Wow! What a day I had yesterday on my first ever "solo" chase in Texas. Started the day in Amarillo as I left my hotel room at the Days Inn around 11:00 am. I then jumped on I-25 and headed south to lubbock. Upon getting some data in Lubbock I quickly realized that the sweet spot was going to be near the town of Abilene, Texas along and west of there on I-20. So from Lubbock I picked up HWY 84 and headed southeast to intercept I-20 about 40 miles to the west of Abilene. As I got about 50 miles southeast of Lubbock I noticed a storm exploding on radar to the northwest of the town of Snyder,TX. At this point I was about 30 miles to the north of Snyder and figured I had two options.
1. I could either turn around and go back to the north, which would effectively ruin me for the rest of the day
OR
2. I could do my best to try to get south and out ahead of the storm
So with those choices in mind, I decided that I had a decent chance to out-run the storm and get south of it. Boy was I wrong!
I got cored badly by this storm about 20 miles to the northwest of Snyder. It got so bad at one point, that I could not even see the front of the hood of my car. It was Zero-Visibility! I got pelted for a good 10-15 minutes with nickel-sized hail and blinding rain. At this point I could not go anywhere, so I pulled over, or so I thought...lol. As it began to clear up just a bit, I realized that I had not pulled over at all. In fact, I was right smack in the middle of the road! YIKES! Fortunately, there was little to no traffic, and anybody that was on the road was not moving.
Once I got out ahead of the storm, I stopped and got out to sneak a peak, and what a beast it was! WOW! I then tried to re-intercept the storm near the town of Roby,TX. I continued past Snyder on HWY 84 and then picked up I-20 and headed east for about 10 miles. At that point, I picked up HWY 70 and went north to Roby. The storm had moved to quickly to get ahead of it, so in order to avoid another "core-session" I stopped and waited it out. Once the storm passed I knew I had to call it a day and start the trip back home. I picked up HWY 180 in Roby and headed east until I picked up HWY 277 which took me through Seymour and Wichita Falls,TX and up through Lawton,OK and then up to Oklahoma City,Ok where i spent the night at the Super 8 Fairgrounds on the northwest side of town. I left there about 6:00 am this morning and arrived back in Lee's Summit around 11:15 am. All in all it was an awesome experience, one that I will definitely remember.
As we look aheady to next week, I have an interesting situation developing. My dad has a FREE United Airlines ticket voucher that must be used by May 18th. Seeing as how with work being the way it is, next week would be the only oppurtunity I would have to use it. So if a chase situation evolves the early part of next week(Mon-Wed) with a good travel distance (I.E. TX panhandle or Texas in general) I could potentially fly to that location and save some money by just using a rental car. We shall see. Current model indications show the next GOOD chase oppurtunity would be out in western KS next Thursday. I have to fly to Houston,TX on Friday, so thursday would be a little late. If it moves up to Wednesday or Thursday, then I may have an oppurtunity. I will keep an eye on the model runs.
More Later this weekend....
Tornado count: 0
Hail storm count: 2
Miles traveled: 1,535.19
Total Chase Season Miles: 2,449.51
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Still a go for Possible Tornadoes in Texas Today
Sitting in AMA this morning, and am planning to head down to Lubbock in about an hour. I will get some data there and with a decent road network, I will make a decison from there. The latest RUC does show some oppurtunity last this afternoon and evening in the corridor that Gabe just mentioned.0-3km SRH values are spiking between around 450 or 500 in this area(WOW) and SBCAPE is still forecasted to be around 3500 j/kg. Also, LI's are forecasted to be between -6 and -10. We also should receive backing 850mb winds at around 25-40kts. 500mb winds should be between 35-45kts and streaming in out of the west. Obviously the concerns of early morning convection and subsidence behind this is a concern. Hopefully the picture will begin to become clearer in the next 2-3 hours.
I am still hoping for decent insolation behind this convection and late afternoon initiation around 4:00 pm this afternoon. I will try to get an update out from Lubbock.
I am still hoping for decent insolation behind this convection and late afternoon initiation around 4:00 pm this afternoon. I will try to get an update out from Lubbock.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Good evening from Amarillo!
