Tuesday was another great chase day. That makes 2 in a row. While we didn't get 'naders we did see several modest funnels and spinners. The storms were quite dramatic. I learned a lot from these clouds today.

The SPC placed "Moderate Risk" just below us, south of Amarillo. It wasn't long before we were in a "Red Box." Trying to pick our storm.

The most likely candidate � a high precipitation monster � morphed it's way south east from Hereford to Nazareth. Teasing us with varied rotation and sporadic lowering. In the end it was a linear storm with too much precipitation. It kept choking on itself.

We later chose a much more promising beast, also moving southeast along Highway 84. We picked it up in Muleshoe and followed down to Lubbock. It was dramatic at times. And quite tornadic. Lot's of rain and hail. In the end it couldn't get out of it's own way and never really had a chance to drop a serious rotation. It too kept choking itself.

However, It was the best storm in the box as evidenced by the 100 or so chase vehicles we found ourselves in the midst of. Blasting down 84 was every tour group, university team, photographer and tourist in the alley. Even the Doppler on Wheels." It was quite a circus actually. It reached comedic proportions when that ridiculous "Tornado Car" blew by. And some butt head wearing Darth Vader foul weather gear. Reminded me of that scene from Jaws. When everyone and his brother climbed in a boat to go shark hunting. It was comedic and embarrassing. And I was one of them too.

The models are shaping up for a big weekend. It's already being called "High Risk Friday."

Posted by at 8:10 PM | Permalink

Yesterday Allan Gwyn dropped by the hotel to watch the Indie 500. Allan is an "on air" meteorologist with the local CBS TV affiliate here in Amarillo. While having dinner and drinks at the local Steakhouse we discussed the running joke of him speaking in code on the air to his fellow storm chasing buddies. We suggested he tell us where conditions would be best for tornadoes by saying something like "The moon is blue over (town name)"

Sure enough, next morning while we were pouring over data at the hotel � choosing our target � Allan goes on air for the noon forecast and says "By the way, the moon is blue over Clayton NM." I wasn't there to see the broadcast. But I laughed out loud when I heard about it. Allan's a real nice guy. After he got off the air he hit the road in the "News 10 Chase Van" and we kept in phone contact all afternoon arriving at the same storm near sunset.

Clayton was out initial target. We had lot's of shear and more energy moving in. But temps were cool. So we moved south following a storm that went up just north of Tucamcari. As we got up on it back in Texas it rained itself out. So we turned around and blasted south west towards a much larger cell.

Crossing back into NM, we came upon a beautiful monster just west of Nara Visa. Thanks in no small part to Allan.

Posted by at 9:41 PM | Permalink

Dinner drinks and a marginal forecast for tomorrow.

More sleep....

Posted by at 7:32 PM | Permalink

Day 11 - 3124 miles

Aside from the relentless Christian broadcasting (Radio and TV) and the cheesy country music I really do love this part of the country. And it's a good thing because we're spending a lot of time here. I have no problem with Christian broadcasting by the way. Or country music for that matter. But the charm wears off quickly. And I didn't come here to be "saved." I came to chase.

The grind is starting to wear on me a bit. Scrambling off every day for hundreds of miles. The bad food, lack of exercise, road stress and the stress of unfinished business back home are all taking a toll on my sleep patterns. But the storm are beautiful. I'd rather be here than anywhere else right now. And it could be worse. We met several nice folks from Australia today. That's a long way to come for a crap season like this one. Somehow chatting with them I don't feel so bad.

Saturday had us traveling familiar roads again. Up through the OK panhandle into S.E. CO. as far as Lamar. We chased a line of storms zeroing in on the tail end. We had some great rotation right before sunset and really thought we might get a nice tube or spin up. But the outflow choked it before it did the nasty. We followed it back down to Texas after dark arriving back in Amarillo around 1 in the morning.

Tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday are showing similar forecasts for the region. Slight chance of severe storms and possible isolated Super cells. Tornado chances are slim at best. But we'll keep working as this is the only game in the Alley in the foreseeable future.

When all else fails shoot lightning.

Posted by at 11:31 PM | Permalink

Day 10 - 2659 miles

Yesterday turned into quite a road grind. Leaving Liberal KS at 8:30 am, I met Joel in Wichita at 3 p.m. A leisurely lunch then back on the road. Arriving in Amarillo at 12:30 in the morning.

In all my years of chasing I have never spent so much time in one region. In one hotel for that matter. Because of the holiday weekend � and because all forecasts are keeping us here � we decided to book our rooms through the weekend and continue to "base" out of Amarillo. The Hotel isn't too bad. And they give us a great rate.

Resting up after our long road grind yesterday we were suddenly alerted to a severe warning north near Dumas around 6 p.m. So we scrambled. Had a great storm. Interesting combination of shelf features and sporadic lowering. We followed it south into town and landed at our local watering hole for a meal and several cocktails.

Tomorrow has us up in the pan handles again. Probably south east CO.

Posted by at 6:28 PM | Permalink

Day 9 - 2433 miles

Spent last night in Liberal KS. A bustling little prairie town and truck stop hub. A good night's rest and then off to Wichita to turn in the "Hail Catcher."

Joel flew into Omaha yesterday and after a lost luggage snafu had him up late last night - is finally on his way down to pick me up. I sit here in the airport amongst my baggage reflecting on the season of frustration.

I'm not scheduled to fly back until the 10th of June, but if the next week is as bad as this one I'll likely head home early. Not that I've had a bad time. I've enjoyed myself quite a bit actually. But this has been a terrible year for storms. No sense wasting time and money out here if the weather isn't cooperating. Might as well save my nickles for next year. A more seasonal flow is slowly comming back to the alley so I'm not ready to give up yet.

Joel should be here in a couple of hours, then it's back west. Probably another night in Liberal. Tomorrow shows a modest risk of storms in eastern New Mexico. Maybe down to Roswell?

Posted by at 2:24 PM | Permalink

Day 8 - 1816 miles

With a cold front pushing down from the north west we awoke in Boise City OK and made our way down to into Texas to camp out for most of the day in Dalhart. With MCS boundaries pushing north and the front coming down, lot's of instability and shear, we were hopeful that the cumulus field above us would push up a tower.

Forecasts were calling for storms to fire farther west in New Mexico and to the south near Clovis. But conditions seemed promising right where we were, and since I needed to get back to Wichita in the morning I didn't want to put myself too far out of the way.

A couple of "poppers" tired to get going but couldn't. Too much shear. So I decided to break away and get a jump on my trip east. I left Warren and Lisa on the New Mexico boarder and made my way to Liberal KS for the night. Tomorrow I'll meet Joel in Wichita and we'll probably make our way back to the Texas Pan Handle for slight potential on Friday and Saturday.

Posted by at 11:06 PM | Permalink

Day 7 - 1556 miles

Monday night we landed in Lamar CO. in a modest little place (re: dump). We began our Tuesday with a similar forecast; storms off of the foothills sparking up as they move across the plains. SPC had the risk area a little farther to the north. And even though the cells were going up earlier in the day, we didn't have far to go so we took our time getting there. We drove north to Limon and then west towards the foothills.

Frustrations prevailed as the most promising storms continuously glommed into slow moving MCS. We knew that we wanted to be back down towards the Texas Panhandle the next day so after several hours we chose a distant, isolated storm to the south. It proved to be a little out of reach, but a drive through the Comanche National Grasslands made the entire day worthwhile. Spectacular.

Much later, one of the storms to the north that we had followed for several hours ended up becoming tornadic just before sunset. Right over Lamar!!! The place where we began our day!!! Too bad we were about 65 miles south by then. Figures.

When in doubt, shoot lightning.

