2010 Valparaiso University Convective Field Study

Chase B – June 7-17

2003 Honda Pilot start Mileage: 92,319

Average trip mileage: 5,800

Guesses: (In order of guess)

• Car 5: 5560 miles (BHOTR)
• Car 4: 5986 miles (White Lightning)
• Car 3: 5678.9 miles
• Car 2: 5858.5 miles
• THE Pilot: 1 Mile

The Crew:

Car 1: Formerly known as THE Pilot now Guzzler:

Driver: Aaron Brackett

Team leader: Dr. Bart Wolf

Radar Operator: Mack Morris

Navigator: Sean Bailey

Car 2: Barn Burner

Driver: Patrick Hogan

Team Leader: Patrick Adamcheski

Hanna Colliander

Liz Whalley

Car 3: Blue Bomber

Driver: Jacob Cobb

Team Leader: Chris Dannhausen

Natalie Nhok

Rudy Bartels

Car 4: White Lightning

Driver: Mario DiCostanzo

Team Leader: Katia Urban

Videographer: Lisa Meadows

Trip Logger: Jack Gerfen

Car 5: BHOTR (Battle Hymn of the Republic)

Driver: Dan D’Amico

Team Leader: Adam Stepanek

Daria Wolf

Sarah Al-Momar

Funny things and quotes:

• Thank you Enterprise, you will not pick us up in a Jeep Compass…
• Cheapest form of birth control, the CB in your lap during a thunderstorm.
• “High impact showery solutions” sounds like something for your contacts.
• “White Lightning, your tire looks a little low.”
• “Excuse me, a little pizza burp there.”
• “You have to tell the cattle to get a mooooove on.”  In reference to Cheyenne County being storm ready.
• We were only going a little over 50!  In a 35…
• It’s a captastrophy!
• Blew by a Mazda Miata MX-6 towing a boat… why?
• We are kind of between a RUC and a hard place
• “Every CAPE has its CIN, just like every chase has a bust, just like every chaser hates when RUC is wrong, every CAPE has its CIN” our rendition of Poison. 
• “If there is to be any tornado in this time zone, it’s coming out of this cell.” –Bart.
• Chris driving the Pilot with the e-brakes on.
• “Woo Hooo!”
• “Seeing that sign sent shivers down my back” – In reference to seeing Valentine on a mileage sign.
• “HAIL YEAH!!”
• “Our dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree!” 
• “I got my parachute pants and then I cut them off and I got parachute shorts” –Trucker.  He dresses to impress.  Your radio is talking, the jokin is stroking but Papa Bear is in Texas Stadium with purple Bermuda shorts.  Trucker talk continues.  Papa bear 63 is ghost talking out of Texas.  He is cool on his stool and will be in his birthday suit, but no pictures, no pictures please!  He is on his second wind with the Cowboys’ Cheerleaders.  Papa Bear wants us to come down to Tennessee.”  -Papa Bear Trucker on our frequency.
• 9/10 hotel nights with a toilet destroyed in the boys’ room.

License Plate game:

Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maine, Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Iowa, Idaho, North Dakota, Texas, Nebraska, New Jersey, Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, Utah, California, Manitoba, Maine, Delaware, Oregon, Mississippi, Quebec, Arizona, New Mexico, U.S. Government, South Dakota, Virginia, Montana, Washington, Louisiana, Maryland, Wyoming, Nevada, Alberta, Chihuahua, Arkansas, Alaska, Coahuila, and British Columbia.

Day 0. 6/6/10:

We arrive at Valpo by 3:00pm to set up the vehicles and to discuss where our area of interest is.  Setting up the cars was easy, except we were missing a van because we were given a van with out of date tags, and then they wanted to give us a Jeep Compass, which are crap; so we have to wait until tomorrow to get the van.

Day 1. 6/7/10 Outlook: 

As discussed on Sunday, our area of interest is Nebraska.  As of this morning, Lincoln, Nebraska is our terminal destination for the day.  Slight risk west of Salt Lake City, all of Nebraska, more of an uncertainty forecast.  5% tornado.  Hail 30% Hashed west of Lincoln.  Central High Plains.  Mixed layer spreading east.  Surface based CAPE above 3000.  Nightfall will strengthen the low level jet

Day 1. Travels:

8:00am Central / 1300UTC: We all arrive at the parking lot and pack our cars and help set up the new van.

8:12am Central / 1312UTC: We are departing, everyone is excited!

8:12am Central / 1312UTC: Turning Left onto Sturdy Road North.

8:13am Central / 1313UTC: Went through the Loop to LaPorte Ave. East.

8:14am Central / 1314UTC: Left onto Indiana 49 North.

8:29am Central / 1329UTC: Merged onto 80/94 West.

8:54am Central / 1354UTC: Into Illinois, two states traveled thus far.

9:00am Central / 1400UTC: Merged onto I-80 West, paid first toll, $.60.

9:22am Central / 1422UTC: Lisa embarks on the task of finding food… our trunk has the most food out of any car.

11:04am Central / 1604UTC: I-80 turns into 280/74 West.

11:18am Central / 1618UTC: Crossed the Mississippi into Iowa, our third state.

11:25am Central / 1625UTC: Merged onto I-80 West again.

11:31am Central / 1631UTC: Pulled off at the World’s Largest Truck Stop on I-80.  Stopping for lunch and refueling.  It’s massive!!  227.1 miles traveled so far.

12:17pm Central / 1717UTC: Gas and window cleaning.  Went to the Pilot across the street from the I-80 stop where it was $2.489 per gallon.  56.24 gallons for $140 at the pump.

• Adam discussed the chaser term “Rollage” that simply means that there are linear or multicellular storms that may have hail or heavy rain, but an extremely small chance of tornadoes.  In this case, we will let the storms simply roll over us to observe them.

1:02pm Central / 1802UTC: Our first weather feature, light rain!

 2:34pm Central / 1934UTC: Passing through Des Moines, still on I-80 West and cloudy conditions remain.

2:44pm Central / 1944UTC: Took the exit to continue on I-80 West.  Battle Hymn of the Republic was playing in Adam’s car.

3:21pm Central / 2021UTC: Passed through the Adair, Iowa Wind Turbine Field.  There were so many of them!

4:05pm Central / 2105UTC: Stopped for gas and a window cleaning in a really small town just off the highway; a Phillips 66 for $2.55 a gallon.  496 miles so far for the trip at this time.  58.616 gallons was $150. 

4:20pm Central / 2120UTC: Back on I-80 West.

4:34pm Central / 2134UTC: Entered the state of Nebraska, our fourth state.  Saw the site of the College World Series from I-80 on our left.

• Adam says that tomorrow we will have a good chance for rotating hailers.  In the high Plaines, best severe weather occurs after the cold front passes.

Mario has seen his very first 75 mph speed limit sign!

5:20pm Central / 2220UTC: Got off I-80 and merged onto 480 East, then got off at Exit 2, Cornhusker Way East in Lincoln, Nebraska.

5:23pm Central / 2223UTC: Left onto 11^th Street.  We are checking into our hotel, a Holiday Inn Express.

5:26pm Central / 2226UTC: Parked in the Holiday Inn Express.  Total Mileage for the day is 589.4 miles.

