CHASE REPORT

JUNE 8, 2010
Peter Creedon
Chasing MCSs and squall lines is never fun. Often YOU are the
one being chased. I was still tired from getting back into town
from visiting my father in upstate New York the previous day (and
involved in a crash landing at Lambert to boot!) The action over
the previous night had consolidated into a potent squall line
that was impacting the Kansas City area. I headed out to I-70 and
headed west. Anywhere from Kingdom City to Columbia was to be my
target area for this line.
The sun was shining, but off to the west, I saw the white
cumulonimbi reflecting the suns light. By 8 AM I was in Warren
County. The line getting ever closer. Twenty minutes later I
crossed into Montgomery County. Once in Callaway County I exited
the highway at Kingdom City. The sky to the west of me was going
from battleship gray to black. The thunder became one constant
roll. At this point I decided to play a game of chase. I will
give the line this; there was an excellent shelf cloud. Im
surprised it wasnt warned and there were no watches issued.
The drive down 70 was full of torrential rain and semi-trucks
that were being blown all over the place. At one point, I had to
pull off to the side because of a truck bearing down on me. Upon
getting back on the highway I floored it and in about 45 minutes
time I was back in Saint Charles County. I decided to drive to
the Rec-Plex, a recreational facility to meet my mother and
siblings. She asked me if the chase was good. I told her that the
line was chasing me.
I went back to the house and looked at the NWS website and found
that they were going to issue a TOR watch for western Missouri. I
guess it looked like I was going to ride again. I gassed up the
truck and headed back to I-70 and headed west. I had a case of
dj vu as I headed west. I could see some action going up to my
west, possibly near Columbia, but the tower collapsed.
By 6 PM Columbia was getting the eastern end of a line. There
were a few flashes of lightning and a puff of wind. The action
was still to the west. I decided that instead of possibly risking
hitting a rain wrapped tornado, Id head back to St. Charles. The
rain stayed with me until I hit Danville. This was the second
time today I was on 70. My poor truck. Later that night at the
homestead we had some flashes of lightning and thats about it.