Driving South
Abandoned Chase

May 19, 2026 Oklahoma / Texas Partly Cloudy Skies 432 miles driven
© 2026 Bob Conzemius / TornadoBob.com
Chase route
Track
Waypoint
Point of interest
Forecast setup

The Setup

A cold front was driving southward through Texas. We had just had two tornado days in a row, but we had another risk area to our south. The potential along the warm front was less than what it had been the prior two days. Also, the drive was a really long one to get into position. Nonetheless, we started driving south and monitored the forecast to see if there was a chance for us to chase today.

The Chase

We monitored the HRRR forecasts, satellite, and radar during the morning and early afternoon. It quickly became apparent that development of storms would occur south of areas we could reach today. Instead of continuing south toward San Angelo or Sweetwater, we turned west and went to Amarillo. We at dinner at the Big Texan and prepared for the possibility of thunderstorms the next day over the Texas panhandle, although the risk really wasn't that great.

The HRRR forecast and a radar image of the resulting storm (which was out of our range to the south) are shown below

Barb wire museum
The barb wire museum in McLean, Texas.
HRRR forecast
HRRR forecast for storms today.
radar image
Radar image of the resulting storm.
Photo slideshow
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