Posted by at 11:02 PM | Permalink

Day 6 - 1142 miles

Hopes were high and expectations low for what would be my first meaningful chase day of '05. We rolled out of Amarillo around 10:00 a.m. moving north through the OK panhandle and into eastern Colorado. SPC had a 5% over CO's eastern plains with a NW flow kicking stuff up off of the mountains. We had warm moist air moving up from the south so it seemed a good chance that storms would spark up in the foothills and get juiced by the air as they move east.

As we continued north around 1:30 p.m. we could see a large storm building west towards CO. Springs. Being the only game in town we decided to wait and let it move towards us as we sat and had lunch in Lamar.

We went after it around 3:00. first north and then west towards Haswell and Arlington, then bailed as a more promising storm fired to the north east, moving towards Kit Carson then Cheyenne Wells. It would be one of those days. Moving from one storm to another. Trying to position ourselves for the promise of a land spout or tornado. But it wasn't to be.

As the sun began to fall a handful of severe storms again fired towards the west. We were hopeful of a sunset storm with a backlit land spout or a tornado that would never come. The storms were beautiful none the less and gave us quite a light show after dark as we headed back to Lamar for a night's rest.

Among my most favorite places to chase are the plains of Eastern CO. Looks like another fun day tomorrow.

Posted by at 10:35 PM | Permalink

Day 5 - 638 miles

Laundry, old movies and sitting by the pool. Waiting for tomorrow.

A family with kids checked into the room above me. As I type this it sounds like they are practicing their professional wrestling moves on each other. Could be a long evening.

It seems our bets were well placed. Saturday's action turned out to be a bust. I'm glad I didn't go after it. It would have been a long way to go for a disappointment. Seeing as it was a weekend � and this season has been so limp � everyone and his/her brother was on the road. Capt' Nemo said it best, everyone is soooo horny for a chase they were out in droves. It was seductive. I came close but decided no. Good call.

Today as well. Again, decided to pass on an "opportunity" back east in OK. Seems we made the right decision once again. It's been a boring day in Amarillo. But we're well positioned to shoot north tomorrow. Probably South East CO. Pueblo's forecast gives us reason to be hopeful. We'll be rested, laundered and ready to roll. Amarillo is a good place to base. But I'm getting a little stir crazy. And those fricken kids....

Posted by at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Day 4 - 613 miles

I didn't make very much progress with my pawn shop excursion. There are some deals to be had if you are looking for firearms. This is Texas after all. But so far the perfect "chase axe" has eluded me. I'm not really on a mission for a new guitar. Just something to beat on while traveling. Keeping my eyes open.

I decided to go for a drive down to Palo Duro Canyon to kill a couple of hours. I had no idea what I was in for. What a beautiful surprise.

With temperatures pushing triple digits I drove to the bottom of the canyon, loaded my pack with lenses and water and set out on the trail to "Lighthouse Peak." The round trip was about 5 miles through the canyon floor and up the south rim. With temps this high I had the place practically all to myself. It was perfect. One of the most peaceful afternoons I've had in a long, long time. Just what the doctor ordered.

Moisture is returning to the Alley and it looks like a strong northwest flow is setting up. The "Ridge of Death" seems to be dissipating. Fingers crossed for some good chasing in the days to come.

Posted by at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Day 4 - 613 miles

This is where the game gets tough. SPC is calling a "moderate risk" up in Eastern Nebraska. I thought long and hard about driving all night to get it. It's beautiful chase country. I'm familiar with it. And I'm dying for a good game. Problem is, it's probably a 15 - 18 hour drive just to get to the edge of it. And it will probably move east into IA or up into SD. East KS is a closer possibility. But the terrain is not very chase friendly. All in all It's a long way to go for a "maybe."

