CHASE2002 SEASON SUMMARY


CHASE 2002

Daily Journal
Revised 04/30/02 15:45 MDT
NOT MUCH IS HERE YET, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE CHASE 2001 PAGES IN THE MEANWHILE
DATE DAY START END MILES REMARKS
CHASE #1: TEMPEST TOURS (commercial storm chase tour) – 10 days – 3xxx chase miles
Lead vehicle: LEAD: Bill Reid (CA), DRIVER: Dean Cosgrove (NE)
Andy Wiel (physician, AZ); Brian Becker (AZ); Tom Wittig (student, OH); Luka Guccione (broker, Italy/Luxembourg);
Alexandra (Italy/Luxembourg),  Lisa Beal (computer specialist, IL)
Tail vehicle:
Mark Cantrell (writer, NC)
Prologue
30 Apr 2002
Tuesday Bolingbrook IL

?

Preparing for the trip (690 mi by air, ? by car)
01 May 2002 Wednesday Bolingbrook IL Oklahoma City OK

032

Fly to OKC;  meet fellow chasers
02 May 2002 Thursday Oklahoma City OK Oklahoma City OK

060

Visit Norman, NSSL,OU, etc.; meet fellow chasers
03 May 2002 Friday Oklahoma City OK Abilene TX

349

CHASE DAY #1: Positioning for a better day
04 May 2002 Saturday Abilene TX Abilene TX

349

CHASE DAY #2:
– Brief, weak tornado (Eola,TX);

– Many storms; the “Midnight Run” (Merkle,TX)
05 May 2002 Sunday Abilene TX Amarillo TX

464

CHASE DAY #3: Killer F2 intercept (Happy,TX)
06 May 2002 Monday Amarillo TX Hutchinson KS

381

CHASE DAY #4: Good storms (but too distant)
07 May 2002 Tuesday Hutchinson KS Pratt KS

194

CHASE DAY #5: The Chasers get chased
08 May 2002 Wednesday Pratt KS Enid OK

321

CHASE DAY #6: Rumbles, rotation, and a great sunset
09 May 2002 Thursday Enid OK Childress TX

270

CHASE DAY #7: A move for better action
10 May 2002 Friday Childress TX Oklahoma City OK

500

CHASE DAY #8: A more typical (and frustrating) chase day
11 May 2002 Saturday Oklahoma City OK Tonkawa OK

?

CHASE DAY #9: Big, bad storms; 2-in hail barrage
12 May 2002 Sunday Tonkawa OK Oklahoma City OK

?

CHASE DAY #10: Last chance
13 May 2002 Monday Oklahoma City OK Bolingbrook IL

?

Return home
Epilogue
14 May 2002
? IL

ILLINOIS/INDIANA AREA CHASES – CHASE #2-n
TBD TBD Bolingbrook IL

COLOR CODE

Plan was to not chase GRAY
Planned Chase Day (future) YELLOW
Available to chase; no weather (“blue-skied”) BLUE
Chase Day (have partner and stormy weather) GREEN
No-Partner Day (Weather stormy, no partner) RED
Weather Stormy, but not available for chasing PURPLE
Accommodations Restaurants Tools Web Links

CHASE2002 – HAPPY, TX (F2/F3) TORNADO – Sunday, 05 May 2002

logo HAPPY, TX (F2/F3)
Sunday
05 May 2002
TRAVEL Abilene,TX – Amarillo, TX
Wow! What a day!  We started with a difficult forecast, with a moderate risk area stretching from TX to NE, covering 5 states:(map)

Bill and Dean put us on THE storm, nationally speaking.

I had seen several tornadoes before, but this was my first killer tornado (at least in the sense that someone who was alive when I entered the town was not when I left).  This was a very emotional day for me: (more TBD)

WEATHER
TODAY:We witnessed and filmed a strong (F2/3, probably) tornado from about a mile away. After we retreated to the south, the storm devastated Happy, TX, a town of about 600 people.  Two people died, four were hospitalized, dozens received minor injuries, and many building were destroyed.

Here is the sequence of video stills I extracted from tape:

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maps
text

FORECAST:
synopsis
maps
text
YESTERDAY’S SEVERE WEATHER NATIONWIDE:
synopsis
maps
text
ACCOMODATIONS Motel 8
Exit 72

Amarillo, TX
One person, one night, standard room
COMMENTS:
BIG improvement over the Motel 8 further east along I-40.
RESTAURANTS
Name/Location/Phone Meal COMMENTS:
No breakfast No time, given our long drive
K-Bob’s
Childress, TX
Their famed Salad Wagon (buffet) Most of us did the salad bar, just like the locals.
Good eatin’ for under $10
Denny’s
I-40 Access Road
Amarillo, TX
Turkey Club Serving size was small, the kitchen service — not our friendly waiter– was extrordinarily slow. Not too good, even by Denny’s standards!

CHASE2002 – HANGING OUT IN OKC – Thursday, 02 May 2002

logo HANGING OUT IN OKC
Thursday
02 May 2002
TRAVEL Oklahoma City, OK
narrative_TBD
WEATHER
TODAY:
synopsis
maps
text
FORECAST:
synopsis
maps
text
YESTERDAY’S SEVERE WEATHER NATIONWIDE:
synopsis

maps

text

ACCOMODATIONS Holiday Inn, Airport
2101 S. Meridian Av.
Oklahoma City, OK 73108

405-585-4000

1 night, 1 rm, 2 dbl beds
COMMENTS: very cozy, but too close to the activities in the atrium (translation: VERY NOISY); the cool phone jack on the lamp at the desk had no connection, so I had my  laptop on the spare bed and power  connnected WAY across the room.  Dial-up connection did fire up immediately on the first try, but the connections sprawled, dividing the room cleanly in two. Service was very polite and thorough.
RESTAURANTS
Name/Location/Phone
Meal
COMMENTS:
NO BREAKFAST

Slept in late (and it felt GREAT)
Golden Corral
I-35 & Robinson St.

Norman, OK



Buffet
Food did not look very appetizing, though my server Nong was very attentive to details.
Not sure I would eat there again

Golden Palace II
rest_address_line1
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Chinese/Vietnamese/Japanese buffet
Astonishing variety! Food was good and the price was reasonable and the price was right ($11 incl. tip)  This was the tour group’s first ‘communal feeding’, though Luka and Alexandra chose not to join us (probably to get much-needed sleep).