Here was a chance for a chase that was not the most favorable for tornadoes but certainly very notable for the large hail potential. Seeing that I have had a very lackluster year in regards to any hail whatsoever, I wanted something of massive excitement. I wanted a solid hail core intercept. Going into it, I wanted to start around Coleman, Texas as it seemed to be the most logical choice but as the day was evolving, I pushed to get just south and west of Santa Anna. This would be the right move but the storm I was watching was not being friendly to me, at all. Due to the insane amount of low lying clouds, I just could not get a solid look at this incoming storm. What was wild was that the storm looked insane on radar, even going as far as prompting a Tornado Velocity Signature and a Tornado Warning. Frustratingly, that low lying cloud activity was just brutally killing any kind of good view I could have had. Though, as the storm continued to come closer, I realized that I needed to get out of the way. With such poor visibility, staying in place would have been too dangerous. Not because of a potential hail core intercept but because of a possible direct rain wrapped tornado intercept. Finally getting just south of town, the storm looked menacing from a distance. Visually, it was really starting to redeem itself, as well. Though, it was very windy! I remember watching this thing move along and trying to stand still so I could have a steady shot. What an effort that was! Yet again, as it was coming closer, I decided to go a little further south, just to be on the safe side. Finally in place, I got out of the car and decided to embrace the beast as she was blowing so viciously. It was fun and it reminded me of when the TV series Storm Chasers was around. One of their marketing images from 2010 had Reed Timmer, Joel Taylor and Chris Chittick standing next to the Dominator with Reed holding onto a camera, getting their shot. That’s how I felt, at that moment. The intensity of the cloud activity and coloration of the atmosphere really was something else. Watching it go by in real time was quite gnarly but I was loving every minute of it. When I look back on this experience, it really felt like time dragged out as if in another dimension, so to speak. While here, something came up on radar that sparked my attention. I saw that a confirmed tornado was seen near San Angelo, about roughly an hour and 15 minutes away. My goal then became to get into an intercept position on that storm but I wanted this beast in front of me to get further along as I did not want to get caught on the inside of it. Sure enough, calling it a beast would prove to be a great descriptor word. Once it finally had passed enough and I began making my way towards San Angelo on US Highway 84, I was finally able to see the full effects of this storm. Though there was no tornado, there was wind damage in the area, with one older building missing its roof, which was sitting relatively close by. There was also a lot of flooding in some of the more low lying areas. Perhaps the most notable “damage” was the hail damage that this storm brought to many trees. I don’t really know how to describe hail damage to a tree because it’s a strange statement. Suppose the best way I could say it is it’s like someone took a weed whacker and just left the mess behind in various small piles. I really need to get a photo or video some day to show what I mean. As I am nearing the midpoint of Ballinger and Rowena, I came upon an unexpected situation. Stretching for some distance, you could see power lines down across the highway, deeming the roads impassable. This incident literally shut down the highway but I was determined to wait it out as my target storm was not so far away, to some degree. It was maybe 15 minutes after I stopped and suddenly, my low tire light came on. Since there was no quickness to my situation, I got out of the car to check all of my tires and sure enough, my passenger rear tire was completely flat to the wheel. This meant my chase was over and I needed a quick solution. Fortunately for where I was, I was not completely alone. However, with the size of my vehicle, and my spare inside the back seat area, this meant I had to take out all of my camera equipment. Bear in mind, this is my tripods, my cameras, my camera accessory bags, and then also my travel kits not related to camera equipment. Once I got the spare out, my little jack that comes with the car was proving to be problematic. As my frustration was starting to build, a farmer saw my dilemma and came to help me as he had a full size shop jack on his ranch truck. This certainly expedited my time but I knew my spare was not enough to continue storm chasing. My first plan was to get back to Brownwood and utilize the Firestone there, as San Angelo was too far, but another twist would happen. See, I am not from Brownwood, which means it is not my most sought after traveling destination. However, I had done business with the Firestone there in the past and since they are my number one go to for all maintenance things related to my vehicle, I was ready to be taken care of so I could begin to plot out the rest of my day. Unknown to me, the location in Brownwood had permanently closed. This meant I had to go to a local shop and hope to get lucky. It was the end of the day for most businesses so closing time was around the corner. Fortunately, I found one shop that was willing to help me and it just so happened that I was able to get one of the two last used tires in my size. Though, no disrespect towards any business but I don’t trust used tires all that much. While they were working on my car, another thunderstorm approached, not a supercell, and rolled into Brownwood. Though I could not get a visual on the lightning, the amount of thunder going on all around me was certainly majestic. Fortunately, the shop finally found the cause of my flat. A large size S hook found its way into my tire, causing a total loss. I can only assume this S hook came from my initial position of the day as I had gone down a road that started out with asphalt but then transitioned to hard gravel. Safe bet to say it was on that road where the S hook was found but I can’t say with 100% certainty. This truly was a monstrosity of a chase day and this flat definitely had me on the edge of my seat, in more ways than one. However, with the flat now fixed, there was only one thing left to do. All I could do was make my way towards Abilene, my hometown, and wait for my main Firestone there to open the next morning. I knew I was planning on chasing the next day so this would give me a chance to get well rested and also look at everything so I could devise a plan of attack for what was to come for the next day. Preparing for the next and final big chase day of the year was truly something. Inevitably, I did not have enough photos or images combined to show a complete episode for the experience that that was. Though, if you ask me about it, I can tell you it’s definitely one of the scariest chase days I have ever had in general, that’s for sure. I say this because there was so much flooding that I saw on this chase and I almost found myself caught up in some of it as a car in front of me was going so dreadfully slow. Thank you for surviving this wildly insane chase season with me. I hope you have enjoyed this second season of the series and I am really excited for what is coming in Season 3. In the downtime of Season 2, I have been planning some new things I want to bring into the new season so let’s hope that those things work out as expected. Have a great and safe holiday season with your loved ones and see you next year.