I’ve chased tornadoes for almost 25 years. And in that time, only one has ever chased me. It was, of course, the El Reno, OK tornado of 5/31/13. It was 2.6 miles at its widest, had winds > 300 mph, and moved faster than 50 mph. For the first... time, here is my full story: 1/25show more

To be honest, I really wasn't aware of how volatile it looked until it came. Reason being, the weather had been crazy. I'd been chasing more than a half-dozen times since May 18th. And frankly, I was exhausted. I wasn't very interested in forecasting. 2/25

But the day had arrived, and there was a lot of hype. So, obviously, I had to take a closer look. Extreme instability was a given over C OK. But the models now forecasted strong low-level shear to boot. This was the stuff of violent tornadoes. (SPC Day 1 - 1630 UTC) 3/25

The risk had already been assessed at Moderate. And the 1630 UTC outlook had created some buzz about an upgrade to High risk. I remember thinking: "This is like Greensburg -- except during the day." 4/25

The target for everyone was obvious: El Reno. Strong convergence associated with the dryline was implied over W OK -- particularly over Caddo and Washita Counties. Locations downstream of this source of lift were at greatest risk. 5/25

Three cells lined up from southwest to northeast. To me, it seemed like an easy choice: just pick the southern storm. 6/25

Around 4:45 p, the first rain-free base came into view a few miles southwest of Calumet. The storm was clearly consolidating to our west. A wall cloud began to slowly rotate. Cloud-to-lightning was nearly constant. 7/25

Almost an hour later, the first tornado formed where we’d first filmed. It was both rain-wrapped and dust-wrapped. The motion was spectacular. We filmed this segment just north of the intersection of Calumet and Reno roads. 8/25

To the south of the wedge, a well-formed funnel cloud spun. It didn't touch down. But it showed just how much spin was in the atmosphere. 9/25

Then, we got our first taste of deviant motion that day -- an omen of what was to come. The circulation surged to the south, and we had to bail east. 10/25

Just east of Reno and Heaston, we noticed that another circulation had rapidly formed SE of the first circulation. We stopped briefly to take a look. But it was surging too quickly as well, so we were forced to move. 11/25

We went east on Reno again, and pulled off on Brandley Road. The tornado formed. Time was 6:03 pm. 12/25

It quickly became obvious that the tornado wasn’t moving as expected. It wasn’t moving east. It was moving south. We were going to have to scram yet again. 13/25

But I became hypnotized by the tornado. It was putting on a kind of display I’d never seen. My chase partner, Tim, tried to persuade me to get going. It was too close. And cars were coming. 14/25

Fortunately, better sense prevailed. We retreated 1 mile east, then went south on Chiles Rd. To our west, the tornado continued its impressive multiple-vortex display. 15/25

Even so, the tornado was still uncomfortably close. And the driver in front of us was moving *very* slowly. He was in a big, extended cab pickup truck with a large trailer. To this day, I wonder what happened to him. 16/25

Finally at 15th street, we found our east escape route. Yet, almost impossibly, the tornado was *still* on our latitude. We weren't chasing it. It was chasing us. 17/25

Now fully comprehending what was happening, we drove as fast as possible. With the tornado on our heels, Tim accelerated to 60 mph. Instinctively, I turned the video camera off. It was too stressful. We shifted in the inflow. I prayed we wouldn’t lose control. 18/25

As we neared Highway 81 on 15th, I turned the camera back on. The tornado was directly behind us, and closing. But I had no idea how close. Tim believed we'd finally escaped it. But I wasn't so sure. 19/25

As we turned south onto Highway 81 from 15th, the tornado was closer than ever. But it was now a large, black wedge. A line of chaser lights traced back into the funnel. 20/25

Then, the whole circulation filled in – to our southwest. And, if that wasn’t enough, 2 Oklahoma Highway Patrol cars were blocking the *southbound* lane. We didn’t care: this was life or death. So we passed the road block and turned east. One officer followed. 21/25

Now going east on 29th Street, our escape route was blocked again. This time, by a garbage truck. I thought for sure, this was it. 22/25

But then, almost miraculously (for us), the tornado disappeared to the north. It was right next to us the whole time. And then it was several miles way in a moment. Sadly, this was when Twistex was hit. 23/25

Traumatized by the experience, we kept driving. And we kept driving until we were 7 or 8 miles away. We stopped, and caught our final view of the violently rotating mass. 24/25

Here is the route we took that day. All told, we spent more than 15 minutes in the direct path of the tornado. 25/25