5 August 1998, Pulaski/Lonoke Counties, Arkansas: Severe Thunderstorm and Flash Flood Warnings.
After eating lunch with my wife I noted several good Cb's developing over the Little Rock/Jacksonville and Cabot corridor. So, having nowhere to go and all day to get there, I went on THE HUNT! Downed trees and flooded streets and an decent rainbow will soon be described here.
30 July 1998, Bernie, Missouri: Tornado Warning!
Sometimes, things just fall out of the sky.
The real purpose of this trip was to attend the dedication of a monastery church in Aurora, Illinois. I'd carved some panels for the monks and we were looking forward to visiting the community. Unfortunately, a day or so before our departure I'd eaten some salami that was, well, less than fresh. As a result, on the morning of July 30 I was curled up on the bathroom floor in previously unimagined agony.
As the deleterious effects of food poisoning wore off about 2:00pm, we decided that I could be sick in a hotel bathroom as well as home, so off we went. By 4:00pm we were turning north on I-55 from Memphis to St. Louis. As we made this turn, I noted a huge anvil-headed cell to the NW. After negotiating the typically psychotic traffic of the West Memphis interchange, I again began to observe the very strong anvil development.
Now about 4:30pm, a powerful overshooting top was in evidence (which I noted to Cheryl) and we decided to check the Memphis NOAA transmitter for potential warnings. Estimating that the cell was near the Missouri border, I doubted that the Memphis station would be concerned, but it was worth a shot. Sure enough, the storm was outside the coverage area and, since no other stations were within range, we turned the NOAA off. We did, however, continue to observe the now intense cell, noting the development of mammatus on the underside of the anvil's SE edge. The overshooting top also continued to boil, indicating a very intense storm.
About 5:00pm we were nearing Blytheville about 10 miles from the Arkansas/Missouri border. The cell was now much closer and larger, and we could clearly see outflow boundaries and other cells developing along a frontal boundary directly to the north. I now estimated that the storm was near Poplar Bluff, Missouri and very strong. Again, we checked the NOAA now discovering we could receive the Paducah, Kentucky station - which just happened to be broadcasting a tornado warning. The warned area was Reynolds and Wayne Counties in Missouri - areas north and NW of Poplar Bluff. This was a good hour or better from our location and rather hilly (not to mention the middle of the Mark Twain National Forest). Our plans were to eat in Sikeston, which was due east of Poplar Bluff and, since the storms were moving east at about 15 mph, we decided that if anything blew over that area, we would see what we could see.
We arrived in Sikeston about 5:50pm and proceeded to a restaurant recommended far and wide as the "home of the throwed roll" (they throw dinner rolls around the dining area for the amusement of patrons). Not surprisingly, everyone from far and wide were at the establishment and we decided not to stay. One the way back to the car, the NOAA siren wailed.
A tornado warning was issued at 6:00pm for locations in Stoddard County, MO. Doppler and spotters indicated a developing tornado near Dudley, moving SE at 12 mph. Location in or near the path of the storm included Dudley, Pyletown, and Bernie. A flippant remark about "that's only 25 miles from here - we should go after it" was greeted with the unexpected response "I'm not that hungry - why don't we?" The HUNT was ON!
Taking Hwy. 60 west out of Sikeston, we headed straight for the core of the storm. Convection towers were rapidly strengthening along the frontal boundary, now to the south. Suddenly, near Morehouse, I caught a glimpse of a hauntingly familiar formation in one of these cells to the south - rotation striations of a mesocyclonic wall cloud!
The cell was not very large, but was strong. A rain shaft was rapidly developing near its center. Almost directly above the shaft, however, was one of the most clearly striated areas of rotation I have ever see (photo soon). Amazed, we pulled over and took a few photos. The area sustained itself for several minutes, but began to dissipate about the time I was thinking of calling it into Paducah.
With this rush behind us, we continued into the tornadic cell. Encountering heavy rains, we proceeded with caution yet maintaining a respectable (and safe) speed. At Dexter we turned off on Hwy. 25 south to Bernie. We estimated that we would reach Bernie within minutes of the tornadic area of the storm. Rain on the road slowed our progress some, and we began to witness dramatic CG lightening. This lightening was the lingering type, some of which would flicker in the sky for several seconds after the initial stroke. My comment that "its lasting so long you could see it and still have time to take a picture" inspired Cheryl to immediately go "on point" with the camera.
As all chasers know, photographing lightening is a challenge. Shooting it in daytime is a challenging challenge. Getting a photo in daylight, with a handheld camera, at 70mph is very near impossible. Cheryl succeeded!
