Okay quick short long update…. hahaha I know it makes no sense!

So we started the day in Woodward, OK and it was nice to finally sleep in catch up on some much needed and missing sleep. We decided a late checkout was best. In an interesting twist, we booked the room well in advance and it turns out Greg Johnson and his chase tour were staying at the same Super8 in Woodward.

Look a funnel… NOT

It was nice to meet Greg again and I also got to see Chris Chittick again, the last time we truly spoke at any length was at a gas station just south of El Reno in 2010 when he was with Reed Timmer in the Dominator. I also got to meet a few other twitter users who I regularly engage with including Jade and Randy. So we hung out a little at night and I took this selfie the next morning before we headed off to our target hotel in Childress, Tx.

Cleaning the Ford Expedition

MaryAnn made sure we cleaned the chase car! She can be a little OCD and the fact it was covered in dirt and mud spatter from the previous days chase was killing her. So a quick was resolved that issue for the time being. After the wash, MaryAnn was in communication with Kathryn & Dave, two fellow chasers from Chatham Ontario that I’ve never met in person, who were also in Woodward. We all met at the local Braum’s Ice Cream shop and had lunch, it was a pleasure to meet Kathryn & Dave in person.

After lunch, it was southward to Childress. It was a nice pleasant drive that brought us through Wheeler Texas, a little town which I’ve been through many times and ironically is the setting for a movie of which I’m the executive produce (Sixty Minutes to Midnight). Our director Neil Mackay had never actually been to Wheeler in person so I made sure to send him some quick photos showing this his pre-production research had paid off.

Wheeler Texas

Once we landed in Childress, we did the usual stuff, hit the store and grab some food. We actually booked out hotel at around 11:30AM before we had even left the Super 8 in Woodward, and it was good that we did. The hotel actually had chasers when we arrived at 5PM and by 8PM the place was an absolute zoo, which was a good thing. I ran into several chasers who I’ve spoken with over the years and then had the opportunity to meet a legend in the chase community, David Hoadley.

David Hoadley posing for a selfie

David was the original founder of Storm Track Magazine and essentially is known as the first recognize storm chaser. He essentially started it all as a professional photographer and has written about the ethics of chasing, photographing storms and many things over the years. In many ways he is a true legend within the community and I’m overjoyed to actually meet him in person. We had a brief 10 minute discussion and he was a wonderful person to talk to. He is also such a wealth of knowledge it is just phenomenal.

Now on to the serious stuff… tomorrow is a serious day. While I storm chase to see the amazing power of nature which is just mesmerizing there is the reality that things on high risk days can get out of hand quickly. My focus will be on the safety of our group, and to make educated, safe and intelligent choices to help us find out way to any potential tornadoes and do so without getting in trouble. Likewise MaryAnn will have the responsibility of safely driving the vehicle even in potentially adverse conditions. Safety is priority one, which means eyes on the road and eyes on skies. When there are this many chasers in a potentially small areas people do silly things and collisions, which can be serious are a possibility. Our goal is to avoid any such issues.

There is another thing storm chasers sometimes forget. On days where the risk is high and large long track tornadoes are expected, there is a high likelihood some people will lose their homes, properties and potentially their life. This is something I do not take lightly. I have witnessed enough devastating tornadoes to know what happens, I have seen enough communities wiped off to map to know the pain such devastation these events cause. I absolutely, do not wish for a tornado, I do not wish for anyone to get harmed. As a chaser, I’m going out there to see nature, I can’t stop it, I can perfectly predict it and I don’t with such devastation upon anyone. As a group there is an understanding that if we come upon tornado damage, we will render assistance as best as we can and we pray that people who may be in the path of these storms are spared any destruction.or loss.

So with that said, it weighs heavy on me knowing that tornado may be a day that changes some peoples lives and I hope that I’m wrong but fear that I will not be.