May 10, 2013
Statistics
Initial Target
Start
End
Storm Intercepts
Tornadoes
Hail
Wind
Features
Miles
Junction, TX
Mason, TX 11:48 AM 5/10/2013
Springfield, IL 1:00 AM 5/13/2013
Uvalde, TX
0
0"
0 mph
Gust front, dust storm
1442
Summary
Upslope supercell chase off TX/Mexican border. Targeted sw of Junction, TX for afternoon upslope initiation. Intercepted in middle of line of cells near Uvalde, TX where dust storm developed under gust front. Chased HP supercell east and south to George West, TX until after dark.
Crew and Equipment
Chase partners: Jennifer Brindley Ubl. Equipment: Canon 60D, Canon t2i, Canon EFS 10-22, Canon EF 50mm, Sony HDR-xr500v..
Video
Details

We took a SE county highway out of town that would parallel our storm’s motion nicely. A ragged attempt at a wall cloud formed just to our west, but the feature looked pretty scuddy or outflowy.
As the feature passed by us to the north, the storm became dramatically more photogenic. Beautiful shades of blue and teal colored the layered gust front, and then the first tendrils of dust started to kick up under the apex of the gust front as a dust storm started to form.
We stayed as long as we could until the gust front started to go overhead and we got blasted by outflow. We packed up our cameras, scrambled into the van, and blasted east down the highway to get out ahead of the gust front again.
We setup for another shot of the approaching gust front, marveling at the photogenic structure and colors.
The dust storm grew rapidly in size, and as it approached, the horizon turned a dark muddy brown with dust filling the sky. We tried to stay ahead of it, but we were eventually caught up in it as it rapidly expanded around us. Visibility dropped significantly and the winds got pretty gusty, but we were able to get back out ahead of the dust without too much issue.
As evening set in we were able to get out ahead of the storm and into some terrain with a decent view. Laminar layers of cloud built up on top of a high precipitation supercell gust front. For awhile it looked like we had a double wall cloud type feature going with the old one fanning out to the south and a new one forming to the north, but the feature remained scuddy and eventually fell apart. The green lines and yellow sunbeams made for a really photogenic storm though.
We eventually dropped south of the gust front to prevent us from getting caught up in the storm and then followed from the south as night set in. We passed Choke Canyon Reservoir and decided to try and get into one of the parks to shoot lightning out across the lake. We found an entrance on the southeast side of the lake. It had an admissions gate, but it was open and looked unmanned so we just drove in. We took the first turn off at the lake edge and setup for gust front and lightning shots. It was a scenic location, but we soon realized that the gust front was rapidly expanding to the south and would soon overtake us.
Just before the gust front hit, we packed up our gear and made for the exit of the park. Near the gate, however, I saw headlights waiting at the entrance, and sure enough as we approached, flashing red and blues turned out. We were someplace we weren’t supposed to be. I pulled up alongside the officer and told him we were chasers, stopping by to shoot the storm. He asked about the storm and then told us he was closing the park up and asked if we had seen anyone else in there. We said no and warned him he had maybe a minute or two before the storm hit with some wind and hail. The officer wanted to chat with us for a bit, but we were getting fidgety that we’d get cored if we hung around any longer. Finally he left to shut the gates and we were out of there just as the first few drops started to come down. We got out ahead of the gust front and headed south to get out of the storm's way before it fully hit.

Conclusion
The end of our plains trip was a photogenic one with supercells and dust storms. We had chased an incredibly far distance for no tornadoes, but we had a blast and were happy we went. I wound up with some of my best time lapse sequences of the year from the event too.
Lessons Learned
- Watch out for the law when stopping in parks after hours