Archive for 2002
CHASE2002 SEASON SUMMARY
| 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) |
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| Prologue 30 Apr 2002 |
Tuesday | Bolingbrook | IL |
?
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Preparing for the trip (690 mi by air, ? by car) | ||
| 01 May 2002 | Wednesday | Bolingbrook | IL | Oklahoma City | OK |
032
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Fly to OKC; meet fellow chasers |
| 02 May 2002 | Thursday | Oklahoma City | OK | Oklahoma City | OK |
060
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Visit Norman, NSSL,OU, etc.; meet fellow chasers |
| 03 May 2002 | Friday | Oklahoma City | OK | Abilene | TX |
349
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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
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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 |
?
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CHASE DAY #9: Big, bad storms; 2-in hail barrage |
| 12 May 2002 | Sunday | Tonkawa | OK | Oklahoma City | OK |
?
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CHASE DAY #10: Last chance |
| 13 May 2002 | Monday | Oklahoma City | OK | Bolingbrook | IL |
?
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Return home |
| Epilogue 14 May 2002 |
- | ? | IL | - | - |
–
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| ILLINOIS/INDIANA AREA CHASES – CHASE #2-n | |||||||
| TBD | TBD | Bolingbrook | IL | - | - |
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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 – Sample Route Log – May 10, 2002
Here’s a sample paper route log (for 10 May 2002):
CHASE2002 – HAPPY, TX (F2/F3) TORNADO – Sunday, 05 May 2002
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HAPPY, TX (F2/F3) Sunday 05 May 2002 |
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| 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) |
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| WEATHER |
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| 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. |
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| RESTAURANTS |
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CHASE2002 – HANGING OUT IN OKC – Thursday, 02 May 2002
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HANGING OUT IN OKC Thursday 02 May 2002 |
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| TRAVEL | Oklahoma City, OK | ||||||||||||
| narrative_TBD | |||||||||||||
| WEATHER |
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| 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. |
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| RESTAURANTS |
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The 2002 Tempest Tour 3 ‘Road Crew’
Our happy little chase family, just after our briefing
