In what was one of the only dryline/triple point setups of the year, I happened to time some PTO just right to give this day a go and I’m so glad I did!

On the Southern Plains, the very biggest days are dryline driven, especially for photogenic storms and tornadoes. Anytime I see a dryline meeting up with a front at what’s known as the Triple Point, I take notice and prepare my chasing boots (really sneakers but shhhhh).

For April 23, 2021, the key to me was being on the storm near the triple point to let that enhanced vorticity do its thing. In terms of forecasting/chasing, this wasn’t THAT hard of a storm chase. It might’ve been easy to get suckered south in previous eras of storm chasing, but knowing what we now know, this was an easy call to stay with the dominant north cell which was also the only classic cell of the bunch.

The first tornado occurred miles from me near Crowell and I honestly was worried I witnessed a one-and-done storm for a bit where I would’ve been woefully out of position for the magic stuff. But the low-level jet was cranking and there was no stopping this storm from continuing on its rampage. What followed was a short tornadofest from Lockett, Texas, to near Vernon, Texas, with four more subsequent tornadoes in rapid-fire fashion with two of them being the most incredible white cones you’d ever hope to see.

Overall, I’m pretty sure this was my favorite chase day of the year. I have been chasing a long time and I haven’t gotten a chance to see many beautiful white cones over the years so this was a treat. Unfortunately, two of these tornadoes did cause some damage but were well warned thanks to the work of storm spotters and chasers on the ground as well as meteorologists at the National Weather Service.

Give this day a look!

0:00-0:30 Intro
0:30-1:33 Morning routines
1:33-1:55 Meeting up with Brandon and Brett
1:55-3:10 Initial views of our storm
3:10-3:27 Pretty LP south
3:27-4:32 First tornado
4:32-5:17 Dusty twin tornadoes
5:17-6:57 First white cone
6:57-8:27 Second white cone
8:27-9:48 What a day