March 15, 2026    
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The Storm Prediction Center forecasted an Enhanced Risk (Slight Risk in our area) with the Tornado potential only Marginal close to home.  The Tornadoes were expected to be embedded in a squall line and more intense further south.  I had little interest driving a long way in attempting to intercept something in a squall line, so I made non-chasing plans with my wife, Sally.

I glanced at the radar as Sally and I left the house for dinner plans and saw the squall line just west of Warrenton, Missouri.  I suggested to Sally we cross over into Illinois for dinner to possibly buy us an extra few minutes before the rain got to us.  As we went over the I-270 Mississippi River bridge, we discussed what restaurant we wanted to have dinner.  Cracker Barrel in Caseyville, Illinois or Ravenelli's in Collinsville, Illinois.  We settled on Cracker Barrel in Caseyville.

Now, this is where the whole afternoon was accidentally changed in an unexpected way which would lead eventually to a totally unexpected, bizarre chase.

I accidentally got off I-255 at the I-55 interchange instead of the I-64 interchange.  I was expecting to see Cracker Barrel at the exit right before the river bluffs.  Got off the exit at the bluffs and that's when I realized I chose the wrong Highway off of I-255.  No big deal as we decided we'd just switch our choice back to Ravinelli's which was right up the road to our north, so drove north on Bluff Road.  Having never gone that direction on this road, I was unfamiliar with the area and never figured out which road to take to get to Ravinelli's.  I finally was forced to stop and look at a map and asked Siri which one of the restaurants was now closer, Cracker Barrel or Ravinelli's?  The surprising answer we got was the Cracker Barrel in Troy, Illinois was now by far the closest one.

So we arrived and settled into that Troy, Illinois Cracker Barrel, ordered dinner, and dinner was brought out and set on the table.  As soon as the food was brought out, I get a text from my sister who is sitting in a movie theater in downtown St. Louis asking if she should be concerned as a Tornado Warning was just issued.  I looked at the radar to see a bit  concerning, but rather odd couplet.

I informed her that I would watch the next couple of radar scans before I would advise any action on her part.  As I watched the next few radar updates, the couplet weakened, but then ramped up considerably again as it got near her.


I now advised her if she was not in a solid place in the building, she should probably get to a solid spot NOW.  Fortunately, as the circulation went over the theater, it had weakened slightly.

So at this point, you're probably thinking "what's that got to do with me"?  Well, as I continued to watch the radar as I started on my dinner, I took note that the storm I was looking at for my sister was gaining strength again and now making a bee-line right for us at the Cracker Barrel.  Everybody's cell phone in the restaurant went off at the same time announcing the issuing of a Tornado Warning for our location.

There remained a kink in the storm line with a small hook as the storm neared.  I finally told Sally I was going outside to watch it come in.  I got in the car and drove to the back of the restaurant for a slightly better view.  (Yeah, I left Sally inside to fend for herself).  I watched what appeared to be the interesting part of the storm come at me and then go by me just to the north.




Visually, I can't say I saw any reasonable rotation in the haze, although at one point I observed a huge push of wind to my north.  It was very possible that was the remnants of the circulation.  Once the interesting part went by, I braved the now intense deluge of rain to go back in the restaurant.  Sally had packed up the remainder of my meal and was at the cashier paying for dinner.  I talked her into running through the rain to the car so we could follow the storm as it was running parallel to the highway.  We drove with the line for a while, but the Tornado Warning was dropped and no more spin-ups appeared imminent.

The update from my sister shared that the management did evacuate the theater into a safer hallway.  She reported that the money for the movie was refunded.  Kudos to the theater management for the proper safety action taken.

For us, all of the blunders in finding a restaurant for dinner must have been fate to place us in a spot to be up close and personal to a potential Tornado.  Although it didn't happen, it was a nice surprise ending to a leisurely night out for dinner.
1.5 Hours  -  59 Miles
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