Multicellular convection makes for some photo ops and relief from the August heat.
This barely qualifies as a "chase" in my book. I headed out with the goal of enjoying and photographing whatever marginal storms occurred over the rural landscape rather than in pursuit of big severe weather, which was not in the cards this day. When I left Norman, the temperature was 100 degrees, so instability was not lacking; however, the wind profile was not supportive of supercells. A cluster of strong thunderstorms had developed north of I-40, so I headed up I-35, hearing a severe thunderstorm warning go up for Logan and Payne County on the way. I encountered significant wind gusts (strong enough to kick up quite a bit of dirt) ahead of the storms near Mulhall, where I got off the interstate; torrential rain quickly followed. After driving south and out of the initial storm, I stopped for some photos of the nice lighting provided by the storm clouds.
For the remainder of the afternoon, I meandered around the area between Guthrie and Kingfisher as scattered strong storms moved across the region. In Kingfisher, I shot some more clouds and a rainbow that had appeared to my east.
Finally, I began the short trip down US-81 to get on I-40 in El Reno, but stopped near Okarche to shoot more nice clouds and another rainbow.
A new storm had developed to my southwest, and by the time I reached El Reno, it was directly overhead. The result? I was stuck in some of the most torrential rain I've experienced in my life while attempting to drive east into OKC. With my wiper blades not doing a very good job, I was forced to slow down to 40 mph on the interstate (very unlike me) and put on my hazards. Not the most enjoyable drive home, but it was worth going out to get some pics after having spent the summer in meteorologically-boring Alabama.
