07 May 2013 – CHASE 2013 – DAY 7

07 May 2013 – CHASE 2013 – DAY 7

06:47 – Wake, shower

08:15 – As I’m toweling down from my shower, I get a call from Danny: briefing over. I had written 08:30 down. Oh, crap! “Run, Forrest, run!”

08:30 – Depart Plainview, heading north to Kansas.

10:22 – Continue north from Amarillo,TX, after a stop for bathrooms and a McDonald’s run.

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11:00 – stopped at (adjacent) Walmart and Verizon stores in Dumas, TX. Dang! They do not carry the myCharge device I wanted to buy. Jenna is getting good use out of mine, but I still need one, too. I’ll try to find one later.

11:40 – Angled northeast toward Guymon, OK on US54.

12:06 – Cross into Oklahoma at
Texhoma.

13:30 – Lunch at the Subway in Hugoton, KS

14:00 – Continue north on KS25 through Ulysses, KS. Developing storms are building to our north.

15:00? – pit stop at Lakin, KS

16:05 – Headed north from Scott City, KS

16:15 – east on KS4 toward Healey

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1745 – Heading south towards Dighton on KS23, we briefly encounter quarter-sized hail. (I submitted an mPing report.)

1806. – Charged east of Leighton toward Ness City. Trying to get ahead of our hailer.

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______ – We catch a photogenic storm. Many photos, which Jim Reed will critique for me.

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23:00 – Arrive At Dodge City Days Inn. A neighbor is engaged in a knock-down, drAgged-out argument; the hallways look like something from The. Brady Bunch era. Wow!

23:30 – We grab dinner at Applebee’s, then turn in for the night.

(More photos soon)

06 May 2013 – CHASE 2013 – DAY 6

06 May 2013 – CHASE 2013 – DAY 6

10:00 – We sing Happy Birthday to Bill Reid, our meteorologist and main guide. Bill does the weather briefing: chances for storms are rising, chance of severe to be non-zero, too.

11:00 – depart Van Horn, TX for New Mexico. We are positioning to be close to the OK/TX Panhandle – western Kansas area tomorrow.

_____ – stop at Guadalupe Mountain (highest point in Texas) for photos.

_____ – stop at NM/TX line for photos of the welcomes signs.

13:45 (CDT) – stop at Danny’s Place (REAL PIT BBQ) in Carlsbad, NM (the one with the famed Carlsbad Caverns).

17:45 – Exit Roswell, NM via US70N. Fueled up. No aliens sighted.

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01 May 2013 – CHASE 2013 – DAY 1

01 May 2013 – CHASE 2013 – DAY 1 – Oklahoma and Texas

06:15 – Wake; morning chores;; pack bags

07:30 – Drop bags at Holiday Inn; return rental car

08:00 – Return to Wyngate via shuttle; eat breakfast.

08:30 – Walk to Holiday Inn; meet other chasers; do introductions and safety briefing,

10:30 – Pack vans, grab cameras and head for Wichita Falls , TX then toward Abilene.

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12:50 – Rest stop then lunch 20 minutes later (just north of Wichita Falls, TX).

13:20 – Continue southwest from Wichita Falls on US277.

15:12 – stop at Munday for bathrooms, fuel, food. Continue southeast

17:15 – turn back north from Albany on US283. Storms with 55,000 foot have developed along I44 in southern OK, with the line spreading into our area. We are in a severe storm watch box.

18:00 – sky stop. We see a storm with a hard back sheared, take photos as it evolves.

20130501-135701.jpg18:30 – depart south on US283 as the cold outflow breeze of the storm invades.

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Air being pulled up into the storm
Air being pulled up into the storm, near Throckmorton, TX, 01 May 2013

19:35 – we duck south, bit by bit, trying to keep out of monster (2.5-inch or larger) hail. At one point we can to the hail roar of the storm. (Hail roar is the sound of large hail hitting the ground, cars, rooftops, etc. It can sound like thunder only it can last for minutes at a time.)

 

20:30 – We stop west of Albany,TX, where we witness a spectacular display of spider lightning. I have embarrassing camera issues here, because I miss a control setting. Our team leader helps me figure it out, but I miss the best part of the lightning. To add insult to injury, the Storm Prediction Center indicates an unfavorable weather pattern (for storm chasers) for at least three days. I feel terribly frustrated.

