Day 5: Great Bend to Chickasha

 After an unfruitful day in Kansas, we hoped that May 27 would be our chance to catch some great storms before the Midwest got swept clean by a cold front. Emerging from our hotel bright and early, we had a great breakfast in a diner where Dr. Kalkstein briefed the atmospheric conditions. Today would see a cold front push across Oklahoma and lift a lot of storms, but it would also remove all the moist air that fueled them. So we headed south immediately to get in their path. 


After crossing the KS-OK border, we stopped at Vance AFB to interview their prediction team. They were tracking the storms in the area, but were only concerned with the potential for high wind speeds, and didn't think that any significant hail or tornadoes would arise. Dr. Kalkstein urged us on and we thanked them for their time, plus we were hungry for lunch. However, the storms that we thought would be tame soon came between us and El Reno, and one cell showed a strong rotation signature. As we darted south to avoid the hail core and find a viewing position, the storm appeared particularly ominous and strong. A low, rotating wall cloud gave us the impression that it would produce a tornado. It didn't, however, and we continued through some rain.

                         

El Reno, site of an infamous 2.6 mile-wide tornado in 2013, we found a local barbecue joint and filled up. The cultural landscape of Oklahoma certainly felt different and more "Southern" than Kansas and Nebraska. Dr. Kalkstein and MAJ Hughes didn't expect any more rotating storms, only a line to our west that was being pushed by some outflows of cold air. We headed that direction, and waited in a park to observe some of the beautiful storm structures. These passed and we decided to call it a day. We drove to our hotel in Chickasha, OK and had dinner soon after. Overall, it was a rewarding day with great photogenic storms and even better food. The next day holds a visit to Fort Sill and Texas, with the prospect of more storms seeming possible.




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