Where Did I Chase in 2014?

My first full year of storm chasing west of the Appalachians was 2014. My chasing career was very young at this point, but I managed to chase two separate tornado outbreaks. The first tornado I witnessed was an EF-4 in Mayflower, Arkansas on April 27th. Although I missed most of the more well-known tornadoes on the 28th, I did see one in Mississippi.

After a historically quiet May in terms of storm chasing prospects and tornadoes, everything changed in mid-June. Over the course of three days from June 16-18, I saw at least eight tornadoes. I consider this when I transitioned from amateur to more of a seasoned storm chaser. I witnessed tornadogenesis firsthand and had the ability to track multiple tornadic supercells over Nebraska and South Dakota.

The bulk of my chasing done in 2014 was between April and June. Still a resident of Connecticut, I took time over the spring to plan multiple trips across the country. Since May was relatively quiet, I barely spent any time in Kansas. Each year since, I have found myself spending quiet a bit of time in Kansas, which is arguably the epicenter of tornado alley.

Overall, I consider 2014 to be a learning year, one in which I learned very much from mistakes, blunders, but most importantly, practice.