Tomorrow’s Discussion:

30% hatching for hail overnight.  Current Radar says there is a tornado warning for Alliance, Nebraska.  Models are unsure about direction, could go southeast or more east.  When it hits us it will be late.  Do we want to go out and chase tonight?  That is the question right now.  Or we don’t and wait for tomorrow.  SPC looks like a Goldfish.  Tomorrow we can go east, south, or west.  West will just be a storm, south there is more risk.  We can see nothing, or we could see rotating hailers.  The culprit is the cap.  Moisture does not look to be an issue.  Cap will be in effect for the next couple days.  Southerly flow in Texas, weak circulation in NE Wyoming.  500mb has due westerly flow, so there is good sheer.  CAPE is strongest in the majority of Missouri.  EHI values in the 4 range, meaning hail will be about it, not for tornadoes.  Pueblo, CO says that there is a good chance for severe weather along the I-25 corridor. 

We will be leaving at 8:00am Central tomorrow morning sharp.  We have chosen to go southwest to southeast Colorado.  We decided to fill up at the Shell station across the street from the hotel.  Price was $2.519 per gallon.  We purchased 29.772 gallons for a total of $75.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 1:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas: 144.628 gallons
• Price of gas: $365
• 589.4 miles for Day 1 / $365.60 spent on the day not including hotel.

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100607_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100607_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0277.html                                
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0278.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0279.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0280.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0281.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0282.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0283.html

Day 2. 6/8/10 Outlook:

Our plan from the previous night is the same, as discussed in our weather discussion.  Our final destination tonight is Guymon, Oklahoma. 

Day 2. Travels:

8:08am Central / 1308UTC: Left the Holiday Inn Express onto Cornhusker Highway West.  Didn’t think Mario was going to wake up, he was sleeping like a baby. 

8:09am Central / 1309UTC: Loop de loop in a Perkins parking lot, merged onto I-80 West.

8:21am Central / 1321UTC: WHITE LIGHTNING GOES FLAT, RIGHT REAR DOWN… Got off at the Milford exit.

8:47am Central / 1347UTC: Put our spare on and will travel 9 miles to the nearest tire store.

8:56am Central / 1356UTC: Left onto US-34 East

8:59am Central / 1359UTC: Entered Seward, Nebraska, the state’s July 4^th central!!

9:02am Central / 1402UTC: Stopped at Mr. Tire for a new 16 incher for White Lightning.  Cost is $111.

9:55am Central / 1455UTC: Tire fixed and we are driving through downtown Seward going back to return to I-80 West.

9:58am Central / 1458UTC: Right onto Highway 34. 

10:03am Central / 1503UTC: Left onto I-80g South which will lead us back to I-80.  Let’s hope the tire issue didn’t ruin the day.

10:08am Central / 1508UTC: Merged right onto I-80 West. 

 10:23am Central / 1523UTC: Exit off I-80 West to I-81 South.

11:16am Central / 1616UTC: Entered Kansas, our fifth state, and for many it was the first time they have been to the state, yours truly included.

11:30am Central / 1630UTC: Bart gave a Mesoanalysis and we will have CAPE of 4,500 in Kansas, but a strong cap, so we will not experience anything for a few hours. 

11:36am Central / 1636UTC: 76.5 degrees outside and 63.2 dew point from a Kestrel measurement.  At this time, the analysis has been updated and now Kansas; which was going to be multicellular based on last night’s data, has been changed to having the ability to sustain supercells.  We are still on I-81 south and are heading for Salina, Kansas for food and gas.

11:52am Central / 1652UTC: Put Taylor Swift in again… I want to blow my head off.

12:07pm Central / 1707UTC: Kestrel reading of 83.1degrees and a 67.4 dew point after we went through an outflow boundary on I-81 South.

12:21pm Central / 1721UTC: Exit off of I-81 South and merged onto I-70 West.

12:40pm Central / 1740UTC: Got off I-70 and turned left onto 156 West towards Ellsworth. 

1250pm Central / 1750UTC: Pulled into a Casey’s for gas.  827.1 miles for the trip so far, 237.7 of those miles occurring today.  Gas was $2.599 a gallon 57.716 gallons cost us $150.

12:59pm Central / 1759UTC: Drove down the driveway to Pizza Hut for a yummy bite to eat, some may have had a little too much to eat…

2:06pm Central / 1906UTC: Back onto I-156 West.

2:07pm Central / 1907UTC: Left turn onto I-14 South.

• Bart lectured that while all the parameters for high chances of severe weather are fun to chase, the biggest storms are to the north/northwest of these areas.  Hail is likely for today’s chase.  Conditions are not favorable for LP supercells or even classic ones as the best viewing structure will be in the development stage of the storm.  As we discussed over the radio, the group consensus is that we continue our original plan of Guymon, Oklahoma as our terminus for tonight.

2:24pm Central / 1924UTC: Two Kestrel readings under the outflow boundary that caught us while we were in Pizza Hut revealed a 10 degree increase in our dew points in about five minutes of driving.  We are now on the moister side of this boundary continuing on I-14 South.

2:29pm Central / 1929UTC: Passed through the bustling metropolis of Lyons, Kansas.

• Listening to more radio chatter, things are starting to get into place.  CAPE is on the rise to 5,000 in Wichita, Kansas.  Another Kestrel reading reveals it is now 88 degrees outside (2:38pm Central / 1938UTC).

2:39pm Central / 1938UTC: Tornado watch issued and includes some of these cities and areas: Alliance, Nebraska 65miles southeast of Wichita, Kansas.

2:47pm Central / 1947UTC: Right turn to stay on I-14 South.

2:55pm Central / 1955UTC: Another Kestrel reading shows our outside temperature of 94 and 72 for our dew point. 

• Theta e values of 364 just east of Dodge City, Kansas, the area we are shooting for in terms of storms now.

3:04pm Central / 2004UTC: Passed through the town of Arlington, turned right to continue to stay on I-14 South. 

3:05pm Central / 2005UTC: Left turn to continue to stay I-14 South.

3:21pm Central / 2021UTC: Left to continue on I-14 South also known as Highway 54 East.

• Wichita CAPE is exceeding 6,000 on the RUC, toiling with the idea of sitting on the side of the road fairly soon.  Heading for the little town of Kingman, Kansas.

3:24pm Central / 2024UTC: Entered the town of Kingman.

3:26pm Central / 2026UTC: Pulled into another Casey’s for gas.  911.7 miles total traveled to this point, 322.3 miles today alone.  $57 at $2.459 for 23.18 gallons.

3:50pm Central / 2050UTC: Leaving the gas station going back to I-14 South.  Heading for Wichita area.  Harper to Medicine Lodge as of now.

3:57pm Central / 2057UTC: South on I-14 but I cannot figure out where we are going at the time, White Lightning does not have radar.  Talking about VIL, vertically integrated liquid. 

4:05pm Central / 2105UTC: Turning left onto I-42 West, and then another right after a small miss. 

4:13pm Central / 2113UTC: Dodge City starting to develop better, cows are sitting down as we pass, they know rain is coming!!  Chase, Berrien, and Clark county just went under severe thunderstorm warning. 

4:31pm Central / 2131UTC: Left on Isabel Road South.

4:43pm Central / 2143UTC: Right on US-160 West, went through Medicine Lodge.

4:57pm Central / 2157UTC: A possible triple point forming in the Greensburg, Kansas area.  Still hazy skies and no sight of any storm on any horizon as we drive.

5:04pm Central / 2204UTC: Now we can start to see storms on the horizon, must have been because we had to climb more in elevation.    

