Storm Chase Details

Chase Date: May 15, 2024
Miles Logged: 298
States Chased: OK
Largest Hail Encountered: 4.0"
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks
Severe Reports: Storm Reports

Chase Recap:

A big hail threat and a chance to finish off my windshield from the other day in Texas. The tornado threat was non-zero, but not very high. A trip north seemed in the cards.

Departure Northward

Headed north out of metro and stopped off in Billings. I knew storms would likely fire north of there, but I figured that was a good place to stop. As it turns out, I’d head up 35 to Blackwell after storms fired. I stopped on top of the I-35 highway 11 bridge in Blackwell and looked north into the updraft. A nice wall cloud had formed and was moving my way.

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We headed north to get into the updraft region. It was quite windy. We’d navigate the back roads in Kay county, eventually working our way down to OK-11.

Rainfoot

As we traveled south, we observed this rainfoot, as well as some foreshadowing for what would happen next.

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Here comes the HAIL

As we were just northeast of Ponca City, we found ourselves in hail. Big hail. I ended up losing my windshield just north of US60 while trying to escape. There was limited road options because of the Arkansas river.

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Smashed Windshield
Smashed Windshield

After losing the windshield, we decided to call it and head back to OKC.