June 16, 2023
Statistics
Initial Target
Start
End
Storm Intercepts
Tornadoes
Hail
Wind
Features
Miles
Lamar, CO
Elk City, OK 10:26 AM 6/16/2023
Lamar, CO 9:34 PM 6/16/2023
Timpas, CO
0
0"
0 mph
Updraft Base, RFD Clear Slot
514
Summary
Marginal upslope play in se CO, targeting Lamar for afternoon supercells. Intercepted high based cells southwest of town noting textured rain free base, RFD clear slots and some broad rotation, but cells looked too high or partially elevated to be tornado producers.
Crew and Equipment
Chase partners: Jennifer Brindley Ubl. Equipment: Sony AX100, Canon 60D with EFS 10-22, Samsung S9.
Video
Details

We departed Elk City, OK, where we had ended the previous day’s chase, making for a Lamar, CO target. We stopped on the north side of town to wait for storms to organize with some high based showers in the vicinity. Cells coming off the foothills on the New Mexico/Colorado border looked most promising so we ran west and south out of La Junta to head them off.
A high contrast storm with textured base approached from the west. An RFD clear slot opened in the back of the cell with twisting and churning motion. Yet the cell was also quite high based and looked like it may have been partially elevated as well, a common issue in the often drier and cooler High Plains. We had one good north south paved option and watched for several minutes before storm motion eventually pushed us further south.



Conclusion
We got some pretty shots and some supercell structure out of this chase, but thsi was a borderline bust with cells that looked cold and high. Still, it was a marginal setup so our expectations were a lot lower than the bases.
Lessons Learned