As I mentioned, this week should start of slow but at least not inactive. Today was a meager looking day, SPC did have a 5% tornado risk…in Florida!…but in our reachable area we only had a Marginal risk and 0% tornado risk to play with, but there were at least prospects of thunderstorms. Considering that I only see about 2-3 thunderstorms a year back home, this was a good of a start as any!
The target area was a bit dubious considering Texas panhandle vs Kansas. It looked slightly better up in Kansas, which I was quite happy about. I lived in Kansas for a year (Manhattan, KS) and have seen the majority of my (good) tornadoes here so it always feels a bit like coming home.
Today was no exception. With our expectations anchored at “Will we see a rainbow?” the day overdelivered with a really nice thunderstorm in quite a picturesque environment outside Leoti/Garden City. In many senses it was a perfect start of this tour. Nice, slow, quiet, beautiful and relaxing storm watching. Sometimes, chasing doesn’t have to be more complicated than this.
The day actually had two “tornadoes” in our area. Both were shortlived low-contrast landspouts, but still. It shows that anything can happen, even on days as unpromising as today.