Still, I captured a little bit:

Spider Lightning,
Spider Lightning, 01 May 2013, just west of Albany, TX

22:30 – We depart for our hotel after a fast food dinner at the Dairy Queen in Fort Griffin.

23:00 – We check into The Ridge Motel in Breckinridge,TX.
23:46 – turn in for the night. I’m exhausted physically and emotionally.

30 April 2013 – CHASE 2013 – Arrival

30 April 2013 – CHASE 2013 – Arrival

TODAY”S activities:

05:00 wake up
05:10 morning chores
05:20 Take trash to the curb
05:30 Airport limo arrived. My favorite driver, David, is driving. We talk about friends, relationship maintenance, and life on the trip to O’Hare.
0615 Arrive O’Hare. Due to my tripod case looking like a gun chase I check that along with backup photo gear. ($60 to check two bags! Highway robbery!!) I also end up gate-checking my carry-on bag (with my primary camera gear). I try to hide my displeasure and eventually settle in for the flight. Regional jets are more intimate than their massive cousins, but I always suffer separation anxiety when I travel separately from my most expensive toys.
__ Wheels up and on our way. Our compact yet comfy Canadair CRJ700 angles southwest toward the heart of Tornado Alley. As I sip my diet tonic water — scored a full can! — I chat with the flight attendant and compare note on her Canadair vs. the ski-equipped KC-130 aircraft of my Antarctic era. It seems that both planes began their lives as cargo aircraft are were later retrofitted with seats for passengers. (Learn something new every day!)

_____ arrive at OKC. To my chagrin, I discover my rental car location is not at the airport, but a $20 cab ride away. What’s more: the airport rental agent had put through the charge already, so I had to have him back it out.

_____ drove downtown. Ate lunch at Thai Kitchen (a recommendation from my Thai can driver). Great meal and great price. I guess the detour to the rental car served a second purpose. Lesson: Learn to make the most of detours; sometimes the scenic route turns out better.

_____ Consulted Google Maps to find a photo store. All the signs (Yelps, reviews, etc.) point to Baker Camera in Yukon, a short hop west of OKC. Upon arriving I make two wonderful discoveries: 1) Yukon is Garth Brooks’ hometown (“teenage!”) and 2) Hank Baker, the owner of this oasis of prosumer Nikon and Canon gear, is also an accomplished storm photographer.

_____ Swing by the Sam’s Club off McArthur Blvd. to pick up protein bars. Imodium (just in case), dried mangoes, and a jar of marinated asparagus.

____ Back to the Wyngate for a brief unwind.

_____ Go to the Texas Roadhouse. Celebrate Willie Nelson’s 80th birthday with a Skinny Margarita. A 12-oz. ribeye, and a cup of chili.

_____ return to the hotel. Charge up phone, photo and video batteries and myCharge (iPhone charge bank). Check the forecasts and models. Looks like we’ll dive south into Texas for our first chase day.

22:00 Turn in for the night

TRAVEL HUMOR:

I usually read along with the flight attendant while she (or he) goes through the safety card. Besides the fact every plane is a little different, I’ve always considered it polite to pay attention to a person when they speak. Usually, the safety briefing is pretty repetitious, but today I found something new:

It never occurred to me that a person with a pacemaker would be required to turn it off during the flight! Everybody got a good laugh when I pointed this out. Now my joke collection has a pacemaker joke. “Who’d w thunk it?”

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30 April 2012 – PRELIMINARY – DAY 10 – The 5% Solution

  • 0700 – wake up; shower
  • 0900 – breakfast
  • Some chaser humor: “portions of west Texas and the Texas panhandle were severely damaged by last night’s storms, as shown on the map below”

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  • Sir Richard Pell, Earl of Waffles (no relation to the Earl of Sandwich) posed with one of his famed breakfast creations. “Brilliant!”

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  • 1030 – meet at van
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    Inverted T feature

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    Photos of my logbook entries for the day:
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    28 April 2012 – DAY 8 – Slight risk, High Tension

    I am still trying to process the emotions of the day.

