STEVE MILLER'S CHASE REPORT AND PICS
GUTHRIE AND OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
06/13/98
 
Detailed Chase Report can be found here

 
An absolutely incredible day for myself and chase partner Blair Kooistra. It was the best day I have ever had chasing not only for the 5 tornadoes we witnessed, but absolutely incredible and breathtaking storm structure as well.  We were very proud of our forecast this day as we watched the initial storm development from cumulus to supercell. I experienced an extreme range of emotions this day from intense chaser ecstasy of observing the entire cycle of tornadogenesis of the Guthrie storm to gut wrenching dread and fear for the residents of Oklahoma City from a beast of a supercell that threatened them. The meso itself was extremely huge and certainly capable of producing a large violent tornado. At one time, we saw two distinct organized rapid rotations.  They combined into one *huge* area of rotation as a strong RFD surge plowed into the area of rotation. At this time my heart sank to the pit of my stomach as I thought I was about to witness an F5 develop before my eyes and plow through the heart of Oklahoma City. Fortunately, a couple of factors such as lack of very strong inflow prevented it from producing a big monster in my opinion. I try to explain this within the limits of my knowledge and understanding in a more technical discussion in my detailed chase report report.
 
An ominous and sinister massive mesocyclone churned over the city spawning three tornadoes producing F0 to F2 damage. An amusement park, Frontier City, narrowly avoided a major catastrophe as the strongest tornado just glanced the park itself containing around 500 patrons huddled in a building. A direct hit would have surely resulted in fatalities and many serious injuries. If the tornado had also been more powerful, which this storm was certainly capable of doing, the death toll would likely have been in the hundreds in Frontier City alone. There was absolutely no excuse for their last-second attempt to shelter everybody. Very severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings had been ongoing in the area for at least 2 hours. The media coverage was outstanding with every TV and radio station blaring pleas for everyone to take cover. There was PLENTY time to evacuate the park and close it down. These storms were wicked looking enough that common sense and eyeballs alone should have prompted some action. Complacency was widespread however as most folks we tried to warn didn't take us nor the media warnings seriously. I think that has been lessened somewhat now by a heavy handed slap from reality. The emergency preparedness from spotters to net controllers to media/NWS liaisons are to be commended very highly....they performed like a well-oiled machine. However, all of that is totally wasted on folks that don't take the warnings seriously. Complacency is a leading cause of tornado  and storm deaths.
 
Some of the unusual things we saw were a sidewinder (what I call a funnel cloud extending horizontally out the side of a wall cloud and rotating about a horizontal axis) and what I believe to possibly be a stretched column of mesoscale horizontal vorticity being absorbed into a meso updraft. I am hoping to get some feedback on this one to confirm or dismiss this, so check it out. One other thing to note was very little lightning with these storms. I have no explanation for this.
 
Finally, check out my detailed chase report for the more technical and detailed aspect of our chase day including the atmospheric setup. Be sure to check out the awesome Purcell wind profiler for a perfect speed and directional shear profile.

The first wall cloud we saw produced a brief weak tornado near Greenfield, Oklahoma that we only were able to capture on video. I start off with the most spectacular sight of storm structure I have witnessed. It is the "drier hose" I talked about above wrapping around the meso. We soon caught up to the storm getting closer to the main updraft base very near to the same feature. The wall cloud in the next pic is the second rotating wall cloud we saw that day. We watched it from it's infancy through tornadogenesis and dissipation. It was really cool to watch the entire process from beginning to end. Blair got some great zoomed-in video shots showing the rotation up close. It is interesting to note that while the storm was moving east, the wall cloud and tornado developed and moved slowly north on the west and northwest side of the storm.  It was obvious that the rotation  was being stretched northward from the storm's outflow. As it moved further away, the rotation increased accordingly to the point of producing a tornado. Some may argue that it is technically a landspout; however, the rotation originated with the meso updraft and persisted until the tornado died.  I call it a tornado. You be the judge.
 
These are the best pictures out of the 100 that I took. You may notice some slight color variations due scanning and/or different film. I can assure you that these are the real McCoy and not electronically faked. 


 GUTHRIE, OKLAHOMA
>>>>>>>> CLICK ON IMAGES FOR FULL SIZE PICTURE <<<<<<<<<<< 
 
  I talked about this earlier. I believe this to be the column of mesoscale horizontal vorticity being stretched into the meso updraft. Blair Kooistra described it best as a clothes drier vent hose. I thought this was truly awesome. I welcome any input or comments on this.
 
 
  A nice rotating wall cloud just east of Kingfisher, Oklahoma on Hwy. 33 looking east. The storm had previously weakened, but we watched it regenerate and intensify rapidly right before our eyes. A wall cloud soon formed and began rotating and organized quickly after the RFD started flowing into it. 
 
 
The wall cloud is now producing a funnel cloud as it continues to move slowly northward across the highway. The rotation is pretty rapid at this point.
 
 
The wall cloud is continuing it's slow northward movement. Funnels are constantly forming and dissipating. The entire circulation is becoming much better organized about a central vertical axis.
 
 
Here is the sidewinder that I mentioned earlier. We were watching the main action under the wall cloud when I glanced up and saw this long rope funnel sticking out the side. It was really gyrating and snaking around...very cool. The rotation was strong enough that is was pulling in air quite rapidly from all around as evidenced by the inflow cloud above the sidewinder. There are some very interesting dynamics going on here.
 