So I'm placing my chips on the Northwest flow bringing storms off of the mountains into Eastern CO and NM over the next few days. It looks very promising that starting Sunday we'll have them kicking up for several days in a row. If they happen I don't want to miss them. They're not necessarily the tornadic variety. But they are beautiful. And it's a gorgeous part of the country to chase. If I were to chase that moderate risk in NE for a day, I'd be driving all the way back for these.

Nope. I'll sit tight. I think today I'll cruise the pawn shops of Amarillo in search of a beater guitar. We'll cook in 3 digit temps and watch the game from afar. Hope our friends find some action up north. Bets are placed. Fingers crossed.

Looks like the "death ridge" might release it's grip this week. Hoping we can get back to a normal seasonal flow soon.

Posted by at 9:43 AM | Permalink

Day 3 - 521 miles

Blue sky day in the texas Panhandle? How about a visit to Amarillo's Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument?

Did you know that helium is produced continually by the radioactive decay of uranium and other elements? That's a fact of gas.

Did you know that Amarillo is known throughout the cosmos as the Helium Capital of the world? Hey man, It's a fact of gas! So Suck it up and speak with a squeak!

The heat is oppressive here an AMA. We managed an escape by seeing the New Star Wars this afternoon. I give it a big thumbs up. Second only to the original. Here's hoping the weather gets really bad really soon.

Posted by at 6:57 PM | Permalink

Day 2 - 489 miles

Day 2 had me facing a tough choice. #1 Stab north in hopes of catching a marginal chance of a one off in North East Nebraska on Saturday, or # 2 travel west with Warren and Lisa in hopes that some "ridge fringe' might materialize off of the mountains in the next few days in NM or CO.

The problem is simply distance. If I make a play up north I'd be way out of pocket if something were to spark up in the south west. And the harsh truth is, we're all stuck under the death ridge.

Decision made, heading west to Amarillo to camp out for a while.

We did manage to find one photogenic "tornado" in Woodward OK.

Next stop. Ahhhh,.. Amarillo

Posted by at 6:41 PM | Permalink

Day 1 - 197 miles

Greetings from Enid OK. Arwen tells me this is where Reba Mcintyre comes from. Somehow I'm not surprised... They love that twang in OK.

Landed in Wichita early afternoon. Rented a nice "hail-catcher." Set up radios, antennas etc... then hung around scenic SW Wichita.... (sarcasm)

Warren and friend were on their way down from Salina KS. At the time It seemed that I couldn't have picked a better place to land. If there was going to be any thing happening, Wichita was where it would be. So I sat,... and waited...

We hooked up. Traveled west on 400 into Cheney KS for some visibility and parked. Chatted it up with the locals (Warren's chase rig always gets attention - it is impressive) Then we bailed... Turns out a storm fired north of Wichita late in the afternoon. But it was nothing special... (the real action was in Iowa - way out of pocket)

Tomorrow looks like a similar day. We shot south to position ourselves. Blue skies ahead. I'm researching road side attractions. The tackier the better. Suggestions welcome.

Tomorrow is not too promising. We'll see. Food rest... good night.

Posted by at 6:56 PM | Permalink

I know, I know... It's hard to say out loud. The models don't look good. And chaser scuttlebutt has it that the dreaded "Death Ridge" is setting up. Could put a damper on things for the last half of May. But then again, models change. Here's hoping for a change...

NOTE: These maps were generated on 5/15/05. Current long range maps: 6- 10 day, 8-14 days.

I'm blasting off in 3 days no matter what. I'm committed for 3+ weeks. And I intend to make the most of it. But I have to admit, the prospect of flying into a Death Ridge is pretty discouraging. As much as I love exploring the plains on Blue Sky Days � and I really do love it � a 3 week bust would be expensive and painful.

*sigh*

Game on.

Posted by at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As I go through my checklist, gathering and organizing my chase gear, I'm approaching the critical chore of music selection. These decisions can't be made lightly as I am bound to spend many, many hours on the road. My tastes are eclectic. And I have many discs to choose from (last count about 1100 +).

