My recent storm chase was amazing. It was the first time in at least 6 years since I had actually been out chasing, and not just hoping a storm would be near me to take a gander. This expedition across the state line back into my home turf was not one of those days. Supercells everywhere, and at one point I think we had a storm with at least 2 tornados on the ground at once. I watched one storm with a lifting tornado, a wall cloud to the west and another one just a little to the east which was the main circulation. I have never see anything like it.
I met up with a good friend and storm chaser in Rochelle in the early afternoon. Once things got going, they got going and it was nonstop the rest of the afternoon. Our first cell was a cell that was a little ways north of Rochelle, but en route to it we redirected back to a cell that seemed a little more organized back to the south. (Yeah, where we just were) This storm quickly spun up a wall cloud and quickly produced a funnel and subsequent tornado. Then another…and another. I caught it a little late, but still got it. That’s the tornado in the video above.
The recurring theme to the day was pretty much me being just a little late, or a little too far away for amazing photos and video. I have spent several days thinking about why. I know what I am looking for, and I had several people that I could have followed, but I didn’t. I mean, I loved the day. I saw more tornados that day then I had my entire life before. Mostly because every time we had a tornado in the area, I was at work and could not go. Or, like in 2015 moved to Wisconsin the month before the Rochelle Tornado. But, something was holding me back subconsciously. I think I know why…
I have a daughter now, and I was driving my nice new car. I think it was genuinely being overly cautious. Not that you can really be overly cautious when chasing storms I guess. That, combined with me knowing that I had not actively been chasing, or even forecasting much. Well, aside from winter storms to know if it would be a big snow storm.
I actually have beat myself up over not getting super amazing, close-up video…and I shouldn’t. It’s called being responsible. Next time I go out, I will likely get a little closer because I will know that I am a little more comfortable. Heck, thinking back I even noticed that feeling changing as the day went on.
After spending way too many days thinking about it, I have decided that it’s OK that I didn’t get the amazing shots I was hoping to. I saw lots of other amazing photos that day, and I was able to get back out and do something that I absolutely love doing. It was a great day, and I am not going to keep beating myself up about it. My daughter still has a dad, and my car doesn’t look like Reed Timmer’s.