Prom is that time of year when almost every high school student anticipates an evening filled with friends, food and memories. I actually went to prom at a friend’s school in Nebraska and did not exactly want to dress up two weekends in a row. Therefore I took a different approach–I went storm chasing.

The afternoon sky of April 16 filled with storm clouds that towered high over the vast Texas plains. Lightning streaked across the sky as most prepare for prom. Meanwhile, the car is parked on a rural road about 20 miles east of Amarillo, watching clouds swirl around and rise up into the thunderstorm.

While no tornadoes touched down that day, it was a perfect opportunity for a young storm enthusiast to learn the patterns a thunderstorm follows, what to expect as they approach the core of the storm and where to look for danger signs, like funnel clouds or wall clouds.

During the middle of the afternoon, the blue sky turned gray, which flashed with lightning and roared with the sound of thunder rolling across the plains. As I watch my Doppler radar screen on my phone, I see the first yellow polygon pop up east of Amarillo. Thundershowers moved across the Panhandle in a long south-to-north line that morning, and now the first severe thunderstorm warning of the day has been issued. I knew from the beginning not to expect to see a tornado on that day, but I did expect to see some strong thunderstorms with large hail, heavy rain and gusty winds. That first storm crossed I-40 around mile marker 89 and moved northeast. I pulled over at exit 82 to get a glance at the storm on radar, and also because I didn’t feel like driving a sports car into a hailstorm. At an abandoned truck stop just a few miles east of Amarillo, I watched the storm, both on radar and with my eyes. If I had not pulled over at this spot, I would have driven straight into the storm. I watched this storm go over the highway, getting close enough to me that I looked just passed the overpass to see a gray blur. The roadway disappeared into the abyss, along with the cars and tractor trailers traveling east. The car was parked facing the east, so when I looked in front of me it was a gray, mysterious-looking downpour of rain and hail, but in my rear view mirror the endless blue sky shined on.

After crossing Interstate 40, I hopped back on the highway, driving about 10 more miles before getting off at a country road somewhere where wind turbines dominate the landscape. I stopped on this road and took in the view, and also a few pictures. An amazing formation of clouds filled the sky, making for dazzling photography wherever the camera pointed.

My storm chase came to an end just after 5 p.m. when the storms got further away than I had gas to chase on. Additionally, the intensity of the storms was going down, and the only severe thunderstorm warning by that time was near the Oklahoma state line. I turned back towards Amarillo and watched the storm I had been in all afternoon fade away into the eastern Panhandle skies, dropping its last drops of rain before dissipating and returning the sky to clear blue.

If I learned one thing other than how a thunderstorm works, it was that prom can be spent any way you want. As a quiet, introverted person, I would much rather go out to the middle of nowhere and chase my passion, rather than dance in a room with loud music. Prom does not have to be all dancing and food–in reality, prom is whatever you choose to make it.