The chase all started off with work until 4:30 PM CDT (something that proved to
be a integral part in this day's unfortunate shortcomings). After finally
making it home around 5 PM and checking out some radar
imagery, I figured "what the heck" and gave thumbs-up to a short chase.
Because of work that day, I was unable to get to central Illinois, my
first destination/target aspiration...where several tornadoes did
touchdown in the late afternoon. Anyway, after getting organized and running
out the door, I knew the chase was doomed from the start because of fading
daylight.
Once out of Owensboro, I got on the Audubon Parkway and traveled west
toward Henderson, KY. During this leg of the trip, I saw some great
mammatus and the entire body of a huge, tornadic supercell, located just
north of the Paducah, KY area (QUITE a ways off to the SW), against the
backdrop of a bright evening sunset. I didn't get any of my own pictures,
however, here is a pic I
found on the NWS Paducah, KY's web site...I am nearly positive this is the
same supercell...it sure looks like it. Anyway, when I got to Henderson, I
merged onto US Highway 41 and traveled north to Evansville, IN.
When I reached Evansville, my main objective (at that point) was to
keep heading north to try getting to the storms that were supposedly
producing tornadoes in S.E. Illinois (just north and west of Evansville)
before sunset. This tactic was to fail as daylight continued fading
rapidly and quickening storm speed cut me off in Evansville. During this
time, the NWS was issuing tornado warning after tornado warning
(it seemed that a half to two-thirds of the counties in S.E. Illinois and
S.W. Indiana were under a tornado warning at some point or another). I
had never heard the weather radio alert so many times in such a short time.
Anyway, while I was maneuvering my way through Evansville, a tornado
warning came down for Gibson County, Indiana (just one county to the
north). I kept trying to fight my way north in the traffic on US41 but
time was quickly running out. Soon afterward, a tornado warning came
down for Posey County, Indiana (one county to the west). This was MUCH
more desirable since it was closer, easier to get to, AND the storm's
motion would work FOR me (it moving east while I began to head west)
instead of against. So, I jostled my track around a bit in Evansville
and began my westward venture to Posey Co. on Indiana Highway 62.
By this time it was easily 8:45 PM and thick convective "blow-off"
streaming overhead blotted out even more of what was left of the setting
Sun. By the time I got to Posey Co., it was dark. I almost made it to S.
Illinois (I stopped just west of Mount Vernon, IN...nearly the Illinois
border) before I started to turn around and head home...having seen
nothing (other than a rather impressive lightning display) and smack-dab
in the dreads of darkness. Surprisingly, it was at this point when things
began to get interesting...
I headed back eastward on IN62 toward Evansville. The
entire way I was located in a "convective hole" of sorts with storms to
the west (behind), east (in front), and to the north (left) of me. In
Evansville I hit US41 south and began the trek home...or so I thought.
Once I got into the southern sections of Evansville, the NWS in Paducah
issued a severe t-storm warning for Henderson County Kentucky...directly
across the river (the county I was headed to into order to get back on the
Audubon Pkwy and the road home). "How interesting," I thought... Before I
hit the twin bridges across the Ohio River...linking Henderson and
Evansville...I ran into a "wall" of extremely heavy rain. As I continued
south, though at a much reduced speed, the ol' familiar "Welcome To
Kentucky" sign came into view. Just as I crossed the "state line", the NWS in
Paducah sounded the weather alert again and announced that they had
upgraded the severe t-storm warning in Henderson County to a tornado
warning. Paraphrasing from the warning, there were "strong doppler radar
indications of a tornado entering Henderson County from northern Union County
[west]." Two thoughts occurred to me at this point...one, this was way too
serendipitous and, two, I was going to die! Chasing tornadoes at night
was not my idea of a safe endeavor. Regardless, I kept plowing my way
into the storm. As I made it into the city of Henderson, the rain and wind
picked up tremendously...visibility, for all intensive purpose, was nil.
Tornado sirens were blaring loudly through town. The wind continued
howling out of the north with lighting striking at CLOSE ranges
all around. From what the weather radio said, any tornado would be moving
near a town called Smith Mills (about 10 miles west of the city of
Henderson) within 10 minutes and would then possibly effect the southern
parts of Henderson city within 25 minutes. I had little time to play
with.
In the heavy downpour, I turned west on US Highway 60 toward Smith Mills.
I had hoped to break out of the downdraft somewhere between Smith Mills
and Henderson so I could get into a position to view and follow any
updraft type structures (i.e., wall cloud, funnel, tornado...whatever)
with lightning providing visual aid. The storm was just too
fierce...forcing me to pull off the road at a gas station west of
Henderson. Since wind was blowing out of the north, I figured any
rotation had to be (safely) just to my south or southeast. Soon
afterward, the rain stopped rather abruptly...just as the NWS said the
rotation was supposed to be nearing Henderson. At this point I began to
see probable power flashes off to the south and southeast...a TELL-TALE
sign of, at least, pretty strong winds. I waited around and cruised a few
parking lots, trying to get a good view of the back edge of the storm.
Completely clear skies and stars were noted west and I could view the
storm's entire updraft from my vantage-point. When I got a good view of
it, I raced east on US60 and tried to get to the Audubon Pkwy/US41
exchange. While I was still several miles back on US60...reports were
coming in on the radio of a possible tornado on the ground near or just
south of the intersections of US41 and the Audubon Pkwy. The storm kept
blazing eastward. Finally breaking out of the urban flooding in
Henderson, I hit the Audubon Pkwy and raced east to keep up with the
storm.
As it turns out, the rotation had weakened
considerably since it had been over central Henderson County (when I was
still stuck on US60...west of Henderson...observing power flashes to the
south/south-east). Still, I traveled east on the Audubon. I
did note a possible wall cloud and some interesting low-hanging type
clouds on the tail S.W. side of the storm while I was on the Audubon
Pkwy just east of Henderson. No definitive funnel or, for
sure, no tornado. The storm was, however, aimed straight for Owensboro
(home). So, it was probably a good thing it wasn't producing a
tornado...or O'boro would have been hit dead-on. It was an interesting
experience, though, which helped add some adrenaline to an otherwise
ruined chase. I followed the storm back home...where the chase
eventually drew to a close.
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Last Updated: September 3, 1998