5:11pm Central / 2211UTC: Left onto CM Road 24 South about to pull off, and a minute later we have stopped.

5:35pm Central / 2235UTC: Might have been a bust, going back North on CM Road 24.  Right back onto US-160 East.  Was a bust because the boundary we were chasing was retreating back to the west.  Too much CIN was present and created a cold pool due to rain which created an outflow boundary that was the cause of the main boundary to recede.

5:40pm Central / 2240UTC: Kestrel reading of 90.7 degrees and a dew point of 68.4.

6:03pm Central / 2303UTC: Kestrel reading of 92 degrees and a dew point of 71.

6:15pm Central / 2315UTC: Another Kestrel reading of 94 and dew point of 71.  Cap has been so strong all day, which has diminished all cumulus fields around us.  Waiting for the low level jet to kick in, so we aren’t out of the bag just yet.

6:29pm Central / 2329UTC: Turned left to stay on US-160 North.  Towers are starting to go up and 5,500 CAPE just to our south. 

6:33pm Central / 2333UTC: Turned right on Highway 2 and gassing up on Domino gas station in the small town of Harper.  1,066.5 total miles on the entire trip.  $2.549 a gallon, $104 was spent on 40.801 gallons of gas.  477.1 miles for the day today. 

6:48pm Central / 2348UTC: Turned north on Highway 2.  We are heading for Conway Springs; the cap may have just broken!

6:58pm Central / 2358UTC: Missed a turn, did a U-Turn on SE 140, and backtracking half a mile.

7:03pm Central / 0003UTC: Left onto SE 180 East. 

7:04pm Central / 0004UTC: Kestrel reading of 92 degrees and a dew point of 72.

7:08pm Central / 0008UTC: Street turned to 92^nd Street East.

7:13pm Central / 0013UTC: Cell we are watching develop may produce 2-3 inches of precipitation per hour.  We are racing to get ahead of it so we can get rolled. 

7:16pm Central / 0016UTC: Party Bus renamed to Barn Burner.  The storm is really starting to develop.  CG lightning has been seen multiple times by this point.  Also a nice rain shaft is visible.

7:20pm Central / 0020UTC: Lightning and updraft starting to come together, developing before our eyes as our hearts start racing.

7:24pm Central / 0024UTC: You can see it lower, 54 dBZ on it and can watch the inflow on this bad boy.  CG becoming more common. 

7:26pm Central / 0026UTC: Left on North Ridge Road for a stop and picture session.

7:37pm Central / 0037UTC: Moving east on North Ridge Road because there is a couplet on radar and we want to get in better position. 

7:43pm Central / 0043UTC: Turning right on I-55 East. 

7:56pm Central / 0056UTC: Udall is the town we are in and are taking a right onto South 15, but we need to turn around.  U- turn on 15 South.

7:59pm Central / 0059UTC: More of a line, and not very organized but its building to the northwest.  Turned left on 3^rd Street going south in pursuit.

8:10pm Central / 0110UTC: Right on to US-160 West.

8:27pm Central / 0127UTC: Left onto 160 West

828pm Central / 0128UTC: Right onto 160 West.  Going to hopefully drive through carnage!

8:39pm Central / 0139UTC: Nice heavy rain is washing our cars!  Tried to core punch it and the storms congealed and then became nothing to write home about. 

9:00pm Central / 0200UTC: Pulling into Harper and into a Cenex gas station for potty and food stop. 

9:22pm Central / 0222UTC: We are leaving after a healthy meal and are on our way to Guymon.  Should be about three hours or so until we arrive there.

9:25pm Central / 0225UTC: COBB GETS PULLED OVER FOR SPEEDING, only a verbal warning!  If I got verbal warnings for going 13 over, I would be eligible to drive on a chase!  Cobb is one lucky man!

9:32pm Central / 0232UTC: West on 160 again.  Cobb isn’t answering.  Resumes a few minutes later.

10:01pm Central / 0301UTC: Back in Medicine Lodge and we will need to get gas.

10:05pm Central / 0305UTC: Pulled into a Phillips 66.  Gas is $2.599 a gallon.  1225.5 miles for the entire trip so far.  We paid $103 for 39.632 gallons.  We drove 636.1 miles today.   

10:10pm Central / 0305UTC: Back onto 160 West.

10:56pm Central / 0356UTC: Left to continue on 160 West.

11:02pm Central / 0402UTC: Merged right to continue to stay on 160 West.

11:11pm Central / 0411UTC: Right onto North Broadway into Protection, Kansas.  Wrong turn, go back through Protection.

11:17pm Central / 0417UTC: Back onto 160 West.

• We have been telling stories of past chases, some of them are quite funny and interesting to see how far technology has come around and has benefitted the field. 

11:50pm Central / 0450UTC: Left still onto West 160 still.

12:06am Central / 0506UTC: Left turn onto US 54 South/160 West.  Will stay on this into Guymon.

12:17am Central / 0517UTC: Thousands of sparkling lights in the sky, Angel Dust or wind turbines? Trivia begins!

Pilot: 1 point for Pearls on a 30^th wedding anniversary.

Car 2: 1 point for Magma

Car 3: 2 points for Crème Brule?  I don’t know my French, and Avril is Canadian,

Car 4: 2 points for Lithification, and Kenny Loggins

Car 5: 1 point Male lions kill Cubs?  Must be the curse… and pianissimo.

12:40am Central / 0540UTC: Trivia is over for the night, many are reporting flash flood watches and warnings in their counties.  Still on 54 West; that’s what it’s called now.

12:44am Central / 0544UTC: Enter the town of Liberal, as Reagan spins in his grave.

12:50am Central / 0550UTC: Late night gas at Love’s.  $2.499 a gallon was the price and 30.013 gallons cost $75. 1378.0 miles all together for the trip at this point, 788.6 of those occurring today.

1:02am Central / 0602UTC: Entered Oklahoma, our sixth state so far on 54 West.  Also, many noobs to the state.  Listening into Day 1 SPC, Colorado looks like our best bet so far.  More information coming in, things look like it will be north of the Palmer Divide, 2% tornado threat, hail 15% and same with wind.  Supercell conditions are favorable in the northern High Plains area. 

1:17am Central / 0617UTC: Coming into Hooker, Oklahoma, a location not a vocation.  I wonder how many Hookers live in the city.

1:22am Central / 0622UTC: Lisa, Katia, and Natalie will lead the discussion tomorrow.  Discussion begins at 9:30am.

1:36am Central / 0636UTC: Enter the city of Guymon.  Hotel is close.

1:40am Central / 0640UTC: Left on Highway 3 East and see our Holiday Inn Express and pull in.  1418.1 for the trip.

Manager screwed up our hotels and took away our rooms L apparently we can’t check in after midnight.  So we have us suites instead!

Logistical Wrap up for Day 2:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 191.342 gallons
• Price of gas: $489
• Tires: (1) $111
• 828.7 miles for Day 2 / $600 spent on the day except for Pizza Hut and hotels.

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas: 335.97 gallons   
• Price of gas: $854 total        
• Tires: (1) $111
• 1418.1 miles traveled for Chase II / $965.60 spent on the trip so far except hotels and provided meals.
• 21.02mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy.

