AccuWeather Storm Chaser Aaron Jayjack was in Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma over the past weekend capturing the catastrophic tornadoes that devastated many of those communities.
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00:00And joining us right now is storm chaser Aaron Jayjack, and Aaron was in Nebraska, Iowa, and Oklahoma over the past weekend capturing footage of the catastrophic tornadoes that devastated many in those communities.
00:12Aaron, I was working on Friday when Lincoln, Nebraska faced a fierce tornado. Funnel clouds silently passed over downtown and then it touched down, and some of the footage that you captured was just amazing along Interstate 80 right after touchdown.
00:28So tell us about that experience.
00:31Yeah, so Friday I was tracking those storms, storm system there in southeastern Nebraska, and an arc of supercells started erupting out in the west of Lincoln as was forecast.
00:43I was tracking those storms towards Lincoln, and it looked like this was going to be that first storm that really produced a tornado as it came into Lincoln, and Lincoln got lucky.
00:54It did plant just to the northeast of Lincoln. I was tracking along on I-80. I saw the tornado moving along the interstate.
01:02It was one of those rare cases of the storm chaser where I was actually quite an easy intercept as this tornado tracked right along the interstate.
01:10But I knew based on the way the interstate turned, that tornado was eventually going to cross the interstate, so my goal is to get those amazing shots for the public to see what these tornadoes can do.
01:19So I was able to get right up next to that tornado, and basically just had to make sure I didn't drive into any debris while I was taking that video that you're watching right now.
01:27And one of the most impressive things about this video is the debris that you can see around the perimeter and another concentric ring outside the condensation funnel, almost like a drill bit there over the farmland.
01:39But we can see the little flecks of roofing materials or metal or whatever that is.
01:45So what did that sound like? I know you were in a moving vehicle, but what was the experience like for you? What were you seeing or hearing as that occurred?
01:53Yeah, you could definitely hear the roar of that tornado. You know, they get noisier when they pick up debris. You can hear all that debris smacking around inside that tornado.
02:02And one of the things that happened as I came up on the trail, I was tracking the tornado across the interstate. I went through the path of the tornado as I was watching debris come ripping across the interstate, trying to make sure I didn't get hit by any of that debris.
02:15And then I saw a semi-tractor trailer flipped over in the interstate. I stopped and checked on him, and that guy was okay. He was standing up inside the cab of his semi on its side.
02:29He was okay. You know, I'm sure that was a harrowing experience for him. I'm not sure what happened. I'm wondering if maybe the inflow winds were so powerful for that tornado that it knocked him over and then maybe spun him around inside the tornado.
02:42But thankfully, he was okay. I was able to continue on with the chase. And then, you know, that was just the start of that Friday outbreak.
02:51It seems like every supercell that came through the area as it crossed into Iowa started producing tornadoes as well. I was on a big wedge tornado from Shelby, Iowa, to Tennant, Iowa area.
03:01I went towards Harlan, Iowa, hit multiple homes. I came across a home there where people, they were okay. Their home was badly damaged. Propane was spewing out of a tank there in their yard.
03:11But thankfully, they were okay. But unfortunately, that tornado continued to move on deeper into Iowa and direct hit on a town there in Iowa. Caused some pretty bad damage there, sweeping homes off their foundation.
03:22And I did hear some reports, you know, there were some Doppler on wheels vehicles there tracking the tornado as well, that storm. And they were able to measure 220 mile per hour winds in that tornado.
03:32Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that tornado will be rated with those winds we measured at, but I just showed you that this was a powerful storm, powerful tornadoes and powerful storm system that ripped across the Great Plains and the Midwest this weekend.
03:44And you're in Sulphur, Oklahoma now because you ended up there over the weekend. Tell us about your Oklahoma intercepts.
03:53Yeah, so after the Nebraska chase, you know, the Saturday was actually looked like the bigger day than Friday, but down a little bit further south, down into Kansas, down into Oklahoma.
04:03So after the Friday chase, I headed south on Saturday into Oklahoma, began tracking storms south of Oklahoma City that were trying to get going.
04:12They were struggling a little bit with the capping inversion, that warm layer of air loft that kind of acts like a lid on the atmosphere.
04:19So they're kind of struggling, the storms are struggling, but unfortunately, the atmosphere became conducive to very bad, strong tornadoes in the nighttime hour.
04:29So as this line of storms came up, I-44 out of Texas towards Oklahoma City, supercells out ahead of that line started initiating firing and moving up into Oklahoma.
04:40And then it was basically a night of twisters. It was unleashed here in central to eastern Oklahoma, Ardmore, here in Sulphur, and a little bit further to the north.
04:50Just one tornado after another, causing extreme catastrophic damage here, as you can see, in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
04:56Right in the downtown area. Aaron J. Jack, we really appreciate your insight, the footage that you shared, and everything else.
05:01So thanks again, Aaron J. Jack, a great reporting there from Sulphur, Oklahoma.