Springer, Oklahoma tornado: April 22, 2020

I waited until almost lunchtime to leave Oklahoma City, as I wanted to make sure I had the right target in mind and didn’t potentially overshoot, considering that North Texas as an option. Around 11:15 a.m. I left and headed south on I-35.

I was really torn between targeting North Texas and south-central Oklahoma. The first place to stop would be Ardmore, since there was a good road network in all directions. From there, I could stop and evaluate the situation. I almost jumped on going south when I saw some attempts at convective initiation to the northwest of Fort Worth, but this didn’t amount to much. The FWD special sounding also showed a warm nose that would probably suppress development for a while. I also saw that initial storms over by FDR in southwestern Oklahoma. These storms were near or even a bit northwest of the surface low, suggesting possible left splits and a very low tornado threat.

By mid-afternoon, several small cells were approaching I-35 and began to show improved low-level rotation. I zeroed in on the storm near Springer and I saw an organizing wall cloud. I pulled over for a spot and all of a sudden a small funnel had dropped down. I wanted to get closer, but there were no more routes going north and with trees blocking view, I turned east.

Within a few minutes, I caught glimpses of a wedge tornado in the distance. It took a few miles before I could find a suitable place to pull over with a good view of the tornado. Just in time, I was able to have a good view of the tornado for about two minutes before it roped out.

I stayed with the storm all the way east to near Wapanucka, but I had no other visuals on a tornado after the initial one. Some storm chasers did get a quick glimpse of a tornado in that area.

After that, I briefly drove through Wapanucka to look for any damage. I saw what appeared to be an overturned RV and some minor damage to trees, but nothing else caught my attention. I headed home and made it to Oklahoma City just as the sun was setting.

This was probably my best Oklahoma tornado to-date. Most of the tornadoes I have seen in Oklahoma have occurred in forested terrain and this was no different. At least in this case I did have a reasonable view of the tornado for a few minutes.