Today was really am interesting day for me. Obviously, my meteorological expertise doesn't match that of many of you, so apologies for the crude assessment.
I started the day off by going to the wrong storm (the one up by Davis Junction) which was initially fairly impressive on radar initially but quickly turned into a high-precip aneurysm right as we reached it. Immediately doubled back, went for the cell south of Rockford (SchaumburgStormer said it was getting "that look") which turned out to be a brilliant call. Ended up being right between two cells; the southern one was tiny but actually produced a thin, white, rain-wrapped tube that became the first tornado that I've ever observed. Though it faded after ten minutes and I'm not even sure if it touched down, that tornado alone made the whole trip worth it.
We followed those storms for about an hour, driving back and forth between the two areas of rotation. The SE one (that produced my tornado iirc) had what I considered to be an extremely impressive signature, and another nader was confirmed there but I never saw it. Definitely got way too close to it, I was more or less right next to the couplet which was a certified Dumbass moment™. Never actually saw shit, since the whole thing was another HP shit shoot. Stayed with it anyway, until it cycled again and started rotating hardcore over Saint Charles. Rain wasn't an issue this time, but the terrain was. Got too close to the river and couldn't see shit again, even with sirens going off everywhere. ALEK asked if I was having any luck on that cell, to which I tried replying that I believed it had gusted out mere moments after being warned again, which is a kick in the ass (my reply never sent though I don't think). Abandoned that thing, since it was going straight into suburbia, and went back to the Sycamore storm that everyone else with a brain was following. Got there just a few minutes too later, only got a glimpse of a dissipating wall cloud. After that, I basically started for home, having had my fill for the day.
I'm just glad I got to see that little pipe at the start... If I would somehow have managed to miss every single tornado of the day, I'd never get over it. Obviously I have a lot to learn still.