Day 8 In Review

"What the Hail?!"

In the early morning hours of 18 May, the weather team concluded that northwestern Kansas was the best area to chase severe storms that could produce tornadoes. The team left Ogallala Nebraska and headed toward Gove County located in northwest Kansas. We stopped for lunch and had exquisite burgers, fries, and shakes at a local meat market in the early afternoon before convective initiation took place. As we made our way southeast after lunch, we stopped to admire shear taking place in Gove county near Quinter Kansas. Lower level clouds made their way west while upper-level clouds traveled east. This was incredibly distinct and served as a great visualization of shear for the team. While stopped near Quinter, the team noticed a good amount of surface heating taking place, a very important factor in creating atmospheric instability.

After surveying the skies for signs of convective initiation, we traveled south to chase a storm that was labeled with a tornado warning for a short time. This storm was eventually eaten up by surrounding storms, and we made our way east to chase another promising storm. Unfortunately, the team was core punched and sat in this slow-moving storm that produced quarter sized hail for nearly an hour. Once I-70 traffic began to move again, the team stopped in Hays Kansas for a late night meal at IHOP before taking refuge in Salina Kansas. The team learned first-hand the importance of not stopping under overpasses because of the danger it poses to those exposed to tornadic conditions. The team remains optimistic that we will see a tornado in the coming days. We look forward to sharing our day 9 details!