2015--Day 15

To quote a great Tragically Hip song ('Nautical Disaster'): And we headed for home....

Grey, cool and damp to start our long trek eastward.  It's been a phenomenal chase in so many aspects, but I think I speak for all involved that it's time not to chase anymore.  I wouldn't be surprised that we would just keep driving even if there were a tornado just a few miles south of the interstate.  The storms will need to come to us today.

Heard more Journey on this trip than any human should.  How does a band put 'Faithfully' and 'Separate Ways' on the same record?  Probably because most of their later songs all dealt with love or its end in some way, shape or form.

Ate lunch in Indiana, near Chicago.  Gas is over $3 a gallon here.  And it's raining--again.  A well-known (read: overplayed) song by the Eagles is on the radio.  I just kept thinking to myself, why would someone be driving with Cool Whip in his hair, and what about the warm smell of Cletus rising up through the air?  I knew a Cletus once, and I don't really want his smell anywhere around me, warm or otherwise.

Spotted a small clutch of Oreo cows in northwestern Indiana...no time for pictures.

Severe thunderstorm and tornado watches are popping up in New York...and we're in Indiana.

3:45 edt...Ohio!

I've heard Rod Stewart's 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' at least twice on this trip.  A sure sign of the Apocalypse.

We crossed Ohio 57 around 6 pm, and I texted my dad as he lives just up the road from there.  He never responded.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have opened with ‘Me and my new 18 best friends are in town.  Can we stop in and use your one bathroom?  And it’s dinnertime, so we’re hungry.’  Puzzling.

At long last, the caravan arrived in Henrietta to drop me off at 11:15 pm.  It was a quick goodbye (no tears, I don’t think), as the rest of the crew still had to get to Oswego, about two more hours of driving. 

So to sum up the day, we started in Iowa and ended in New York, a total of six states and 766 miles of driving.  And all the severe weather was in New York—of course. 

Wrapping it all up, here’s how it breaks down:

12 states, most with multiple visits (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Iowa)—we probably spent more time in Kansas and Nebraska than all others combined

Seven days of > 500 miles of driving               

Three tornadoes (including the rain-wrapped one), all in one day

Numerous funnel clouds

Several LP mothership supercells

At least a few lightning pictures

7,459 miles of driving

19 exhausted but thrilled storm chasers

With all due respect to my past chasing partners, this was hands-down the best chase I’ve been on, from a meteorological and photographic perspective.  Would have liked to have seen more tornadoes (and fewer HP supercells), but a good storm chase relies on both skill and luck.  We always have one, but not always both.  

I’d like to make special mention about (and dubious thanks to) Dust Cutter Beverages for making Huckleberry Lemonade (and diabetes) possible.  Please consider selling your delicious drinks in Wegmans.  PLEASE.

I would also like to take a moment to thank each and every one of the students who made this trip memorable:

Phil, Kayla, Christina, Paul, Matt, Carson, Steve, James, Tyler, Michaela, Allison, Mike, Cecilia, Miles, and Jessica

Special thanks go to our drivers, Dillon and Kadir, for their tireless devotion to the cause. 

Last but most certainly not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend, Dr. Scott Steiger, for making this all possible and teaching me some valuable lessons about organized convection (and other important concepts) over the past 15 days.  

And my thanks to you for reading my ramblings.  Let’s all get some sleep.  KD2IPW out.