April 25-26 Chase: The Sycamore, KS Tornadoes
- GK Naill
- Apr 26
- 5 min read
Updated: May 21
Starting around a week before, we started noticing a setup in the OK/KS/MO area from April 24-28. Multiple models agreed, and it looked powerful. Some runs showed high CAPE, high shear, and the perfect amount of moisture and CINH. In the days leading up, we eventually decided on going out from Saturday to Monday. Saturday was looking to be the warm-up, Sunday was looking to be calmer, and Monday was looking to be the big day.
And every chase (obviously) has to have a theme song/album that I just play on repeat for no reason. This chase was Noah Kahan's new album "The Great Divide."
April 25: Oklahoma
Models showed late-afternoon storms developing over the OKC area, with a chance of strong tornadoes. The SPC gave a hail-driven MDT (4/5) risk and a CIG2 10% TOR risk.
We woke up at 5 AM and drove 9 hours to the target in Oklahoma City. We got there just as the storms started to go up. We got on a storm near Ada, OK, and went to adjust our position.
However, the environment wasn't that happy with us. Rain-wrapped/HP storms are common, where, while it is a soggy mess, you can still see the storm. How about storm chasing inside of fog? We tried to keep up with the storm, but the fog was making it hard to see, and to see a tornado, we would have to get uncomfortably close.
We keep driving for a bit, then eventually decide to stop at a gas station in Wapanucka, OK, and review the situation.
We felt that the day was likely going to be a bust. However, some new cells popped up on radar, and I just had a feeling about them. I was saying that we should try to get onto them in case they end up doing anything, since they were in an area where they can tap into unused instability, shear, and moisture. Then they started doing something.
The storms exploded and began to organize into supercells. We drove south and got out of the fog, and we could see the structure for the second time that day, and it looked mean.
The storm had just a couple tornado warnings. Do you think there might be a tornado?
We then drove around the storms and found an area to pull off north of Tishomingo, OK. It was dark out at this point, but in the lightning we could see something going on.
There was a visible lowering inside of the flashes, and we thought we had it. We sat in the dark and watched the storm.
Sadly, nothing produced. But the lightning was intense. We decided to stay at a hotel in Sherman, TX, for the night, which would let us drive and continue the chase if something happened (hint: nothing did).
We got to the hotel and fell asleep. Then, at 5 in the morning, we were woken up. We were getting hit by the only storm in existence, right over our hotel, and it was severely warned.
The perfect warm-up for the next day.
April 26: Kansas
We went into this day not expecting too much to happen. The SPC downgraded the Tornado risk to a CIG1 5% (from a CIG1 10% the day before), and the models were showing storms going up super late into the night. However, the soundings still look strong, so IF we can get an early storm, we will at least see something. I vividly remember Stevens saying, "I'll call it a success if we even get some lightning."
Oh, how wrong we were.
We stopped and stayed out at a Love's in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and sat there for a while. Eventually, we saw some storms forming in Southern Kansas, then the SPC expanded the tornado watch to include just those storms, so we knew we had ours. We drove an hour up, and the storms were beginning to organize into supercells as mean as any, but they weren't producing yet. We adjusted to heading towards Independence, Kansas, then continued north to 2 miles south of Sycamore, and we found our road—County Road 5400 (beautiful name)
We pulled in, looked to our west, and we saw it: a multiple-vortex tornado on the ground. It's like the storm was waiting for us before it tornadoed. Vortices rose and fell, and it looked beautiful. I reported it, which led to the issuance of a PDS Tornado Warning.
The RFD then came in and started wrapping around, cutting into the cloud base, and giving the rain shafts a beautiful teal-turquoise color. Little did we know that the multiple-vortex tornado was older, and a new tornado was actively developing. As the storm approached, some people came in and pulled in behind us.
The RFD was getting scarily close, so we decided it was time to pull out and adjust the positioning. It took the people behind us a bit to get their stuff together and to realize what was happening, but once they left, we went to pull out.
And as we pulled out, we suddenly heard a bang. Lightning, striking (an estimated) ~287 feet away. Using the 360 camera on the roof and correlating it with map imagery, we were able to estimate the distance of the flash.
On the camera, the distance may not look as close because it is an ultra-wide-angle lens, which distorts the image. (Think of taking 0.5s of your friends; it gives a similar effect.)
We were able to pull out, then we got stuck in the world-famous Chaser Convergence™. The RFD caught up to us, and its curtains were genuinely awe-inspiring. We had some tiny hail pebbles hit the car, but thankfully nothing too big (unlike the hail in the core).
We return to Independence and pull over for a minute to take a break. Then the sirens (finally!) start. The tornado is already far past the town, but thanks for the heads-up!
We go and adjust the positioning some more, then pull off near an exit, away from the nearby citizens, trying to get a glimpse of the tornado. We can't see too much, but we do see a lowering. And a WHOLE lot of lightning. Steven's getting the lightning he was asking for!
We don't see any other tornadoes, but we adjust positioning once again to keep up with the storm. It's getting dark out now, and the lightning is still striking almost constantly.
As we listen to the radio, we hear reports coming in of another tornado near Altamont, KS. However, we were not in a good position to see it. We continue sitting in place for a bit longer, then we finally decide to head to our hotel for the night. There were some storms nearby, but thankfully, our hotel was not hit.
April 27: Missouri
I know, I said it was for the 25-26th. We did go out on the 27th, and it was looking to be a major outbreak, but we saw nothing and it didn't verify, so let's just pretend nothing happened.
Conclusion
This chase did essentially the exact opposite of what we expected. The 2 days that looked good turned out to be busts, and the day that wasn't looking amazing brought us 2 tornadoes, an EF1 and an EF2!
While chasing, always expect the unexpected (both in the short and long term). On this chase, I got a whole bunch of amazing footage and one of my new favorite pictures. It's one that I won't forget.
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