Local Storm Chaser's Harrowing Encounter with Oklahoma Twister

Danny Neal, a storm chaser from Evergreen Park, recounts his ordeal this week in the plains states and the tornado that devastated Oklahoma.

“I’ve seen many EF4s and but never an EF5. I guess I can cross it off my list,” Neal said via phone, on the drive home back to Chicago on Tuesday afternoon. “It was definitely the strongest and the deadliest tornado that I've ever seen.”

Neal and two storm-chasing buddies hit the road May 17, after computer models indicated favorable conditions for tornadoes up and down the plains states throughout the weekend.

After driving through the night, Neal and his friends ended up in western Kansas near the town of Great Bend, about 200 miles north of Wichita. They spent Saturday chasing and documenting three tornadoes in the middle of nothing, including one that lasted for 25 minutes, blowing across an empty field.

“Most of them only last a minute or two and develop in isolated areas," he said.  “The longer-lived one damaged a couple of houses.”

As the two continued they discovered that they were actually sandwiched between two super cells to the north and south. They debated which storm to go after.

Read more about their storm chasing account in Evergreen Park Patch.

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