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100608_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100608_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0284.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0285.html

Day 3. 6/9/10 Outlook:

10:13am Central / 1513UTC: Three areas of slight risk today, 2% tornado and 30% hatching for hail, and these occur in the northeastern Colorado area.  CAPE is not high, 1,500-2,500 for values.  Unfortunately there appears to be a strong cap, which may hinder our adventures for today, but the landscape should be pretty to look at.  Upslope is going to be what we are going after, as there is insufficient lift without this forcing.  Upper air analysis shows that it is already warm, 12 degrees at 700mb.  Bart then described the Denver Cyclone, the turning of the winds due to the Cheyenne Mountains and the Rockies.  He have decided to go to northwest Colorado and get somewhat close to the mountains so we can watch the genesis occur.  This could be a late night.  Models seem to agree with this location.  Our terminus for tonight is Ogallala, Nebraska. 

Day 3 Travels:

10:48am Central / 1548UTC: Turning left onto Highway 54 North as we leave the hotel.

10:50am Central / 1550UTC: Right on Main Street/Highway 3 West.   

11:03am Central / 1603UTC: Wow the Oklahoma Panhandle is quite flat and someone hit a bird, couldn’t catch which car it was. 

11:20am Central / 1611UTC: Nothing except for THE Pilot almost striking a deer, work signs loom ahead.   

11:38am Central / 1638UTC: Went through the craziest intersection ever.  This road also has four different names, so I’m going to stick with Highway 3 West in the Panhandle.

11:42am Central / 1642UTC: Boise City was pretty cool I guess, No Man’s Land Beef Jerky looked good, only 1,200 residents.

11:45am Central / 1645UTC: Turned right on 287 North towards Denver with the world’s smallest detour.

12:01pm Central / 1701UTC: Entered Colorado, our seventh state of the trip.

12:08pm Central / 1708UTC: Campo 4338 feet in elevation, maybe a population of 10?  Still on 287 North.

Now we are in Mountain Time now, times will reflect this change.

11:26am Mountain / 1726UTC: Came to a complete stop.  Can Brackett negotiate us out of this?

11:29am Mountain / 1729UTC: Entered Springfield, quant little town, saw the Simpsons sitting on the roof of Chubby’s Diner. 

11:36am Mountain / 1736UTC: Two buttes can be seen way off in the distance.  Limon, our destination for gas and food, may be too far away for BHOTR, time to hyper mile. 

11:52am Mountain / 1752UTC: Kestrel reading of 74 degrees and a dew point of 61.  CB radios are botched up in Blue Bomber and Barn Burner and might have to do a switch at our gas stop.  Blue Bomber has it slightly unplugged and can’t be charging anything else or there is too much static.

12:09pm Mountain / 1809UTC: We aren’t going to able to drive under this thing in reference to the harvester and our third sighting of a semi with wind turbine blades.

12:11pm Mountain / 1811UTC: Entered the town of Lamar, Colorado.  LITTLE CAESARS!!

12:17pm Mountain / 1817UTC: Pulled into a Conoco gas station for a fast fill up.  Gas was $2.659 a gallon. $132 was paid for 49.641 gallons. We traveled 1584.3 miles so far to this point, 166.2 miles on the day.

12:55pm Mountain / 1855UTC: Left McDonald’s and are back on 287 North/50 North.

1:03pm Mountain / 1903UTC: Right onto 287 North to continue our path.  Blue Bomber is having bad radio problems still…

1:17pm Mountain / 1917UTC: 83 degrees and 62 dew point from a Kestrel reading.  Blue Bomber now thinks it’s an antenna issue.  CAPE values to the north of us in the 1,500 range and on the rise.

1:30pm Mountain / 1930UTC: Eads was a hoot, banking right on 287 North.

1:50pm Mountain / 1950UTC: Getting run off the road by a Tyson Chicken truck… it’s pretty bad and we are being tailed very closely by him.

1:58pm Mountain / 1958UTC: Adam is waiting for the SPC updates by going onto www.tyson.com to file complaints about drivers.  Holiday Inn Express and Tyson Chicken are getting snaked over.

2:17pm Mountain / 2017UTC: The Tyson driver is complaining to car in front of the Pilot over a passing maneuver, he is the one that is so in the wrong and best of all; it is being recorded on the Black Box. 

2:27pm Mountain / 2027UTC: The area we are going to has 3,000 CAPE but still has a tough cap to break.  Cloud conditions are becoming sunnier. 

2:31pm Mountain / 2031UTC: East of Scottsbluff, our first severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the day. 

2:40pm Mountain / 2040UTC: Cheyenne, Wyoming went under a tornado watch.

2:47pm Mountain / 2047UTC: Tornado watch issued.  Towers are starting to rise now, cap might be broken.

2:53pm Mountain / 2053UTC: Apple core ejection.

2:56pm Mountain / 2056UTC: Left onto I-70 West.  Towers are shooting up.

3:05pm Mountain / 2105UTC: 78 temperature outside and 54 dew point from a Kestrel reading.

3:10pm Mountain / 2110UTC: Top of the Palmer Divide watching a train snake its way through the landscape.

3:19pm Mountain / 2119UTC: Starting to see the towers break down, our hopes are not shattered yet though as we continue to travel down I-70 West.

3:22pm Mountain / 2122UTC: Pulled into a rest stop off the highway for a quick bathroom break.  And we are discussing what our next move is because our towers have disappeared. 

3:45pm Mountain / 2145UTC: Back in the car and back on I-70 West.

3:57pm Mountain / 2157UTC: Seeing a “Turkey Tower” will cost us $15 for the picture. 

4:09pm Mountain / 2209UTC: Took the exit ramp off I-70 to take Highway 79 North.

4:10pm Mountain / 2210UTC: Stopped at a Conoco for gas.  1760.2 miles traveled total for the trip, 342.1 miles today.  Gas was $2.599 and we purchased $95 of gas that was 38.552 gallons.

4:27pm Mountain / 2227UTC: Not really sure of our plan, the cap is a major player right now.  It’s a captastrophy!

4:31pm Mountain / 2231UTC: North on 79 and a quick right at the stop sign to continue on 79. 

4:33pm Mountain / 2233UTC: Missed the little 79 offshoot, made a U-turn and are back on track. 

4:36pm Mountain / 2236UTC: Left on East 30.  We are sitting for a second to figure out a game plan. 

5:38pm Mountain / 2338UTC: Right onto Bennett road and then left back onto 70 Business loop.  Watched a storm blow up just a few miles away.  We think it broke through the cap and we have seen cg lightning and raining.  Patience was a virtue today

5:41pm Mountain / 2341UTC: Very fast potty break at the Conoco again.

5:46pm Mountain / 2346UTC: Right out of the gas station back the way we came on 79, traveled this road three times through Bennett. 

5:56pm Mountain / 2356UTC: Left on Comanche road and we are going to sit and watch. 

6:02pm Mountain / 0002UTC: On the move again.  Left onto 79 again.  Determined its best to go east a few miles. 

6:04pm Mountain / 0004UTC: Left onto Country Road 165 back to 79.

6:05pm Mountain / 0005UTC: Sharp right onto East Road 02 driving along the storm with it on our right.

6:12pm Mountain / 0012UTC: Merged onto 36 East.

6:28pm Mountain / 0029UTC: Storms have begun to die out, but one in southeast Wyoming has exploded.

