Chase LogI wasn’t really planning on chasing today, but the SPC teased me with the first morning Day 1 and the moderate risk that it plotted. The next 2 outlooks ended up moving the threat further east and south, but I wasn’t giving up hope yet. They issued a mesoscale discussion for eastern IL and western/central Indiana stating a possible watch was in the works. Satellite showed a nice clear slot pushing into IL and the upper level low was heading this way. Luckily things at work were going real slow, so I was able to sneak out early and prepare for a possible chase. The first severe cells were down in Perry/Washington county and were hauling it to the northeast. My plan was to head south and then jog east/south to intercept them.

I departed a little after 2:00pm and stopped to top off the gas tank. ($2.29/gal) I headed south on I-57 until I reached Mattoon. I decided to head east on Rt 16 till I got to Charleston. (go EIU!) After struggling through traffic, I made my way out of town a few miles. I heard a broken transmission on the scanner reporting a tornado on the ground in Macon county. I quickly pulled off the road and called my pal Mike Cox for an update. He said it looked like junk on radar, but said the warning stated there was a confirmed tornado on the ground. I decided to get back online and check this for myself. The stuff I was originally going for south of me seemed to be moving at a pretty good clip. I said the heck with it and decided to head back west and then north.

Once back on I-57, I checked radar again and noticed the stuff in Macon county was dying out but some new cells were popping up right north of me. When I intercepted them, they were nothing but heavy rain. Nothing else was looking worth a hoot in the area, so I decided to call it a chase. I headed back home and arrived back in Champaign around 4:45pm.

Chase Summary:
Well I didn’t see much out there, but it was better than sitting at home. Thanks to Mike Cox, Andrew Pritchard, and Skip Talbot for keeping tabs on me out there. Hopefully May will bring some better stuff our way.