- A very interesting chase day... AND
our third tornado day in a row. We didn't think it was going
to happen, then after dark, the storm near Turkey, Texas did
it for us.
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- Similar to yesterday, the storm we
were on wasn't too impressive until it started to get dark. If
there's one thing we've learned this season it is to never give
up on your storm. After a full day of chasing, we were treated
to one of the best lightning displays I've seen in a very long
time. There were bolts coming down all around us, some at very
close range, and interestingly, there were frequent times when
multiple contacts with the ground would occur simultaneously
from one flash.(Up to 5 hits as one point).
An increase in lightning activity is sometimes an indicator of
a strengthening storm, and can sometimes be a precursor to tornado
production. Well, that's exactly what happened. The storm went
tornado-warned, and we tried to keep ahead of it because I don't
usually like to chase tornadoes after dark. One complication
was that our best escape road was closed, so we (along with a
hoard of other storm chasers) had no choice but either drop south,
or head back into the storm.... South it was!
We pulled off and spotted a very large tornado, illuminated by
lightning. It was far enough away that there was no danger to
us, but it was difficult to see in the murk. The wedge-shaped
tornado was very close to the town of Turkey, and luckily the
town was spared a direct hit. It was likely a very strong tornado.
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