I don't recall much of the meteorology
from this day (except for a strong cold front that pushed through
the Central Plains). The main reason this chase will always
stick in my mind is the mess we got ourselves into east of Enid,
Oklahoma.
It began when we decided to turn off
the main, one of the many unmarked "Farmer Bob" dirt
roads you see on maps. It was a few miles down this road that
the squall line hit us. The road quickly turned into slick and
sloppy mud. As I tried in vain to get us back to the main road,
my tires sunk deeper and deeper into the muddy mess. Hail to
the size of quarters began to fall as we sat in despair.
Once the squall lines passed to our
east and the rain stopped, we were able to push the car about
an eighth of a mile before we were down for the count - she
wouldn't budge an inch. While contemplating our situation, "Farmer
Bob" spotted us in his pickup truck. He had mercy on us
and tied a chain to my undercarriage, with the understanding
that any damage caused by the tow would not be HIS fault. With
Valerie sitting helplessly behind the wheel of my car, Farmer
Bob floored his accelerator and both vehicles fishtailed wildly,
slowly drifting off the road and into the field. I thankfully
had my dashboard-mounted video camera rolling, which showed
the front of the car, narrowly missing telephone poles, with
mud and rocks flying through the air. But hey, we were moving
again, and we quickly agreed to give the guy $20 for his troubles.
This went on for about half a
mile before both vehicles slid into the drainage ditch on the
side of the road, and got stuck. Covered in mud, we couldn’t
help but laugh at the situation, though Farmer Bob was all but
amused. Our donation suddenly doubled to $40. He telephoned
his wife, who picked him up in her truck, and took them both
back to the farm. They returned twenty minutes later with a
large John Deer tractor. This time, they meant business. Farmer
Bob pulled his truck out of the ditch and then positioned the
tractor such that he could once again hook the chain up to my
undercarriage. This time though, the chain wasn't strong enough
and it snapped in half! He thankfully had an old fire hose with
him, which did the trick. After many thanks and shaking of hands,
we were on our way. He never did take the $40!
- Central Plains Surface Maps: 1618Z,
1718Z
- Satellite: Visible (16Z,
17Z)
- 12Z Upper Air Maps: 925mb,
850mb,
700mb,
500mb,
300mb,
250mb
- Radar: Central
Plains Loop 0837Z
- Oklahoma Area Forecast Discussions:
05Z,
16Z
- Oklahoma Special Weather Statements:
16Z
- SPC: Convective Outlooks (06Z,
13Z,
1630Z),
Storm
Reports
