Summary: My first year chasing! I was a student at the University of Oklahoma and working at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Practically the entire meteorology department would clear out on good days. I was very much a novice but learned many lessons which would be put to good use down the line.

11 March - 625 miles - Southern Oklahoma

My first chase ever and I went with Dusty Maddox. There was only a 2% chance of tornadoes so it was quixotic at best. The highlight was the Welcome to Texas sign with bullet holes in it. Storms fired up too far to our south around sunset. Good experience anyways.

6 April - 475 miles - Northwest Oklahoma

I went with Aaron Kennedy, Chris Nuttall, Laura Reuter, and Kyle Mozley. I will never forget this chase. A week before I caught word from the NWS that the models were predicting what looked like a doomsday scenario.

The Storm Prediction Center heightened our anticipation as they issued a High Risk for the area along with a 25% chance of tornadoes. The winds were fierce all day as we headed west from Norman. Unfortunately the storms coalesced into a line stretching from Minnesota to Texas, limiting any chance for tornadoes.

The line was moving at least 65 mph and we waited for it outside Arnett, OK hearing reports on the radio of trains derailed and property damage. Once it came, we tried to outrun it for several miles until we were forced to let it overtake us. The winds were at least 70-80mph and we saw small hail. A tornado warning was issued for where we were but we never saw anything. As we drove through Vici, we could see some damage from the winds. We ended the night in Watonga at the Pizza Hut and arrived back at the dorms around midnight.

10 April 2006 - 475 miles - Western OK, Texas Panhandle

This was a bust. The cloud cover was too thick and never burned off. The best storms occurred after dark in El Reno, OK where we experienced some severe winds. The next day the storm system moved to the Midwest and dropped 36 tornadoes.

14 April 2006 - 390 miles - Southwest Oklahoma

We chased a beautiful storm in Greer County. It was the only storm with a tornado warning and if one dropped we were in the perfect location to view it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen.

5 May 2006 - 480 miles - Southwest OK, North Texas

Aaron, Dusty, Kyle, Thomas Norman and I drove all over that day. We went towards Seymour, Texas and noticed clouds building toward the north. We targeted Altus, OK and stopped when we saw a couple of the University of Oklahoma Doppler on Wheels (DOW) driven by grad students. They confirmed that something was happening toward the north and that’s where they were headed.

As we tried to keep up with them, we had to pass a couple cars going under the speed limit. Of course, as we passed them, they sped up, so we did as well. After the little black car coming towards us turned out to be the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, we were on our way after Dusty received a $173 ticket.

Kyle, Dusty, and I became split up with the other car as they kept on going. The storm split into to and we played the northern storm. Normally the southern storm is the one that is the most powerful, and most chasers that day, including the infamous Howie Bluestein, followed that one. Our persistence paid off at sunset when a small tornado, my first, dropped out of the clouds near Cordell, back lit with an orange glow.

6 May - 190 miles - East-Central Oklahoma

I was totally checked out to the possibility of tornadoes as I had finals to study for. Being on the road the day before completely ruined my studying plan. Chris ran into my room and took me upstairs to the 12th floor of the dorm, and just as he was pointing out a wall-cloud (and possible tornado), the sirens went off. The dorm went into a panic and everyone made their way downstairs while we got our gear.

As a second storm threatened the city and with pouring rain, we felt like rock stars as our dorm mates cheered us, realizing we were chasers, as we waded through them to get out of the dorm. We went towards the southern storm, but it was swallowed up by another just as it was about to drop a tornado.

27 May - 30 miles - Stafford County, Va

I noticed a storm forming just south of my house. I chased it through the county until I ran into Maryland and the Potomac River where I couldn’t chase anymore. I noticed rotation in it as it crossed the river, and sure enough tornadoes were reported.

7 September - 220 miles - Central Oklahoma

A moderate risk with no supercells and an intense squall line. We saw some decent hail and experienced a lightning strike only yards away. The drive home was not fun as PWAT’s were high and it reminded us of a monsoon. The highlight of the trip was Dusty opening his window while driving and getting smacked upside the head by a hailstone.

8 September - 450 miles - North-Central Texas

There was not enough time in the day to get to the tornadoes which formed after dark around Abilene.

9 October - 310 miles - West-Central Oklahoma

This day turned out to be an outbreak, but we played it too far north and didn’t see much. We saw some great supercells and funnels, but no tornadoes. We were even more depressed upon hearing the stories of our fellow chasers who saw several tornadoes. Returned back to the dorms just in time for a mandatory hall meeting.