6:40pm Mountain / 0041UTC: Left on Highway 71 North.  Booking it to get to this Wyoming cell moving into western Nebraska.  It is supposedly looking good; our 3G laptop has not picked up internet in a long time…

7:04pm Mountain / 0104UTC: Apparently we have been without radio contact for almost 30 minutes.  Someone said a tornado warning or something, but no one can hear us and Adam keeps talking.  We think we see it going into Nebraska on GR Level 3.

7:11pm Mountain / 0111UTC: Left turn to stay on 71 North.

7:12pm Mountain / 0112UTC: Right to I-76 West.  Giant hail recording off this storm.  The storms behind us that we followed earlier is a big line. 

7:37pm Mountain / 0137UTC: Right on 14 East.  Have been out of the loop and no one can hear us.  TVS on the southern cell is gone on the cell we are chasing.

7:54pm Mountain / 0157UTC: Cells have been splitting; there are four of them now.  Possible hook on the southern most storm. 

7:58pm Mountain / 0158UTC: Left to follow 138 East.   

8:02pm Mountain / 0202UTC: We will stop going after the storm today and head to our hotel… White Lightning is not in total agreement with this call.  Brackett relinquished driver, jamming to Tootsie Roll.

8:14pm Mountain / 0214UTC: Right turn onto I-76 East, more of a connector to the actual highway.   

8:19pm Mountain / 0219UTC: Left onto I-76 East, the actual highway.

9:01pm Mountain / 0301UTC: Back into the Cornhusker state.

9:03pm Mountain / 0303UTC: I- 76 East turned into I-80 East.

9:06pm Mountain / 0306UTC: Blew by a Mazda Miata MX-6 towing a boat… why?

9:09pm Mountain / 0309UTC: Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in an overtime game 6.

9:17pm Mountain / 0317UTC: It smells soooo bad all of a sudden, must be getting close to the stockyards.

9:23pm Mountain / 0323UTC: Right on Exit 126 to a left on service drive, missed the name.

9:25pm Mountain / 0325UTC: Right to a small road to our hotel.  By the end of the night, we drove 1996.3 miles for the entire trip.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 3:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 88.193 gallons
• Price of gas: $227
• 578.2 miles for Day 3 / $227 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas: 424.163 gallons       106.041
• Price of gas: $1081 total
• Tires (1): $111
• 1996.3 miles traveled for Chase II / $1192.60 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 18.83mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100609_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook: 
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100609_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0286.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0288.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0287.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0289.html

Day 4. 6/10/10 Outlook:

We are staying in the same hotel tonight!  That will make things nice and easy for us.  This is because there is a moderate right over us on the SPC Convective Outlook.  10% tornado and 45% for hail.  This is looking like a good day.  It is interesting that all of a sudden that they have upgraded their forecast.  They must figure that the cap can be broken.  Looks like the upper levels may cooperate with us today.  Dew points will be high and supercells should occur and that tornadoes are likely, with strong ones occurring over night.  Looking at surface maps in the region, it is very moist.  Soundings also look favorable for severe weather today, and the hodographs look amazing for supercells.  We have to be right along and just to the north of the boundary today because the atmosphere looks great, but the dynamics are not looking good.  We need to break the cap again.  We also need to work on our radio problems, so we spent about 30 minutes to try and fix our problems.  They seem to have worked by the time we finished.  We are going to stay in the same hotel.

Day 4. Travels: 

9:42am Mountain / 1542UTC: Right out of the hotel and into the gas station next door but it is too expensive so we are going to find another one in Ogallala.  We are going East on A Street.

9:47am Mountain / 1547UTC: Right onto North Spruce St so that we can go to a lake nearby.  Barn Burner’s antenna is being bent by a flag with a beer mug on it.

9:50am Mountain / 1550UTC: Right onto 61 East.  On our way to Lake McConaughy for a scenic route.

9:56am Mountain / 1556UTC: Stopped at the lake to view it, very pretty.

10:09am Mountain / 1609UTC: Left the scenic overlook, we thought that we left Katia there, but she was safe and we drove right alongside it. 

10:13am Mountain / 1613UTC: Left onto 92 West and we are still along the lake.

10:29am Mountain / 1629UTC: Kestrel reading shows 68 degrees over 56 degrees dew point.

10:40am Mountain / 1640UTC: Right onto Highway 92 West.  We don’t want to pay $3.04 a gallon.

10:53am Mountain / 1653UTC: Pulled into the little town of Oshkosh and got gas at a Sinclair.  Gas was $2.79 a gallon.  We purchased $185 worth of gas for 66.094 gallons 2052.1 miles have been driven on the trip so far, 55.8 miles occurring today so far.

11:12am Mountain / 1712UTC: We pulled out of the gas station back onto 92 West.  Rumor has it that we will see Vortex 2 around today as they will be descending into our area.  It would be so cool to see them!

11:30am Mountain / 1730UTC: Bart is now thinking that we might need to go south now.  The slight circulation might be moving south.  We might be changing directions.  Details to follow…

11:52am Mountain / 1752UTC: Missed the turn to Bridgeport, made a U-turn back half a mile to our exit. 

11:53am Mountain / 1753UTC: Right on 385 South and arrived in Bridgeport. 

11:56am Mountain / 1756UTC: Pulled into Subway for Lunch, while another group went to Burger Werx.

12:48pm Mountain / 1848UTC: “We are kind of between a RUC and a hard place”, Bart in reference to where we would go.

1:00pm Mountain / 1900UTC: Bart just doesn’t have a good feeling about the setup as we still sit in the burger joint parking lot.

1:09pm Mountain / 1909UTC: Leaving the burger joint and turned left back onto 385 South.  We might have to sit and wait somewhere soon.  Nothing is happening now, and it might not be the cap either. 

1:14pm Mountain / 1914UTC: Just passed by a wagon train with porta-potties on the end of them.  I didn’t think the Amish could use those.  Lots of horses and donkeys with this train.

1:17pm Mountain / 1917UTC: Right onto a nameless dirt road, possibly to sit or turn around.

1:21pm Mountain / 1921UTC: Sitting on this road trying to figure out where to go.  We are throwing out good ideas all around.  Bart and Adam continue to discuss our plan. 

1:25pm Mountain / 1925UTC: We decide to drive south and monitor as we drive.  Right back onto 385 South.

1:28pm Mountain / 1928UTC: Right to continue on 385 South.

1:35pm Mountain / 1935UTC: Having an in depth discussion about Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke, I don’t know why, Pepsi is way better!

1:39pm Mountain / 1939UTC: We can see towers to our right, they are very far away.

‘Very CAPE has its CIN, just like every chase has a bust, just like every chaser hates when RUC is wrong, ‘very CAPE has its CIN. 

1:57pm Mountain / 1958UTC: Right on Highway 30 West and are now stopping for gas in Sydney.  Gas was $2.57 a gallon.  We paid $62 for 24.039 gallons.  The total trip has been 2142 miles, 145.7 of them occurring today.

2:21pm Mountain / 2021UTC: Leaving the gas station and turning right back onto 30 West.

2:27pm Mountain / 2027UTC: Left towards Sterling Colorado via 19 South.  Passed an NSSL truck.

2:31pm Mountain / 2031UTC: Right to continue on 19.  Mesoscale discussion just issued seems to have backed off on initial predictions.

2:40pm Mountain / 2040UTC: Back into Colorado after a quick stop on the side of the road.

2:59pm Mountain / 2059UTC: Right on 138 South.

