Andy Cole's Stormchase blog

Back on the plains in 2019 to share in nature's spectacle

12 May 2019: The swansong

Live location

First supercell of the year and ain’t she a beauty

A poor excuse for a wall cloud under the base

Update: Not a bad first chase! The tech works, and we’re currently tracking a lazy supercell storm out of the mountains to our south. It is really quite pleasant and peaceful. The storm prediction suggested the storm might intensify , but we’re not seeing much of that.


Its great to be back on the plains. After a day of setting up, we’re off to border country in West Texas to try and bag our first supercell of the trip. Conditions are marginal, but I’m strangely optimistic. Wind shear is good, and it is amazing what you can get with limited moisture when you’re on high ground.

Border country

You might wonder why we’re not heading east into that yellow blob. 3 Reasons.

  • Too many trees. Chasing ain’t as fun when you can’t see anything through the foliage.
  • Messy storms. Big messy storm systems make a chase generally unrewarding
  • The commute. If you drive 1000 miles east, you’re just going to have to come back west again. That’s no fun for anyone.

I actually love chasing marginal/slight days. No crowds, low risk and you can still get some absolutely stunning storms, particularly in the clear air out west.

Why the swansong? Well this is likely to be my last stormchasing trip for a few years. Life getting in the way and all that. Here’s to 2 weeks of freedom, the open road. And some fun chases

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1 Comment

  1. Mick May 12, 2019

    Haha, life getting in the way. Hope you catch a few good ones. And who knows, if you don’t need to be too fit us two old crocks might join you for your next one in a decade or two!

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