| All rights reserved. |
5/12/04 Report Continued...
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Loaded Gun Chasing
website of storm chaser Mikey Gribble
website of storm chaser Mikey Gribble
The tornado roped out after about 15 minutes. To the right is a
picture of the tornado a few minutes before it roped out. I tried to
drive in closer to the tornado, but right after I got within a half mile
or so the tornado fell apart completely. I barely got the camera on in
time to catch the last remnants of it roping out.
After that I turned around and started heading back to the East
where a new mesocyclone had developed near the town of Attica. I
got pounded by some big hail when I was trying to get back ahead
of the storm. I never got out of the car, but my best guess on the
hail size was mostly golf ball with some close to baseball mixed in. I
had a few huge dents in my car from that. As I approached Attica I
got stuck behind the DOW. To the right is a picture of the DOW in
front of me with hail falling.
I stopped just east of Attica where the new mesocyclone had
formed. There was fairly good rotation at this time, but it wasn't
real impressive. The updraft base had that really nice bowl shape to
it. Below are a few pictures of the updraft base.
picture of the tornado a few minutes before it roped out. I tried to
drive in closer to the tornado, but right after I got within a half mile
or so the tornado fell apart completely. I barely got the camera on in
time to catch the last remnants of it roping out.
After that I turned around and started heading back to the East
where a new mesocyclone had developed near the town of Attica. I
got pounded by some big hail when I was trying to get back ahead
of the storm. I never got out of the car, but my best guess on the
hail size was mostly golf ball with some close to baseball mixed in. I
had a few huge dents in my car from that. As I approached Attica I
got stuck behind the DOW. To the right is a picture of the DOW in
front of me with hail falling.
I stopped just east of Attica where the new mesocyclone had
formed. There was fairly good rotation at this time, but it wasn't
real impressive. The updraft base had that really nice bowl shape to
it. Below are a few pictures of the updraft base.
The rotation in the updraft base began to increase and it wasn't long before a funnel formed and dust
started getting picked up at the ground. Below are pictures of the funnel.
started getting picked up at the ground. Below are pictures of the funnel.
Now here is where I made the biggest mistake of my storm chasing career. The rotation continued to
increase rapidly and I knew a stong tornado was highly likely, so I decided it was time to get out of the
way. I was parked just North of the tornado about a quarter mile, so I moved East down the highway
about a half mile, that way I had an escape route if the tornado came at me. It had been sitting
stationary up to this point. Well right after I moved the tornado did in fact become strong. It was later
classified as an F3. Anyways, as soon as the tornado strengthened and filled in to be an ominous
wedge/stove pipe, it started moving North. I was looking West down the highway as the tornado
started to cross the highway. It was awesome video. I was zoomed in (even though I was only a half
mile away) watching the debris getting picked up at the ground. I was balancing the camera on the
wheel well of my Jeep to ensure a steady shot at the time. The tornado literally picked up a house right
in front of me. The video of it has been all over the place, so you've probably seen it. That wasn't my
video though because I forgot to hit record on my camera. I taped a whole lot of nothing on that
tornado. When I realized that I hadn't hit record I turned the camera on, but the tornado was roping
out at that point (pictures below). One of my biggest goals in chasing is to get amazing video and a
house getting picked up by a tornado at close range is about as amazing as it gets, but I screwed it
up. I will never forgive myself for that huge error. To add insult to injury I saw video on CNN the next
day of the house getting hit. The camera man zooms out after the house gets hit and parked down
the road in front of him is me balancing my camera on the wheel well. I'm such a dumbass.
increase rapidly and I knew a stong tornado was highly likely, so I decided it was time to get out of the
way. I was parked just North of the tornado about a quarter mile, so I moved East down the highway
about a half mile, that way I had an escape route if the tornado came at me. It had been sitting
stationary up to this point. Well right after I moved the tornado did in fact become strong. It was later
classified as an F3. Anyways, as soon as the tornado strengthened and filled in to be an ominous
wedge/stove pipe, it started moving North. I was looking West down the highway as the tornado
started to cross the highway. It was awesome video. I was zoomed in (even though I was only a half
mile away) watching the debris getting picked up at the ground. I was balancing the camera on the
wheel well of my Jeep to ensure a steady shot at the time. The tornado literally picked up a house right
in front of me. The video of it has been all over the place, so you've probably seen it. That wasn't my
video though because I forgot to hit record on my camera. I taped a whole lot of nothing on that
tornado. When I realized that I hadn't hit record I turned the camera on, but the tornado was roping
out at that point (pictures below). One of my biggest goals in chasing is to get amazing video and a
house getting picked up by a tornado at close range is about as amazing as it gets, but I screwed it
up. I will never forgive myself for that huge error. To add insult to injury I saw video on CNN the next
day of the house getting hit. The camera man zooms out after the house gets hit and parked down
the road in front of him is me balancing my camera on the wheel well. I'm such a dumbass.