3:01pm Mountain / 2101UTC: Right on a small dusty road, CR 40 to sit.

3:46pm Mountain / 2146UTC: After sitting and playing Jackpot for a while, we are going to head west.  Right on 138 South.  Storms have begun to fire by the mountains, they look better than yesterday.

3:52pm Mountain / 2152UTC: Entered the town of Sterling. 

3:56pm Mountain / 2156UTC: Right onto North 7^th Street but we needed a detour.

3:58pm Mountain / 2158UTC: Right onto Main Street.  Turns into 14 West.

4:13pm Mountain / 2213UTC: 83 degrees over 63 degree dew point from a Kestrel reading.

4:23pm Mountain / 2223UTC: Stopped at a pull off to discuss a game plan.  It’s been rumored that Vortex 2 may only be a town behind us. 

4:33pm Mountain / 2233UTC: A cell in the Denver area is exploding in just two scans.  Pulled out of the pull off back to the highway.

4:39pm Mountain / 2239UTC: Left on Highway 52 with Van Halen blaring!  dBZ is going up, 67 on one scan!

4:50pm Mountain / 2250UTC: Left on CR FF and we stop.  Huge tower popping up right at our 4:30 direction. 

4:59pm Mountain / 2259UTC: We have decided to chase the southern cell, booking it to get there.  We are super excited!  And a third cell is popping up within the past two scans!

5:02pm Mountain / 2302UTC: SPC is upping its predictions, though the excitement in everyone’s voice made it hard to hear.  The road network might be our bane today; we are going to find a way.

5:08pm Mountain / 2308UTC: Gassing up here at a Phillips 66. Gas is a $2.63 a gallon.  We bought 28.420 gallons for $75.  We have traveled 2243.2 miles for the trip so far, 246.9 miles today.

5:24pm Mountain / 2324UTC: Pulling out of the gas station, a NASCAR fast stop.  Going to I-76 East.

5:27pm Mountain / 2327UTC: Storms all around are blowing up; we can choose any storm we wanted to!

5:32pm Mountain / 2332UTC: Right exit ramp off the highway and then a right onto Colorado Street.

5:32pm Mountain / 2332UTC:  Left on 71 South.

5:34pm Mountain / 2334UTC: Right turn for South on 71.  The cell we are on has been exploding and nearby ones are dissipating slightly.  This is good so that ours is the only one in the game.  Our storm, 65dBZ.

5:40pm Mountain / 2340UTC: TORNADO WARNING ON OUR CELL!!! We will be right in the middle of it!!

5:51pm Mountain / 2351UTC: “If there is to be any tornado in this time zone, it’s coming out of this cell.” –Bart.  Turning right onto a dirt road, CR 8. 

6:39pm Mountain / 0039UTC: Watched the supercell develop, and played catch while watching the monster develop.  Now we are going to the southern cell as the northern one we were watching turned linear.  Back on 71 South.

6:49pm Mountain / 0049UTC: Watching the rain free base lower from the road, chasers are all over behind us.

6:52pm Mountain / 0053UTC: This storm is perfect.  Chasers are trying to pass but we cannot stop smiling.  We are pulling over to watch, right on another county road.  Lightning is all around.

7:18pm Mountain / 0118UTC: We are leaving the dirt road as WE SAW A TORNADO!! MY FIRST AND FIRST FOR MANY MORE!!  We are all ecstatic!!  We are in a somewhat dangerous spot though, and a TVS has popped up for an embedded circulation that was very close to us and we don’t have much of an escape route.  Bart will see us through.  Turned right back on the highway.

7:23pm Mountain / 0123UTC: IT CAME BACK AND WE STOPPED AGAIN!!  Turned right on the next county road.

7:29pm Mountain / 0129UTC: We had to leave our spot; it became very dangerous because of the lightning.  Back on the highway.  We can see a great mesocyclone and we will not stop again until Last Chance because we don’t have a way out.

7:31pm Mountain / 0131UTC: Silly chasers are on the highway.

7:35pm Mountain / 0135UTC: We are at an intersection with it and it is very close.  We need to get out now, there are chasers everywhere.  Turned left on highway 76 East.  It is at our right rear.

7:42pm Mountain / 0142UTC: Left on CR L a dirt road and are going to turn around and watch.

7:50pm Mountain / 0150UTC: A TORNADO IS NO MORE THAN A MILE AWAY!!  We need to get away but Vortex 2 is in our way.  Back on the highway heading East.  Vortex is picking up their sticks that measure temperature and other parameters. 

7:57pm Mountain / 0157UTC: Left on CR5 another dirt road to watch.

8:07pm Mountain / 0207UTC: Watched it even more and the circulation is going right over our head.  Want to leave but lots of chasers AND THE TIV!!  DREAM COME TRUE!!  Awaiting directions, but we are going to go east back on the highway.

8:10pm Mountain / 0210UTC: The rain begins.

8:20pm Mountain / 0220UTC: Left onto CR 2 to watch again for a second.

8:29pm Mountain / 0229UTC: Left back on the highway and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree in White Lightning, but it’s all good now!!

8:36pm Mountain / 0236UTC: Bart is so happy over the radio; this was the best tornadic cell in the country today.  We just got a new scan and it has a hook on it and we are driving right next to it to the north of us.  Lighting looks great.

8:43pm Mountain / 0243UTC: Dannhousen driving with the emergency brake on in THE Pilot (Guzzler) and just realizes it.  The supercell is moving into higher CAPE values, which very well could intensify it.

8:56pm Mountain / 0256UTC: Turned into 36 East.  The supercell has been upgraded to severe, and could be a tornado warning.  This is in Yuma County, the one we just passed into in search of dinner. J  We have no way of getting home.

9:15pm Mountain / 0315UTC: Heading East, we can see storms to our north and east.  A squall line may hit out hotel by the time we get back to it.

9:22pm Mountain / 0322UTC: On to 385 going North toward Wray.

9:27pm Mountain / 0327UTC: Left onto 385 to continue on it.  The storm out our right side is the same one that we saw our tornadoes from. 

9:32pm Mountain / 0332UTC: We come to a stop because of the construction.  The storm is right there basically, so we are a little on edge, but we will be ok.  Moments later we are moving again.

9:39pm Mountain / 0339UTC: Chasers following the chase car through the construction, how ironic?

9:44pm Mountain / 0344UTC: “We may have broken the cap” – Bart said as we are out of the construction.

9:52pm Mountain / 0352UTC: The last scan revealed that the storm is turning right, into our path into Wray.  It has TVSs.

9:59pm Mountain / 0359UTC: Cenex for gas.  It was $2.899 a gallon.  We paid $74 dollars for gas for 25.526 gallons.  We traveled 2401.3 miles on the trip so far, with 405 of those coming from today.  We have pulled into a 7-11 for food.  There was a time delay because the sirens went off at the gas station and we powered down in case of bad news.  We sat in the parking lot and positioned THE Pilot to try and collect Black Box data of the storm over a hill.  The lightning was incredible.

10:47pm Mountain / 0447UTC: We are leaving the 7-11 on our way back to Ogallala, Nebraska to our hotel.  The storm looks amazing; a super low wall cloud is visible from the car and parking lot.  Lightning is doting the skies and we need to core punch to get to our hotel.  It will be one fun ride.  Going on 385 North.

