How not to Chase a Violent Iowa Tornado. March 31, 2023

Through a series of mistakes and bad luck, I was way too close for comfort on this violent Iowa tornado on March 31, 2023. For days leading up to March 31st, it was clear that there was potential for a larger scale severe weather event. I woke up in Missouri in the morning and made my way to southeast Iowa on this day because models were showing that Iowa was where the 0-3km CAPE and surface vorticity overlap was going to be maximized. At 11:30 am, the Storm Prediction Center issued a tornado driven High Risk in southeast Iowa. There is a special level of anxiety reserved for high risks because this means that there would likely be numerous strong to violent tornadoes, so I knew I would have to be careful this day. I saw that there was an isolated supercell moving into Iowa from Missouri that I knew would be my play. I set up northeast of Ottumwa and waited. I wanted to stay way in front of the storm, so I started to move north. I saw the tornado drop, but I started to get hailed on. In a panic, I decided to take the first east road I saw. I didn’t realize it was a dirt (instead of gravel) road. Not only that, it ended in a T intersection, and I was forced to drive south. I thought that I was out of the path of the tornado, but I didn’t realize that it had taken a harder right than what I was expecting. Not only that, but there was a train that blocked my southern escape route, so I was forced to wait in the tiny community of Farson and hope that the tornado would not hit me. Thankfully, the tornado missed me to the north by a couple hundred yards and I knew I was safe. The video from in town was when I realized that I would probably not film my own death. I thought I was going to get hit. I really could have been killed here, so I did not post this to glorify what happened. I have mentally been struggling since this close call because I feel like I let those who love and care about me down. That said, the footage I got this day is by far my best and this is easily the best tornado I have ever seen. This also makes 9 straight years of seeing at least one tornado, 3/3 on high risks, 2/2 on chases in Iowa and around 30 tornadoes for my life. Once again, thank you to Glenn Johnson for helping me edit this video. This video is mine and mine alone. Not for rebroadcast with out my permission. Thank you for watching!