The day dawned chilly and filled with cloud across Denver, hinting little at what lay ahead for the day. Storms looked set to fire over a wide area from Colorado southwards through Oklahoma and into the Texas Panhandle. The trick of the day was deciding where to head to. Despite having a hunch that a 450 mile drive to Texas would be of most benefit, we noted the SPC's forecast of a Moderate Risk of severe weather closer to us in southern Colorado, and decided to head there instead.

After picking up Helen's weather instrument from downtown Denver, we hit the road with Bren behind the wheel. After a couple of hour's worth of driving southeast on the I-70, we arrived in Limon (CO) and set up in a truck stop for a couple of hours. The first storm of the day fired to our southwest by early afternoon, and we took the opportunity to drive a few miles west of Limon to get a good view. The storm exhibited some decent structure at times and produced some heavy rain and lightning. Perhaps the most memorable part of this particular storm was standing beneath power cables that literally buzzed with static electricity during the build-up to each lightning strike, falling silent again once the strike had occurred. The storm began to weaken, despite showing some weak supercell characteristics, so we continued our drive southeast towards Kit Carsen.

By evening time, there was a line of thunderstorms stretching SW to NE through eastern Colorado, Oklahoma and into the Texas Panhandle, many of which were severe or tornado warned. After driving eastwards through a weak part of this line, we rocked up next to a developing severe thunderstorm between Kit Carsen and Lamar. We attempted to stop several times but, each time, new cells developed overhead and quickly dropped rain and small hail. Eventually, we settled up in a spot with superb views of the line of storms, stretching from north around to west. One storm became severe/tornado warned as we watched and there were a number of lowerings (though we can't confirm seeing a tornado). Gust fronts from the west threatened to engulf us but, just before arriving, the setting sun in the west managed to undercut the rain/hail shafts giving quite the most unreal light. Lightning was continuous and mostly within the cloud, making these storms beautiful to look at.

Time was getting on and we still had 250 miles to reach our hotel in Amarillo, Texas. We therefore decided to make the drive south, leaving the storms that were all becoming tornado warned. After stopping for a Burger King in Lamar, we continued southwards, passing through a nice little thunderstorm on the way. However, as we approached Dumas in Texas (already under tornado warnings earlier in the day) another increasingly severe thunderstorm was approaching. On the approach to Dumas, we encountered torrential rain and marble sized hail. Given the radar echoes approaching, we decided to shelter under a garage forecourt canopy - a vital move. Hail unloaded just after we arrived, becoming 1.5-1.75" in diameter (a little smaller than golfballs). Despite being under cover, some of the large hail manage to bounce under the canopy, denting our car and hitting us! Lightning was frequent and impressive and the winds really picked up, making this post-midnight storm all the more threatening. After leaving us, the storm became tornado-warned... a lucky escape for us, perhaps.

After our introduction to large hail, we eventually arrivied in our hotel in Amarillo and hit the sack at around 3am local time. The next day was looking huge weatherwise, so we needed some sleep, and fast!