Finally, we arrived in Bernie a matter of minutes after the storm had passed over. We did discover crop damage following a path through several fields. And there were some large tree branches down on County Road "U" westbound out of Bernie. But all of this damage had the mark of straight-line winds - perhaps a micro burst or forward flank downdraft. We observed another strong cell moving in from the west, and impressive cloud base to the south. But neither wall cloud nor tornado were in evidence.
It was now nearing sundown, and we still had far to go that evening. We agreed, therefore, to abandon the chase (no new warnings had been issued). Besides, we still had not eaten (I couldn't anyway) and it was 7:45pm. Cheryl had her lightening shot, I had a chase logged, so we returned to Sikeston for gas and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Stormy Weather: The Wall that Wasn't
26 July 1998 North Pulaski Co., Arkansas: Severe Thunderstorm Warning.
When you have other things to do, it's always easier to find ways to avoid them, and this Sunday was no exception. What I really needed to do was carve some door panels for a monastery in Illinois, but heat indices had been more than 110 for weeks and I'd been working nights all July. On this particular Sunday, I was heading out to the workshop (remote rural area) and stopped by the Post Office on the way. While at the post, I noticed some sweet Cb's boiling to the north.
Not thinking much else of the matter, I headed out to the woods westbound out of Little Rock on I-40. About half way to exit 142 (Morgan/Maumelle) I noticed that the Cb's in question were darkening and developing a nice hard anvil. Just past the exit, the freeway cuts through open farmland. That's when I just had to stop.
The storm, now to the NE, looked quite strong, with what I would normally expect to be a flanking line trailing off to the SW. Meanwhile, all around cumulus towers were blasting heavenward. The really interesting bit was the fact that mid and upper level winds were pushing the updrafts to the east, resulting in leaning towers of about 50 - 60 degrees. Aggressive stuff! If this had been April and not July, I would have expected tornadic activity. Still, we'd just had a pop-up generate a funnel about a week before, so I was hoping to "win the lottery." At exit 135 (Mayflower) I abandoned the interstate and began THE HUNT!
Now eastbound on Hwy. 89, I watched some excellent outflow development to the north, at which point the NOAA went off. Needless to say, this dissipated the last lingering traces of dog days' malaise. Doppler indicated a severe thunderstorm about 5 miles north of Macon, moving south at about 10mph. The NWS also indicated that heavy rain and "gusty winds" were possible with the storm. We needed the rain, but "gusty winds" usually mean trees will fall and the occasional house trailer will lose its siding. Macon was only 20 miles from my position at the time, so it seemed like the place to go.
Approaching the storm from the west, I continued to note development to the north over Lake Conway and beyond. Unfortunately, Hwy. 89 marks the north border of Bell Slough WMA which means trees - lots and lots of big, storm-hiding trees. Ten miles of trees, in fact. Finally, about 3 miles shy of Cato (which is 5 miles from Macon) the trees cleared near what passes as a BBQ restaurant. That's when I got a good look at the southern edge of the storm.
From my position I could clearly see a rain free base to the SE. I could also see the core directly to the east. A clear gust front had formed the backside of which I could see to the south. However, between the gust front and the precip core, there was a trail of condensation being drawn up into the updraft base. At the base, there seemed to be some lowering, and very clear inflow. The trail was coming up from the core and flowing directly into this area - A WALL CLOUD???
Nah, I kept thinking - there's been no official indication - and I was about 8 miles from the formation. To be sure, I called the NWS to confirm the lack of storm scale rotation. Sure enough, they confirmed my suspicions about the time the feature became (apparently) wrapped in rain. I went in closer for a better look, finally arriving in Macon. I briefly headed north on Hwy. 107 (I'm not sure why) just skirting the core. After a mile or so, it was apparent that no progress was being made. The storm was already 10 miles or better to the south and almost certainly doing little more than filling the local creeks. With rain increasing, I also suddenly remembered the generator and load of (uncovered) wood in the bed of the truck - this chase was over (it was not cheap wood).
Off I went, pleased with the photos and the mild adventure, hoping the generator would start and the wood was not (too) damaged. The thrill, the excitement! A typical Arkansas afternoon thunderstorm was "in the bag" and, at least today, that was good enough for me.
An addendum to this story thanks to Arkansas Weather Watcher, Scott Blair. Scott has spent a great deal of time reviewing and researching the photos and videos we've taken of our various chases. He has also compared our notes and images with radar loops and info from the NWS/NLR. His research indicates that this was in fact a developing wall cloud, and that there very likely was rotation within the storm. It was probably too weak to be clearly visible at the time, but certianly seems that my initial accessment of the situation was correct.
Eventually, I will get the photos up.