Well I made to Amarillo, TX around 6:50 pm this evening and enjoyed a very nice steak dinner at the famous Big Texan Steakhouse here in Amarillo. I must say it was well worth it!
Getting ready to hit the sack and catch some well needed Z's. However here are my forecast thoughts for tomorrow's event as of this time.
The latest run of the NAM has me pretty excited about the area along I-20 just west of Abilene. It looks very sweet at 0Z tomorrow "IF" this run of the NAM verifies. It should be noted that the model continuity has been just downright horrible over the past few weeks, so the setup could look completely different in the morning. We are also going to have to hope that early morning convection and rain cooled air doesnt inhibit instability parameters too much. As of this moment I am going to target Sweetwater,TX along I-20. This can and will likely change in the morning, so this target is only pre-liminary. I will update in the morning.
Here is to hoping we finally get some backing of the winds and good tornado chances tomorrow!
Goodnight from Amarillo!!
Getting ready to hit the sack and catch some well needed Z's. However here are my forecast thoughts for tomorrow's event as of this time.
The latest run of the NAM has me pretty excited about the area along I-20 just west of Abilene. It looks very sweet at 0Z tomorrow "IF" this run of the NAM verifies. It should be noted that the model continuity has been just downright horrible over the past few weeks, so the setup could look completely different in the morning. We are also going to have to hope that early morning convection and rain cooled air doesnt inhibit instability parameters too much. As of this moment I am going to target Sweetwater,TX along I-20. This can and will likely change in the morning, so this target is only pre-liminary. I will update in the morning.
Here is to hoping we finally get some backing of the winds and good tornado chances tomorrow!
Goodnight from Amarillo!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Severe Weather Likely In TX/OK Panhandles on 04/23/08
Its been awhile, but I am going to have to keep this brief at this point. I have been extremely busy with work the past 3 weeks and just arrived back from Minneapolis early this morning.
I have alot to get done this afternoon. I am getting ready to head to Best Buy to try to find a new charger cable for my camcorder. I am also going to invest in the latest version of Microsoft Streets and Trips. I lost my mapping software CD for my chasing laptop, and having mapping software on the fly is crucial. It is a must-have.
Anyway, I have to admit that at this point I am excited about Wednesday's prospects. It looks to be my first "official" panhandle chase. I made a brief appearance in the TX panhandle near Shamrock and Mclean last season, but due to time constraints couldnt make it to the real action spots. This week, I do not have to leave for work until Friday, so this comes at a perfect time for me to make it down to the panhandles.
As of this moment, my tentative plans are to prepare some things this afternoon, and then get a good nights sleep tonight as I am just flat-out exhausted from work this past weekend. I am planning on leaving the house at 9:00 am tomorrow, which should get me to Amarillo around 6:00 pm or so. I have always wanted to visit the "Big Texan" restaurant and have never been able to. I definitely plan on having dinner there upon my arrival tomorrow evening.
Again, chase prospects look good, with discrete supercells a good possibility on Wednesday. I must get to my errands, so I will try to update with more forecast specifics later this evening.
I have alot to get done this afternoon. I am getting ready to head to Best Buy to try to find a new charger cable for my camcorder. I am also going to invest in the latest version of Microsoft Streets and Trips. I lost my mapping software CD for my chasing laptop, and having mapping software on the fly is crucial. It is a must-have.
Anyway, I have to admit that at this point I am excited about Wednesday's prospects. It looks to be my first "official" panhandle chase. I made a brief appearance in the TX panhandle near Shamrock and Mclean last season, but due to time constraints couldnt make it to the real action spots. This week, I do not have to leave for work until Friday, so this comes at a perfect time for me to make it down to the panhandles.
As of this moment, my tentative plans are to prepare some things this afternoon, and then get a good nights sleep tonight as I am just flat-out exhausted from work this past weekend. I am planning on leaving the house at 9:00 am tomorrow, which should get me to Amarillo around 6:00 pm or so. I have always wanted to visit the "Big Texan" restaurant and have never been able to. I definitely plan on having dinner there upon my arrival tomorrow evening.
Again, chase prospects look good, with discrete supercells a good possibility on Wednesday. I must get to my errands, so I will try to update with more forecast specifics later this evening.
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