I wasn’t going to chase today. My plan was to watch it on radar and relax. Right after I posted the first tornado warning at 5:21 PM, all hell broke loose. A tornado was reported on the ground near Westport moving to the east, towards Tulsa.
I jumped in the truck without my chase gear (mistake) and headed north. I stopped at I-244 when radar showed the storm cell tracking east along the highway. It was 5:34pm.
I had to move south a couple of times to get out of the path. One short stop was at 11th and Garnett. Still not far enough south. My next stop was at Garnett and I-44 at the QT. My last stop was on 41st street, west of Garnett. 7 miles from the starting point.
The tornadic part of the storm had moved to the east, towards Catoosa, Claremore and Inola.
I headed home at 6:45 pm. An intense hour for sure.
Once home, I began getting reports of major damage in Sand Springs, and the heartbreaking news of injuries and a fatality. That’s the one thing I hate to hear.
Lessons learned? Might be a couple.
- Get the gear ready. It’s not too early.
- Check camera settings.
- Check time on camera (spring forward, right?).
- Have the right lens on the camera.
- Charge the batteries. (duh).
- Shoot some video.
- Don’t chase in Tulsa during rush hour. (brilliant).
Besides the pictures I posted to my Twitter account, I shot these along the way.