    One person in the group has become so selfish, loud, vulgar, and arrogant that I have had waking fantasies of dragging him behind the van as we race into a hailstorm on a gravel road.

    Another lost his wallet (and I feel terrible for him, especially because he is a talented and wonderful person).

    I even feel a little down because my netbook is dead, one of my shoes is held together with duct tape.

    And we did not see any severe storms, I feel disappointed that after tomorrow the tour is done. I fear having nothing to show for the money I spent.

    Photographs of my chase log notes follow:

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    Xxx

    Travel: ??? miles

    29 May 2011 – Fast Movers!

    Chased after some fast moving storms, but could not circumnavigate the south Chicago metro area and keep up at the same time.  These storms produced tornadoes around Kalamazoo, MI, but I was 2 hours away as this happened.  At least I got a good look at some dramatic daytime  anvil crawlers. Sorry, no photos. But the GoPro camera is on my Christmas list.  After seeing Chris Gullikson use it so effectively, I want one! I may even go 3D (http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories/3d-hero-system/).

    The good news is that I passed my Spotter Network exam and have the software for real-time reports set up.  The near real-time positioning works as long as I have a broadband connection up (and the laptop does not hibernate, as it did when I stopped for a quick McDonald’s run).

    Was I wasting my time? Maybe. Was it a good storm day? Yup. Check this storm reports excerpt:

    000
    NWUS53 KLOT 292344
    LSRLOT
    
    PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
    NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
    644 PM CDT SUN MAY 29 2011
    
    ..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
    ..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
                ..REMARKS..
    
    1145 AM     TSTM WND GST     DUPAGE AIRPORT          41.92N 88.25W
    05/29/2011  M58.00 MPH       DUPAGE             IL   ASOS
                1135 CDT.
    
    1224 PM     HAIL             KINSMAN                 41.19N 88.57W
    05/29/2011  M1.00 INCH       GRUNDY             IL   AMATEUR RADIO
                WEST OF THE TOWN ON GARDNER ROAD.
    
    1253 PM     HAIL             JOLIET                  41.53N 88.12W
    05/29/2011  E0.25 INCH       WILL               IL   TRAINED SPOTTER
                INTERSECTION OF ROUTE 30 AND GOUGAR ROAD.
    
    1259 PM     HAIL             NEW LENOX               41.52N 87.98W
    05/29/2011  E0.75 INCH       WILL               IL   TRAINED SPOTTER
    
    0103 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     KANKAKEE                41.12N 87.86W
    05/29/2011                   KANKAKEE           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER
                CROSSING I-57
    
    0105 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KANKAKEE                41.12N 87.86W
    05/29/2011                   KANKAKEE           IL   LAW ENFORCEMENT
                12 TO 16 INCH DIAMETER TREE UPROOTED ON COBB ST. TREE
                FELL ON CAR. DRIVER NOT INJURED.
    
    0105 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     HERSCHER                41.05N 88.10W
    05/29/2011                   KANKAKEE           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER
                AT COUNTY LINE RD 8000 S AND RT 45.
    
    0105 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KANKAKEE                41.12N 87.86W
    05/29/2011                   KANKAKEE           IL   LAW ENFORCEMENT
                TREES DOWN ON CAR ON COBB BLVD
    
    0115 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KANKAKEE                41.12N 87.86W
    05/29/2011                   KANKAKEE           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER
                3 LARGE TREES DOWN ON MAIN ST NEAR HOSPITAL
    
    0115 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KANKAKEE                41.12N 87.86W
    05/29/2011                   KANKAKEE           IL   LAW ENFORCEMENT
                TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES DOWN CITY WIDE

     

     

    I am also running with the $25/month AllisonHouse data service subscription.  It’s WAY easier to make chase decisions when you can see fronts quickly (like the warm front below), take the tornado risk ‘blob(s)’  — the purplish contours, below — into account, see dew point contours (green), etc.:

    NOTE: This particular screen shot shows why Tempest Tour’s Bill Reid chose to stay at West Point, NE (near KOAX) last night: short drive, big storms right on the doorstep.  His passengers even have time for a Walmart run this morning and a sit-down lunch before scoring a big storm. Good call, Bill!