I would just like to say that when I saw the thread title, I thought it read:
“Stormtrooper Builds Armored Auto To Enter Tornado.”
I now cannot get the image out of my mind of a Stormtrooper building an armored car. It’s rather amusing.
The consensus seems to be that this guy’s going to end up in Oz, so maybe we should start working on his eulogy.
Lets see: “It takes a special kind of man to drive a vehicle into a tornado. Brave. Daring. Confident. Not smart, however, which is why we’re gathered here today to remember Sean…”
Yep, same one. I was up on top of the house taking pictures of the rope tornados to the west, there were a couple, when my buddy said, “Man! Look at THIS ONE!”.
I looked back to the east and there was a huge tornado, just forming. Looked like it was right over town. I got only 3 shots before I ran out of film. I live on the west edge of town, and there is a large grain elevator about a mile east of me. The elevator is in front of the tornado in the pictures, about an inch wide on a 3X5 print, while the tornado is as wide as the top of the picture…and it was about 5 miles farther away to the east. That’s the one that cleaned the slab at Halliburton, also took out a couple of the big hangars at the old Air Base (Moody Farms).
I was still roughnecking back then, working for Circle L Drilling. We were just a few miles from the Apache Blowout hole, drilling a well on Lake Finsterwald for Cambridge and Nail. We drove right along 152 to the rig, following the twister’s path the next day. And we nearly blew out on that hole at about 15,000 ft with 19lb/gallon mud while logging. Cuud had to strip the pipe back in as we were shut in with the string in the derrick and couldn’t pump it down.
Sorry for the hijack, lieu is probably one of only a few here who even know what I’m blathering about…
It was huge and, at least from my perspective, all the clouds on the outside were turning in one direction but the funnel came down turning in the opposite. Terrifyingly fascinating.
Yep, that’s it.
Was that the one where they dug that gigantonormous pit to where casing had parted at about 500 feet? Now that was a hole. I’ve got a framed photo of that in my office and it shocks even these experienced explorationists.
Good thing you and I didn’t know each other and have access to an armored stormchaser or this conversation likely wouldn’t be taking place.
[Sorry Bosda, end hijack]
No prob.
I remember the 2000 tornados here.
We had around 100 in 3 days, most in the first 6 hours.
I was dashing home in my car, across the land between Smyrna & Murfreesboro, with the sky a deadly green. I looked to my right, & saw one, a 3/4 of a mile away. I floored it.
TK-421, why aren’t you at your post, TK-421?..
First, go to Monster Garage.
Then go to MTV and get it pimped. (lots of little tv monitors)
THEN go drive into a tornado.