The Ultimate Mothership by Jessica Moore
Some storms truly leave us breathless...
This storm near Imperial, Nebraska on 5/27/2019 was one of those storms.
Jessica Moore and a few private tour guests began the day’s chase near Sterling, Colorado in the early afternoon. A few isolated storms began to develop and move eastward, so we tracked with the southernmost cell along eastbound Highway 6.
The storm intensified and grew in size rather quickly. It matured into a mesocyclone that exhibited strong mid-level rotation, and as the shear (changing wind speeds and direction with increasing height in the atmosphere) increased, the supercell began to sculpt and take shape. At one point I looked out my windshield and could see striations (layers) spinning above my head. This meant one thing to me: I needed to get east. And fast.
As they moved eastward ahead of the storm, quick glances backward over my shoulder revealed a storm that was truly massive in size. They were anxious to take photos, but knew they’d need to gain a sizeable lead on the storm so they could capture it in full frame.
As mentioned, Jessica was conducting a private storm chasing tour when she captured these images. This was day 1 of the tour. None of the guests were prepared for what they were about to witness as they pulled off along a dirt road to take photographs.
A tour guest photographs the amazing supercell as it creeps slowly toward the group.
The storm was mesmerizing. Something you truly had to witness in person to believe it was real, and even then, it was surreal to experience. They pulled along the side of a north/south road just outside the town of Imperial, Nebraska, to marvel as the storm drew nearer.
Soon, the storm was almost directly overhead. They were situated right in the “notch” of the beastly supercell - this is the region where inflow winds are being sucked into the storm’s updraft. It’s also directly in the path of the storm.
But Jessica knew the group was safe. She also knew this scene was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of scene, and she wanted her guests to capture the moment (of course, she wanted to as well). They fired away with their shutters as the inflow winds howled through the powerlines above their heads, creating the most haunting howling sound. It brought chills down Jessica’s spine and goosebumps along her skin.
This was the last photograph she captured before they made their escape northward into the storm’s hail core. This is actually a much safer escape route than diving south into the developing tornado that crossed that same road not long after they moved positions. The tornado was weak, but Jessica’s judgment call saved them from a potentially dangerous encounter.
The now-infamous Imperial supercell lends itself as a classic among storms over the last decade, with few (if any) storms that can compare in size and structure.
It was the type of storm that photographers and chasers alike dream of witnessing. Something so rare and incredible that you never want the moment, the experience to end. Even after grabbing a quick dinner in Imperial and moving onward toward a hotel, the dissipating storm continued to fire off magnificent anvil crawler lightning that stretched across the sky for miles in all directions.
The entire chase was perfect.
Written by Jessica Moore
