0 | 1.00" | 60 | 370 |
---|---|---|---|
TORNADOES | HAIL | WIND | MILES |
Memorial Day Weekend gave an opportunity for a couple of local chases. A week of marginal setups across the southwest migrated into the Central Plains to close out the holiday. The 28th featured a bit of stronger mid-level flow across Nebraska and Kansas as a trough moved across the area. This manifested with a slight risk across Western Kansas and the OK Panhandle and while tornado chances were pretty marginal they couldn’t be ruled out.
When I left Grand Island around 20z my original plan was to head west to Kearney then northwest to intercept storms that I expected to form west of Broken Bow. However, as I traveled west on US 30 it looked like the northern storms that did pop were struggling and there was a pretty solid cluster of storms south of I-80 near the Kansas border west of Norton.
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/VIS2101-1024x542.png)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/KUEX2106.png)
I was originally going to head towards the cell near Stockville, but as I got closer the cells further south started to look better so I diverted towards the cluster south of Beaver City near the border. Eventually I got on the cell down by Norcatur shortly after it went tornado warned and it had a ragged wall cloud on it, but it would get better.
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2792-HDR.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF4276-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2806-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
It was about this time a lightning bolt struck an oil tank battery in Norcatur and thick black smoke started to rise from the horizon into the storm.
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF4282-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF4283-HDR.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2810-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/KUEX2330.png)
The storm continued to move east vacillating in strength as it went. About 40 minutes later it started to look really good again with a stout wall cloud with inflow tail.
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2843-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
A couple of 1-inch hail reports emerged as the storm passed through Norton and even later around 130z a funnel cloud report came in, but I never saw it from my vantage point. However, as sunset approached the storm put on a bit of a show.
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2867-HDR.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2877-HDR-Pano-2-Edit.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2924-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
![](https://nnwx.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSCF2942-HDR-1024x683.jpg)
As the sunset, the fuel the storms were feeding off of began to wane and the storm started to weaken. I called the chase and began the trek home.
Chase Recap
START | END | DURATION |
---|---|---|
Grand Island, NE @ 28/2018Z | Grand Island, NE @ 29/0348Z | 07 hours, 30 minutes |
INTERCEPTS | CHASER ENCOUNTERS |
---|---|
None | None |