After this point it's kind of a blur. The next tornado was a weak rope that touched down South of
me about a mile. It didn't last more than five minutes or so. Below are pictures.
me about a mile. It didn't last more than five minutes or so. Below are pictures.
After this tornado a big dirt filled stove pipe formed South of the highway a little less than a mile. I
was going East down the highway trying to stay ahead of it when a satellite tornado dropped down
right in front of me. Now after numerous years of chasing and a lot of experience with tornadoes
this wouldn't scare me, but at the time it scared the shit out of me. I had a big stove pipe over my
right shoulder, a satellite tornado 75 yards in front of me, and a second satellite tornado to my
right. I didn't know if the satellite tornado would quickly strengthen or what, so I threw my car in
reverse and started backing up down the highway to get away from it. Nobody was on the road
close to me, so it wasn't a problem. Below are pictures of the satellite tornado crossing the road in
front of me and below that are pictures of the stove pipe tornado that was behind me.
was going East down the highway trying to stay ahead of it when a satellite tornado dropped down
right in front of me. Now after numerous years of chasing and a lot of experience with tornadoes
this wouldn't scare me, but at the time it scared the shit out of me. I had a big stove pipe over my
right shoulder, a satellite tornado 75 yards in front of me, and a second satellite tornado to my
right. I didn't know if the satellite tornado would quickly strengthen or what, so I threw my car in
reverse and started backing up down the highway to get away from it. Nobody was on the road
close to me, so it wasn't a problem. Below are pictures of the satellite tornado crossing the road in
front of me and below that are pictures of the stove pipe tornado that was behind me.
BTW if you watch the storms of 2004 DVD, I'm the jackass that
turns around in the middle of the highway and I did that to get out
of the way of that satellite tornado. Nobody was close by when I
did it, so it was no big deal, but on the DVD the girl in the car says
"watch out for this car".
turns around in the middle of the highway and I did that to get out
of the way of that satellite tornado. Nobody was close by when I
did it, so it was no big deal, but on the DVD the girl in the car says
"watch out for this car".
I stayed on the storm for another hour or so after dark and watched one more big wedge tornado
that ended up being an F4. It was pretty eerie. You could only see the wedge when there was
lightning. The inflow going towards it was insane and I knew at the time it was a violent tornado. It
leveled one house, but luckily nobody was killed. I did a live call in on the 9PM news while that tornado
was on the ground and reported on it. This was a huge day for me. I did over a dozen call-ins on air
for KWCH and got my start in chasing for and selling video to the media. There ended up being 11
tornadoes reported from this storm. It was a phenomenal chase that I will never forget. I still
remember how pumped I was the next day when I kept getting phone calls from friends about how
they had seen me on tv the night before. I had busted my ass for more than two years trying to get
tornadoes and on this day I felt like I had turned a huge corner in my chasing career. Anyways, this
was definitely one of my most memorable chases and I'm sure it always will be.
that ended up being an F4. It was pretty eerie. You could only see the wedge when there was
lightning. The inflow going towards it was insane and I knew at the time it was a violent tornado. It
leveled one house, but luckily nobody was killed. I did a live call in on the 9PM news while that tornado
was on the ground and reported on it. This was a huge day for me. I did over a dozen call-ins on air
for KWCH and got my start in chasing for and selling video to the media. There ended up being 11
tornadoes reported from this storm. It was a phenomenal chase that I will never forget. I still
remember how pumped I was the next day when I kept getting phone calls from friends about how
they had seen me on tv the night before. I had busted my ass for more than two years trying to get
tornadoes and on this day I felt like I had turned a huge corner in my chasing career. Anyways, this
was definitely one of my most memorable chases and I'm sure it always will be.