Severe Storm Photography from Spring 2006
All photos copyrighted by Dave Chapman
| March 30th Storms in Central Oklahoma: |
| Before I have a chance to recover from the long drive from California, I'm already chasing storms. This is my first intercept of the season, just south of Chickasha. |
|
|
| After encountering some marble-size hail near Marlow, I intercept the southernmost cell of the squall line three miles north of Tussy (25 miles east of Duncan). Here a wall cloud has formed underneath a mostly rain-free base. |
|
|
| Weak RFD spins up a funnel cloud, but it doesn't last. Soon downdrafts take over and the storm remains outflow-dominated the rest of the afternoon. |
|
|
| Looking to the right, a shelf cloud begins developing above an advancing gust front. |
|
|
| Ahead of the advancing storm in rural Oklahoma. |
|
|
| Another view. |
|
|
| End of the chase near Paul's Valley. |
|
|
| April 1st Storms in Panhandles/Northwest Oklahoma: |
| Today, Mother Nature plays an April Fool's joke on me. First, I drive a couple of hours north to the northern Texas panhandle and then into Oklahoma to intercept a strong storm. But when I arrive, very strong winds have filled the air with dust, making my photos worthless, and the storm is rapidly weakening. So I drive an hour south to intercept the next storm moving towards me. But I notice the winds have shifted to the SSW, so I turn east towards the new convergence zone. This is the first clear view. |
|
|
| I get close to the developing storm once I reach Oklahoma, but it races NNE at 50 mph, making it impossible for me to get in position. |
|
|
| New cell just north of me as dusk approaches. Today was a lesson that early season storms are unforgiving of tactical errors. |
|
|
| April 6th Storms in Northeast Oklahoma: |
| My target today is the axis of an approaching jet streak in eastern Oklahoma. A dryline forms along I-35 but I discover I'm too far south as the dryline bulges northeast near Stillwater. I fail to catch the strongest storms, which race north at about 50 mph, but intercept this storm just north of Tulsa. |
|
|
| The storm develops as I wait for it to clear the Tulsa metro area, but by the time I intercept, it is outflow dominated. |
|
|
| Commercial jet skirts the storm on the way to the Tulsa airport. |
|
|
| I drive southeast until I intercept a newly developed storm about twenty miles east of Tulsa. |
|
|
| Gust front racing towards me. |
|
|
2006 Storm Pages:
Dave Chapman's Storm Chasing and Outdoor Photo Galleries