Radio in the Alley leaves few choices. Country, Western, Country AND Western, Classic Rock and Country. Ugh,... And when your on the road, the music retail choices are limited too. There's Walmart, Walmart and Walmart (is there a theme here?).

I'll be burning discs to take with me (I've learned that originals might not make it back). So I have a lot of work ahead of me.

So Far:
• Dave Alvin - The Ashgrove. Fabulous
• Joe Bonamassa. Perfect chase music. I've collected many live shows. JB will be rocking the alley this year.
• Sony Landreth - His new "Grant Street"... sweet!
• The Jelly Jam - 2. Finally, a sequel!!!
• Porcupine Tree - Deadwing. I'll let you know. I loved "In Absentia."
• Maceo Parker - Assorted. For those caffeine driven all night drives.

I'll also be armed with the usual collection of modern, Six-String, blues heavyweights. Ronnie Earl, Robben Ford, David Gogo, Albert Cummings etc.. and of course the Classics like Little Walter and T-bone.

And then there is Jazz... ah, decisions, decisions... When is my flight outa here? Well, I still have a couple of days to get it together.

Suggestions Welcome.

db

Posted by at 11:59 AM | Permalink

It seemed to end as quickly as it began. 3 months can go by in the blink of an eye. Unless of course you're waiting for chase season to begin. I submitted grades for my Spring Web Design Class yesterday. What a great experience.

Overall I was impressed with the students ability to rally at the last minute in preparation of their final presentations. And watching how the individual students manage the "end off school year" stress was both entertaining and nostalgic. I remember it well.

Endicott College isn't exactly SVA (my alma mater) but there were some great students (there are some great professors at EC). This class was a mixed bag of various majors so there wasn't a strong "design" focus. The class was more of a survey of web publishing in general. For the most part the entire group had zero experience with the web. So I was able to get them grounded with the concepts of "standards based" web design right from the start. There were no old habits to break. It was all from the ground up. As a testament to the beauty of CSS, this group was managing style rules and laying out pages in no time.

I've signed on to teach Advanced Typography in the fall � required course for Visual Communications majors � and I cant wait. While I've enjoyed a successful career in Web publishing, print design and Typography are a passion. The course will be entirely focused on creative problem solving rather than technology. I'm really looking forward to it.

Posted by at 12:39 PM | Permalink

This year will be a little different (in many ways). Last year's chase window was short for me. I had a lot of client work piled up and it was all I could to to break away for one week. We all know that timing is everything. Turns out the two weeks leading up to my trip last year were some of the most active and photogenic periods the alley has seen in years. And I,.. well I landed in the final hours of the last day of the '04 outbreak. After meeting up with my chase partner (and cousin) Joel in Omaha, we bagged wedge and a nice elephant trunk within two hours of my touching down. After that it was a "blue sky week." The party was basically over. We spent most of the week hanging around Amarillio TX with Warren, hoping something would break. It didn't. Then it was back home and back to work for Doren.

Any chaser will tell you, the bigger the window the better your chances. So this year I've commited to 3+ weeks. I'm also going a couple of weeks earlier. Hoping to get more southern action. For a change in strategy I'll be flying into Wichita KS on the 18th of May. I'll be on my own for the first week (My chase partner Joel lands in Omaha a week later). I intend to hook up with Warren, wherever he might be at the time. But I expect to be chasing alone until the weather patterns put us in proximity of each other. Never been to Wichita. Looking forward to it.

As I said, Joel comes out a week later. Then we'll probably ditch one of the "hailcatchers" and ride together into June. I'm tentatively scheduled to fly back to Boston on the 10th.

And from the bad time department (as usual), my trip falls right in the middle of a New Home, real estate shuffle.
Right after my return Jodie and I are scheduled to close on a new place in Salem MA. We'll be moving within weeks and scrambling to prep our place in cambridge for sale or rental. Ugh,.. More on that as events unfold. One adventure at a time...

Posted by at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)