*For a complete breakdown of the biggest tornadoes in my overall target area, you can learn more at this link. (Will likely need to copy and paste into your browser.) https://www.3newsnow.com/april-26-2024-confirmed-tornadoes* Now, when I say this was to be expected to be a big day, it was definitely turning into what would probably be the biggest day of the year. Tornado outbreak potential would be a far understatement but timing was the big issue I was faced with. Remember how I procrastinated the day before? Yes, this is how it would show why procrastination sucks. Literally, as I was going to the gas station to park and fill up, there was a tornado warning issued for Kearney, with a confirmed tornado! I was not too upset because I was so far from it but it was starting so quickly and that was what surprised me since, oftentimes, severe weather tends to happen a little later into the afternoon. What happened next was also surprising and was a test of its own. There were two storms coming up from the south and I had to make a choice on which one to target. Ordinarily, when two storms are riding up so close together, one will essentially “eat” the other and that is what I was expecting to see happen. Nope. The storm I would target would be its own and the one just southeast of it would be its own, and would prove to be the more notable one. Due to my location and distance to the first one, it would be my target of choice. I began to make my way towards Friend but I was not sure my timing would have been good enough. Fortunately, it would be and at one time, I saw a very weak funnel. While I was waiting for it to finish passing over Friend, myself and Google Maps were talking out routes. The only route I could take would be Nebraska Highway 80 North but doing this would lead me to making one of the most costliest decisions of my storm chasing career. As I was gaining on the storm, I decided, “I should pull over and get some timelapse.” Look, I want to make an excuse for what I am about to tell you. I am not from Nebraska. Let that be your reason to forgive me for this mistake. Instead of assessing County Road C before getting on it, I gunned it down the road but within not even 30 feet, I was swerving! I got stuck in the mud! What the?! The worst position I had found myself in in a very long time! When I say I was not happy, that’s an understatement! I have said it before but my car is not made for this kind of situation! After almost 40 long and defeated minutes, someone was nice to help me out. The homeowners nearby came to talk to me and said they were trying to wave me down before I made my leap of doom! Again, I am not from Nebraska! What an error! Finally free from this craziness, my storm was still going on but the chance to really see something great felt like a loss, at first. At this point in time, I was completely unaware of the monster of a tornado that had affected areas near Lincoln. Before I continue, I do truly believe me getting stuck in the mud is one of the biggest reasons I did not get more imagery on this chase. I think doing so would have made this a completely different chase, when I look back on it. Moving on, now I am on Nebraska Highway 15 and I could see this massive inflow taking place. I mean, it was moving so fast and I really wish I had been able to capture it to show all of you but chasing solo, this is the consequence of that. Finally, I see this massive elephant trunk of a tornado coming down but it would not last long and it was still a pretty decent distance away. Right as I am pulling over to record her, she lifted up and went away. This became the moment I made the statement “tap dance tornado.” One thing I did not talk about in the episode that I also witnessed was something I can only describe to you from a point of view of speculation and not any kind of fact. If you notice in the shot of the tap dance tornado wannabe, at the 1:33 mark, there is a fire truck that goes by. Further down from where that came from is where I saw something I had not seen before. First, there were skid marks on the road. Then, there were mud tracks, much like mine from earlier. Not hardly 100 feet down, there were a bunch of first responders along a fence line. Somebody’s car was right on the fence line but with no actual fence damage. The car was totaled with all internal airbags deployed. I speculate that the tornado touched down at least once before I saw it. Here’s what I think happened. This was a storm chaser who was getting a little too close and the rear flank downdraft (RFD) caught him off guard. He first pressed on his brakes, or maybe tried to reverse his way out of there. This is the skid marks I was talking about. Next thing he knows, the RFD is pulling him in and pulls him into the mud, which is where the mud tracks come in. Eventually, everything is so strong that he gets picked up and his car gets rolled a time or two (which may explain why his vehicle looked like it had been rolled somewhere). Finally, he gets dropped on the fence line and that was his final moment. Saying all of this, there’s two reasons I said it was “him” and said it might have been a “storm chaser.” First, I saw what looked like the driver standing nearby and he had such an angry look on his face. The other indication that made me speculate a storm chaser was a trifecta of sorts. While not certain, there appeared to be a GoPro mount on his dash. If I remember it right, it looked like he had some kind of weather themed shirt on. Lastly, I believe he had Texas plates on his car. You tell me, what are the odds that some random person from Texas would just be driving along and happen to find themselves in such a predicament? This is why I strongly suspect it was a storm chaser. If I am wrong about all of this, I will accept that. This is why I told you this is speculation because I have no real facts to base any of this on. Though, I am definitely curious to learn the full and true story. I did not stop to help as there were at least 5 first responders on scene. Pushing on, I decided to make a push for Humphrey. The storms to my far east, well, there was no way I could catch up to them and the ones riding along Nebraska Highway 15, well, I did not want to core punch with the craziness today was already showing. As I am finally north of Columbus, I saw my last tap dance tornado of the day. It was so far away and out in the middle of nowhere. The picture I took looked terrible but once I was just over that ridge, I could clearly see it on the ground for the briefest of moments. Despite not getting good documentation of it, I still had something instead of nothing. Once I got east of Humphrey, I saw one very beautiful hail core but the hills made it very difficult to get a good view. Wish I had still tried filming it though, regardless. Once I could finally start filming something, well, it helped make up for so much but I was not happy with the overall results of the day. I keep saying it but I do believe the day would have turned out so much better, had I not gotten stuck in the mud. You win some. You lose some. This is the nature of storm chasing and I still love doing it. The next day would prove crazy but even though it would come to a different experience, the exhaustion from being on the road was really starting to take its toll on my body.