 
Here is a shot of the wall cloud and funnel with the explosive updraft associated with it. This was taken just after the sidewinder had just about dissipated. If you look closely, you can still see the remnants of it being drawn into the funnel cloud at the base as well as the upper left section of the frame on the bottom of the inflow cloud.
 
 
The funnel cloud continues to row and intensify as it treks slowly to the north. You are now looking ENE and the funnel is now on the WNW side of the storm.
 
 
Continuing to develop and form. In looking at the video very closely, we could see some debris swirling around on the ground although we didn't notice it at the time. The swirling rotation was really beautiful within the entire cloud structure...a symphony of delicate and smooth, fluid motions. It is also about this time that Glenn and Bronwyn Dixon, chase partners and friends, showed up from Fort Worth. There was much chaser rejoicing including a rare performance of the sacred forbidden dance of chaser merriment by yours truly.
 
 
The mark of Zorro? Our funnel cloud finally gets stretched enough to concentrate the circulation....similar to an ice skater drawing their arms in to increase their spin.

 
Tornado about 3 miles NW of Guthrie. Notice the debris cloud between the trees. Just another bit of good luck we had this day. (Somehow, the scanner only duped this in B/W.  I'll endeavor to get this redone in color.)
 
 
Alas, our wonderful little tornado has finally begun roping out. We would follow another bulging wall cloud  with good rotation further east until it died just past I-35 east of Guthrie. We quickly turned our attention to the SW on another supercell approaching OKC.
 


  OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
>>>>>>>> CLICK ON IMAGES FOR FULL SIZE PICTURE <<<<<<<<<<< 
 
  Just as we got clear of the precipitation shaft, we saw the huge meso as it approaches Yukon just west of Oklahoma City.  We are near the 35/44 split by Remington Park looking west.
 
 
  The meso is gaining more strength and growing as it begins to striate and take on a 'mothership' type appearance.  It was quite evident at this time of the entire storm structure slowly rotating. It is approaching the Lake Hefner area.  At about this time that I start thinking of a large violent tornado forming over OKC....not a very pleasant thought.
 
 
  Now becoming beautifully striated and layered while also becoming more sinister as it bears down on NW OKC. The rotation was incredible. Although you cannot see the condensation funnel due to drier air, the tornadic circulation is in progress producing damage. This definitely looks like a scene out of Independence Day with a spaceship hovering over the city. I was expecting a swarm of F-16's to attack it at anytime.
 
 
  The back edge of the meso is just about overhead. Words and pictures cannot describe nor capture the sensation of this moment...it was very surreal...a religious experience to say the least. The 'stacked plates' appearance is quite evident here and the rotation was mesmerizing. We could clearly see the black boiling mass of the underside of the meso.
 
 
  We have now moved south abit for safety's sake as a couple of funnels were trying to form on the outer periphery of the meso. The RFD had really intensified punching into the main rotation. The result was a very rapid lowering and organizing of the wall cloud which quickly produced this funnel/tornado. It is bearing down on Frontier City. I was very apprehensive at this point of people taking shelter. The only good thing about this tornado is that it had waited until it had passed out of the densely populated areas of OKC. We are now looking NNW.
 
 
  The tornado just seconds after hitting the Frontier City area.
 
 
  Although no connecting condensation cloud was evident, as most of the tornadoes this day, it is still producing F1 to F2 damage in a sparsely populated residential area around Arcadia Lake.
 
 
  We thought it best to pursue along Hwy 62 east out of OKC paralleling the tornado and meso in case it were to redevelop a little to the SE.  Plus, we expected the main highways and roads further north were clogged by traffic and possible debris. The entire wall cloud is quite large at this point and nearly on the ground. It was picking up forward speed and keeping up with it was difficult. The hill hid most of the tornado (dang it) ...just one of the pitfalls of chasing in the city although the red lights weren't too bad.
 
 
  The tornado strengthens again slightly taking on the classic funnel shape. More strong F2 damage to some houses. Again, the trees are in the way. We kept trying to go north but could never get in front of it enough to do so. Shortly after this picture, it became more disorganized as well as the contrast became very low. We started turning our attention to the SW for yet another tornadic supercell...#3 for the day.
 
 
  A very majestic anvil of supercell #3 approaching Mustang, OK just to the SW of OKC. We tried to pursue this one and get into position, but abit of a bad intercept decision and bad road network cost us valuable time to get into position.
 
 
  Our last glimpse of the OKC storm off to the east...a spectacular sunset. Yes, this was the actual color. A very poetic end to an incredible chase day. A total of seven straight hours of chasing.
 

The NWS official damage report and survey along with detailed map of the tornado's path and damage pictures is available here,

USA Today has a brief writeup about the events that day that you can view here.

To see an ideal and perfect vertical wind profile for tornadic storms, see the Purcell wind profiler.
 
Some other chasers also tracked the storms as well. These pages offer different angles of the storm. It is interesting to compare as all of our photos were taken nearly at the same moment, but look like a different storm. Check out  Gene Moore's OKC Page and Guthrie Page ; as well as Matt Engelbrecht's Page.  Excellent work!! 


 
Email me, Steve Miller,  with an comments or questions at  txt@gte.net
 
go back to my stormpage or my  chasepics page 
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