Stormchasing around Kansas City area 6/3/08

Date: 6/3/08

Time: 6:03 - 10:00 CDT
Target/ Chase: Johnson County, KS (JCKS)
Chase travels : Johnson County, KS (JCKS)
Weather specifics: hail, stormcells, lightning, wallcloudfunnelwannabees
chasing: Eric Flescher
chase rating: 8/10

(1) Finally a day in 2008 to remember that showed some of the beauty and the might of stormy weather.


(2) The day opened to a medium threat via the Storm Center. Stretching from around Olathe, KS to Kansas City and out east into Missouri, things looked promising today. But would the day bring some stormy (stormsatori- aha weather) and stop my draught through several chases so far in 2008?



(3) I waited until later on the day to see whether storms would start to "pop" and where? Then a tornado watch was issued for the same area. I heard a dangerous storm cell was moving in from Desoto, Kansas just west on highway 10. It had hail and more.

(4)I heading out on I-35 North at 119th street, I could see wallcloudfunnelwannabees in the darkening skies. I did not see rotation but things looked promising. I headed North looking for a good overlook towards the West. I found what I was looking for at 95th street, just north of a gasoline station area next to the Holiday Inn. As I watched, the brewing, swirling clouds and scud moving south and north, continued to produce a BTMS (Booming, Thunder and lightning show).

(5) While videotaping and photographing the storm to the west, a van with a couple and their two kids pulled up besides me. They asked what i was doing and we compared notes as the mother/wife was videotaping with her nice Sony HSD camcorder. The father got out and showed me his Blackberry which was fast and Internet ready. A nice visual with The Weather Channel Doppler showed this stormcell and another dangerous one down south (which I made sure to note for later). My treo 650 and the Sprint is not fast enough so I was a little jealous. I did not want to see if my g4 book with wifi could see it as i was too busy marveling and videotaping the storm. Some rain, no hail but tons of ground to lightning (CGs).

The little girl got of the van and said "look there's a tornado" as she looked west. It was "Virga" so I told her it wasn't and what it was in not too complicated language. She seemed to understand while we continued to watch the clouds swirling all around. They then took off while I contented to take some more photos as well.,

There were reports that what we were seeing were wallclouds and funnels. A trainer stormspotter said there was a definite wallcloud and rotation in a wallcloud near Lee Summit, MO as sirens were going off briefly.This was dismissed on air though as I sat just North this time further down north of I-435 on Quivira. I decided not to try to make a run to Lee Summit but engage the incoming storms from the south.



(6) There was hail and possible hook 
(7) I headed back on I-35 but then headed south to intercept the strengthening stormcells heading into Olathe. I  found a good stop to look just of of 119th street looking west. Not bad. But then I found a better lookout next to the new shopping center SW of 119th and I-35 so I could shoot the real dark ominous storms and lightningfest looking east and west. I continued to shoot the video and photos but my camera card maxed out . (next time before a storm, I need to format the card or have two ). So I just worked on videotaping the sky show.

Beautiful yellow streaks through the sky, grey clouds and even azure blue sky peaking through made for a great contrast of colors. The southern and east storms were producing CGs (Cloud to Ground) and CC (cloud to cloud) as the show continued. A couple came out from the sports shop just to the west and asked what I was doing . They liked looking at the booming skies and we talked a bit. They left and I kept videotaping this lightningandboomfest.





9:55 CDT

 (8) Heading south on I-35 and I was approaching Spring Hill and Paola. At the Spring Hill line, 1 mile line before SH,9:55 CDT, big hailstones and rain started to increase and started to pelt my car. Sounded big as they "bonked" the hood of my car (small golf ball). I got off at the SH exit and looking west, I videotaped the hail through my windshield. It was raining too hard to get out and try to pick up some of the hail for souvenir and photos. By the time I could they had already melted.

I then went east turned around and headed back north as small pea hail rained down. This time it was just raining a bit but I did not see any hail that I could pick up.

10:00 CDT(8) I got back home in Olathe at 10:00 CDT. As I got something to eat I started to upload my photos using iPhoto and using my Panasonic camcorder. I also watched the news which showed the oil tank near Kansas City which exploded possibly due to a lightning strike earlier (7:30pm) started earlier in the day when the storms were moving in.

(9) Definitely a Storm Satori Day the best since Hays in 2007. While there was no tornado today for me and no really defined good rotations, the lightning displays and the storm was gorgeous and menacing. While I heard hail I did not see.

I would rate his chase 8/10.; Hopefully even better chases to come.

Small hail and shelf cloud, Olathe , KS

It's been 3 in a row of at least slight threatening weather for someplace in Kansas or nearby. Since I teach, I can't run off and have to hope things will wait until later. But the weather is cooperates or not.
On Wed 4/23/2008, school ended and I heard the heavy rain. I went to a window and saw it was hailing. The first hailstones I could see of the 2008 Spring!
I ran out to my car, got my Canon camera and started shooting and examining hail size. Most were very small pea sized but a few were a little bigger. (Later I heard there was bigger sized ones in Independence , MO). The hail pretty much melted away in 10 minutes.
Riding around Olathe and then Overland Park,KS I could see the tops of a shelf cloud (that could be seen by other chasers near Ottawa further west) . But things were pretty much over. Since the weather was not that threatening anymore and subsiding I just went to workout.
Here are some hail shots.

Frutrating search and storm poops out over Olathe, KS

I left teaching in Olathe at around 5:00. While there were possibility of more potential severe weather farther away, my immediate target was a meeting place (that I never found) around Nall Avenue in Overland Park. I heard the reports of severe thunderstorms over the line in some counties in Missouri and some severe thunderstorms were south near Paola. I headed North on I-35.

Frustrated at not finding this Country Club off of Tomhawk ( serves me right for using Mapquest and not using GoogleMaps or Yahoo Maps- no GPS yet sorry), I abandoned my search. Watched the skies and listening to the radio reports at the same time, I headed back to Olathe.

Several vehicles had crashed slightly into each other right ahead of me during the rain downpour. Near Olathe after 6:00, I could see a nice storm to the West, heading towards Olathe and I-35. Getting on to Sante Fe in Olathe (off of I-35), the promising cell pooped out and got quite ragged. I had my camera but I decided it was not worth taking a picture of.

A teacher the next morning said there was a report of small tornado near St. Joseph. I quickly looked up the SPC report and yup, he was right.
Then I found that news report of what happened
http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2008/apr/11/possible-tornado-hits-south-side/