11:17pm Mountain / 0517UTC: We are running over tons of frogs and mice running across the road.  We all feel really bad!  It was really weird, there were hundreds of them and you could swerve all you wanted to and you would hit 20!

11:59pm Mountain / 0559UTC: Right on I-76 East.

12:27pm Mountain / 0627UTC: Exit 126 and we are going to the hotel again.  2500.5 miles for the entire trip.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 4:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 144.079 gallons
• Price of gas: $396
• 504.2 miles for Day 4 / $396 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  568.242 gallons      
• Price of gas: $1477 total
• Tires (1): $111
• 2500.5 miles traveled for Chase II / $1588.60 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 22.02mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100610_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100610_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0290.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0291.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0292.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0293.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0294.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0295.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0296.html

Day 5. 6/11/10 Outlook:

Our area of interest today based on the SPC Day 1 looks to be in southeast Colorado.  We have 30% hatching for hail and 5% tornado.  Colorado looks pretty clear, so that will be good for heating and there is some up slope flow so the forcing is good.  The only problem is our drive; it will be a long day.  Looking for the cap, there may be a little bit of cooling at 700mb, so this will play into our favor because it isn’t as bad as its been.  EHI values are pretty good for the Colorado area.  We will be heading for Lamar, Colorado tonight for our hotel.     

Day 5. Travels:

9:39am Mountain / 1539UTC: Left the hotel and we have all switched cars.  Lisa and I are now in BHOTR and we are going to a grocery store to stock up on supplies.

9:58am Mountain / 1558UTC: Left the store and are going to go on the interstate to Brush, I-80 West.

10:10am Mountain / 1610UTC: Mario forgot something, so we are going to fill up at a Sinclair.  It was $115 for 41.087 gallons at $2.799 a gallon. 2511.9 miles is the total amount driven on the chase, 11.4 of those miles today.  We are just cleaning our cars as White Lightning was the only one to go back to the hotel.

10:42am Mountain / 1642UTC: Left the gas station and back onto I-80 West.

10:53am Mountain / 1653UTC: SPC has completely changed and then Guzzler went onto I-80 by accident.  All the vans went the correct way!

10:56am Mountain / 1656UTC: Back in Colorado.

11:01am Mountain / 1701UTC: Sitting at a Shell station to wait up for the Guzzler, and we are going to chat about what we are going to do because SPC made these changes.  A new plan is coming in minutes.

11:17am Mountain / 1717UTC: SPC is now shifting their area north from original and they use the words “tornado event”.  We are all back together on I-80 again.

12:25pm Mountain / 1825UTC: Merged onto I-76 West.

12:28pm Mountain / 1828UTC: Exited to 71 South.

12:30pm Mountain / 1830UTC: Left to continue on 71 South.

12:32pm Mountain / 1832UTC: Right to stay on 71 South.

12:52pm Mountain / 1852UTC: 75 degrees and a dew point of 56 from a Kestrel reading.

1:04pm Mountain / 1904UTC: Back to Last Chance.

1:29pm Mountain / 1929UTC: Possible tire issue on Guzzler, looks ok from the road.  Blue Bomber takes the lead to check it out and it’s ok.

1:37pm Mountain / 1937UTC: Pulled into Limon and took a left onto South 287.  We are going to go to Conoco.  Gas was $2.799 a gallon $131 for 46.801 gallons.  2705 miles for the trip so far, with 204.5 of those miles driven so far today.

1:54pm Mountain / 1954UTC: Merged onto I-70 West.

1:56pm Mountain / 1956UTC: Took exit 359 to Limon for lunch at McDonalds.

2:33pm Mountain / 2033UTC: Leaving McDonalds and back on I-70 East.  Saw tons of chasers in a nearby parking lot with 3 DOWS.

2:37pm Mountain / 2037UTC:  Back to Highway 71 and see even more chasers. 

2:41pm Mountain / 2041UTC: Left to stay on 71 South.

2:47pm Mountain / 2047UTC: Right on Road 3A, a dirt road for a stop.  It appears that our cap is not as strong as the past couple of days.  Discussion says that storms can become severe after only as short as an hour after initiation. 

2:54pm Mountain / 2054UTC: On the move again back on 71.  The storms are erupting in the Denver area.  Bart says we are going to be happy.  Denver storm has 75dBZ on it and has signs of turning right. 

3:15pm Mountain / 2115UTC: Welcome to Punkin Center and 15 seconds later we are out.

3:18pm Mountain / 2118UTC: 81 degrees over 54 from a Kestrel reading.

3:21pm Mountain / 2121UTC: BHOTR just struck a bird, don’t know the outcome.  Turning left on Road T to sit and wait.

3:55pm Mountain / 2155UTC: The storm we were waiting for just put a tornado warning on it.  Minutes later, the storm over Denver does the same thing!  Back on the highway in pursuit.

4:03pm Mountain / 2203UTC: Storm is really starting to look good.  Cg lightning is starting to develop and an inflow band is starting to become visible.

4:13pm Mountain / 2213UTC: Kestrel reading of 84 degrees and a 55 dew point.  The storm is to our southwest and we have a perfect visual of it.  Will probably be stopping to watch it soon, just need to get in the right position. 

4:24pm Mountain / 2224UTC: It is looking great.  It has a very wide lowering base.  Shear has increased to 92 mph. 

4:30pm Mountain / 2230UTC: Left on Road J to stop and look.  Other storms, especially the one over Colorado Springs looks mighty good. 

4:40pm Mountain / 2240UTC: Heading south because we can see a very low wall cloud and Barn Burner has a dash warning…

4:43pm Mountain / 2243UTC: RIGHT REAR DOWN ON BARN BURNER!!

4:58pm Mountain / 2258UTC: Changed the tire in a local gas station in record time.  Supercell is right there and we are driving to a tire place, hopefully they can fix it, taking a right and a right again into a Phillips 66.

5:22pm Mountain / 2322UTC: The tire is patched and we are going back to the highway.  $8 for the fix.  It was the ultimate tack!!  Rapid intensification!!  72dBZ!!

5:24pm Mountain / 2324UTC: Back on 71.  Not a very good position for viewing or safety. 

5:32pm Mountain / 2332UTC: Supercells all around us.

5:35pm Mountain / 2335UTC: Left on US-50 East.  Rotation is looking great aloft, not at the ground yet. 

5:38pm Mountain / 2338UTC: Entered Rocky Ford.  TVS popped up on second cell.  We aren’t going to be able to get ahead of it.

5:42pm Mountain / 2342UTC: WE’VE GOT HAIL!!  3.5 INCH INDICATED HAIL!!

5:47pm Mountain / 2347UTC: HUGE HAIL PELTING THE VEHICLES!!  TORENTIAL RAIN FLOODING THE HIGHWAY!!

5:50pm Mountain / 2350UTC: Out of it, man was that cool!  Dust is being kicked up because of the outflow and the rain and hail shaft is easily visible.

6:05pm Mountain / 0005UTC: Stopped for outflow along some railroad tracks.

6:18pm Mountain / 0018UTC: Back on the highway again and got some great winds.  Kestrel reading was a max 25mph, during the weak winds!  Going towards Lamar.

6:33pm Mountain / 0033UTC: Huge outflow and the cell has a tornado warning on it.  Could be another great day for a visual on a tornado! 

6:38pm Mountain / 0038UTC: Watching scud behind us and to our left.  Looks like it’s trying to come down. 

