, why not stay out past midnight watching a storm….

Another after work drive to the border up north, uneventfull again but still enjoyable.

I left Tulsa shortly after 4PM and went for a northern target in Kansas. As I passed through Howard, Kansas on hwy 99 , I realized it was not worth going any farther and I turned back south to catch the storms headed for the Oklahoma border from the I-35 area. I set up north of Maple City, KS. and waited for what now was a squall line to move in.

I went back up to hwy 166 and traveled east just ahead of the line until I headed south at Caney, KS. then it was a car wash the rest of the way home.

It’s frustrating when plans don’t work out. Plans to leave Tulsa between 3 and 4 PM to head out west , turned into not being able to leave until after 5PM. At that point I just went home after work and opened up the radar and later watched what I had missed and still could have made it. Shortly after 7PM I decided to load up and head north and catch the cells moving out of Kansas into Bartlesville, OK. I hoped to make it to a ridge on hwy 123 west of B’ville but I had dragged my feet to long and decided I could make it there in time to get the shots I wanted. I ended up north of B’ville on some county roads I remembered from last year. It gives a little bit of view but not a full flat view but it would have to do. Below are the shots taken around 8:30 of the (radar indicated)tornado warned storm using a 10mm lens.

I then went east to hwy 169 and drove back south to Tulsa trying to catch a few lightning bolts..

I ended up at 91st and Garnett to watch the last stubborn cell move out of the area..

Towards the end I missed a close lightning strike that hit the telephone pole about 50 feet to my left, that left the gas station I was parked at in the dark.

I still wish I had made it out west but the night was still salvaged a little…

I am still waiting to see where the reported tornado actually hit NE of Greensville, while I was in Greensville. Below is my gps track through Greensville and a couple of time stamps added. The original plan was to continue east on 67tb in Greensville but I took a wrong turn at 3:52 that cost me the chance to be in a position east of Greensville to see anything.Just another one of those things that happen and can be very aggravating.

The wind and rain hit me at Park & US B67 on the E. side of Greensville at 3:55pm and from then on it was a solid downpour as I countinued working my way east, as exampled on the below video that starts around 4:04 entering onto hwy 30 from hwy 69.

I continued on east and thought about going north at Campbell but figured there was no chance catching the 40mph storm. I continued on east to Sulpher Springs and sat for a while , then called it a day.