Day 2: Wichita to Garden City

 


Day 2, May 24, began with an early breakfast at an IHOP in Wichita. We were excited to get our trip really started and visited McConnell AFB and their Weather Prediction Center. There we heard from their team and how they coordinate storm responses with base command, and overall we were very impressed with the team's sophistication and professionalism. They also showed us one of their portable weather stations (shown above) that the Air Force uses in tactical environments. The visit gave us insight into how meteorologists integrate the civilian and military fields to make effective judgment calls.

After McConnell, we headed westward to where the NWS and our fearless experts predicted the storm action would be. Dr. Kalkstein explained the basic structure of a supercell and how we would approach and view the storms that day. Along the drive, we stopped in Dodge City, Garden City, and saw some of the caps of the first storms breaking in the early afternoon. We continued north to intercept one of the forming cells. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, we tried to stay on the SE side of the cells to catch a glimpse of the rotating mesocyclone and possibly tornadoes. Our forecasting team, led by CDT Rossman, used radar to guide us to the best viewing sites and eventually southward to a growing cell. We had many opportunities to get out of the van, feel the strong inflow winds, and witness rotating wall clouds. Unfortunately, no tornadoes touched down near us, or were shrouded by rain. As the sun set, we returned toward Garden City for dinner but got caught in the storm's strong downdraft of rain and hail. Thankfully we made it out, didn't hit any cows, and took no hail damage. The long day of weather observation ended with a well-deserved dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and a late hotel check-in. See the gallery of beautiful photos below for examples of the incredible storms we saw!



























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