75_Western_NE High_Risk_Chase_24_May

Date: 24 May 2010

Location: Western, NE

Chase Partner: Solo

Summary: I headed out from McCook,NE for what appeared to be an awesome day all across NE Colorado, Western NE and the Western Dakotas. Storms started firing fairly early in the day and I had to reposition from my original target near Valentine, NE to near Scotts Bluff, NE. Storm motion was crazy and they were going severe warned within just a few minutes of radar signature showing up on GRLevel 3. As I approached Bridgeport, NE I was timing a newly TOR warned storm coming out of NE Colorado. I sat near Chimney Rock and watched a nicely organized wall cloud approach from the SW. Once again, this storm struggled to get its act together as it sped by me at nearly 60 MPH. Needless to say this was going to be one of those days where you had to position yourself WAY ahead of the storm and hope that it got its act together as it reached your location. Lottery Storm Chasing. I ended up on a cow pasture road and lost radar data as I chased this storm north in vain. I ended up in Chadron, NE when a storm near Alliance went TOR warned. I topped off my tank and headed SE toward Hay Springs, NE to intercept. This storm was headed directly at the town and as I entered town I ran into the local sheriff and stopped to inform him of what was headed his way. I then positioned myself to the East of town and watched a very well defined wall cloud emerge. The sheriff I stopped and talked to pulled up next to me and asked me "is that what I think that is?" I said "yes it is and it could drop a tornado at any minute." It looked as though this wall cloud was really getting things organized in a hurry and could have dropped a tornado at any time. But like with any storm I chased in the last 24 hours, it, and thankfully in this case, did not produce as it sped off to the NNE. I chased this storm north out of Rushville toward the Nebraska/South Dakota border. The front approached my position from the west and I pretty much threw in the towel calling it a day. Storms went on to produce large tornadoes near Bison and Faith, SD.

The first intercept of the day near Chimney Rock, NE.

Wall cloud approaching Chimney Rock.

Wall cloud approaching Hay Springs, NE.

Getting close to town.

The Hay Spring storm blasts NNE as I chase it to Pine Ridge.