7:00pm Mountain / 0100UTC: Onto North 287 with VERY low scud and an absolutely insane view of the mesocyclone.  This thing is beautiful, although last two volume scans show weakening because the cells are coming together.  Let’s hope it strengthens.

7:06pm Mountain / 0106UTC: Turning left onto a dirt road to watch.  Great view.

7:29pm Mountain / 0129UTC: Tornado warning on our cell.  Going north so we have good contrast.  Scud is low and lightning adds to the portrait. 

7:34pm Mountain / 0134UTC: Turning left, it looks amazing. 

 7:49pm Mountain / 0149UTC: The tornado didn’t touch down but we had to run inside to avoid rain and hail, it was very cool and the sliding door on BHOTR might have gotten broken.  We also saw the original TIV heading north.

7:54pm Mountain / 0154UTC: Tornado warning with it still, still hailing, and the storm has intensified and BHOTR’s door works just fine.  We turned right back on the highway.  LCL heights have increased the past couple hours; that could be one factor in why this cell didn’t drop a twister.

8:04pm Mountain / 0204UTC: Stopped for a potty break.  Probably done for the night chase wise.

8:13pm Mountain / 0213UTC: Back on 287going South.  What a day!

8:15pm Mountain / 0215UTC: Left bank on 50 East towards Lamar.

8:23pm Mountain / 0223UTC: Pulled into the hotel at Lamar.  What an early day!  2897.3 miles for the trip so far.  When we pulled into the hotel, Bart informed me that he put gas in the other cars while Barn Burner was getting the tire patched.  $41 for 15.774 gallons at $2.599 a gallon.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 5:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas:  103.662 gallons
• Price of gas: $287
• Tire Patch (1): $8
• 396 miles for Day 5 / $295 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  671.904 gallons       134.381
• Price of gas: $1764 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 2897.3 miles traveled for Chase II / $1883.6 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 21.56mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100611_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100611_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0297.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0298.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0299.html

Day 6. 6/12/10 Outlook:

Today our area looks to be the Oklahoma panhandle.  We have a visible boundary on the surface analysis so it looks conducive for storms.  CAPE values look to be ok and the CIN is not so high, so the cap might be good like last night.  This might be one of the last days to see good structure.  We have 30% hatched again for hail and 5% for tornadoes, kind of the same as yesterday.  We will be staying in Woodward, Oklahoma tonight

Day 6. Travels:

10:00am Mountain / 1600UTC: Left the hotel in search of cheap gas and back on 287 going through town.  We could see that the DOWs and Vortex 2 vehicles are still at the Cow Palace Inn across the street. A bunch of us went over to look at them last night, they were amazing!  All the computers and the different styles of radar were all fascinating to look at in person.

10:10am Mountain / 1610UTC: Took a Kestrel reading as we left town, 65 over 53.

10:28am Mountain / 1628UTC: Went through another wind turbine field and then I realized we have already gone by it because off in the distance is Two Buttes, so we are back in the Panhandle.

10:33am Mountain / 1633UTC: The fleet just got Rick Rolled!!

10:47am Mountain / 1647UTC: New SPC Day 1 has moved our area more west.  The cap seems to be more of a player today than originally thought, but supercells still are likely to form.

10:53am Mountain / 1653UTC: Stopped for gas at a Loaf ‘N Jug.  Gas was $2.659 a gallon.  We paid $100 for 37.607 gallons.  We have traveled 2,950 miles to date with 52.7 of those miles occurring today.

11:10am Mountain / 1710UTC: Back on 287 South.

Back to Central Time, times will reflect this change.

12:39pm Central / 1739UTC: Back in Oklahoma.

12:56pm Central / 1756UTC: Back in Boise City and past the big dinosaur.

1:00pm Central / 1800UTC: 68 over 56 for the Kestrel reading and it still very cloudy

1:01pm Central / 1801UTC: South on 385, Guzzler missed it.

1:15pm Central / 1815UTC: TEXAS MY HOMELAND, our seventh state of the trip.

1:34pm Central / 1834UTC: Kestrel reading shows 79 degrees over 59 dew point.

1:44pm Central / 1844UTC: Pulled into the Dairy Queen in Dalhart.

2:22pm Central / 1922UTC: Left Dairy Queen and we can see a storm starting to shoot up.  Everything is bigger in Texas!  We are going to head east on 287 to hopefully get hit by some hail!

2:29pm Central / 1929UTC: When the cows are humping the hodographs are humping!!  In pursuit of a cell that we could see from the parking lot, starting to shape up quite nicely.

2:35pm Central / 1935UTC: Highest VIL density on this chase with this storm. 

2:43pm Central / 1943UTC: Making a U-Turn so we can get to see the tornado warning that just went on this cell.  Dan almost took out THE Pilot in the process. 

2:45pm Central / 1945UTC: Right onto 807 North.  67DBz on it and its raining on our cars even though it’s sunny!

2:49pm Central / 1949UTC: 82 over 65 from a Kestrel measurement.

2:56pm Central / 1956UTC: Right on 54 East towards Stratford.  It’s starting to turn right and it may be forming an appendage. 

3:06pm Central / 2006UTC: Right on South 287.  Now I have a great view of it, it’s starting to develop and now has more severe markers on it.

3:10pm Central / 2010UTC: Right onto 15 East.  Freebird is blasting right now as we go into pursuit mode!  Our storm is riding on the boundary and the appendage is starting to become more visible on our computers.

3:23pm Central / 2023UTC: Possible core punch in the next couple minutes.  In order to see the tornadic part of the storm, we are going to have to cut through some possible heavy rain and hail.  We are going to play storm chase field goal.  We are going to go slow so we avoid the heavy stuff.

3:34pm Central / 2034UTC: Rain is starting to come down harder as we enter Hansford County.  We are in the cap rock region now, so there is a lot more topography now.  We are still unsure as to where we are going to make our turn for a better viewing area, but we are still on the same road. 

3:42pm Central / 2042UTC: We have to turn around now, Bart needs us to 180 as fast as possible as the storm fills in and we are flooring it to get out of there.  

3:44pm Central / 2044UTC: The storm turned into an HP supercell, those are very dangerous because you can’t see the tornado.

3:47pm Central / 2047UTC: A torrential downpour is making the road very dangerous and as we are driving, the TIV drives by us.  STORM COULD PRODUCE 6 INCH DIAMETER HAIL!!

4:03pm Central / 2103UTC: Going to try and head to Amarillo so that we are on the other side in the boundary, but we need to go quick so that the line doesn’t fill up. 

4:13pm Central / 2113UTC: Back in Stratford and onto 287.

4:18pm Central / 2118UTC: No way.  The 6 inch hail marker on our computers was right.  SPC has confirmed 6 inch hail, or so they say.  Holy crap that is close to world record.  That would have destroyed our cars for sure!

4:22pm Central / 2122UTC: PORSCHE 968 CHASER!!  NO SHIRT EITHER!!

4:41pm Central / 2141UTC: Entered Dumas.  Stratford storm looks to be a fast moving left mover and the storm with the 6 inch hail was just sitting over a small town. 

4:44pm Central / 2144UTC: Pulled into Valero for gas in Dumas.  It was $2.69 a gallon. It cost $150 for 55.576 gallons.  3195 miles have been traveled so far with 297.7 miles occurring today.

5:05pm Central / 2205UTC: Back on the prowl and we are going south because the characteristics look better there.

5:33pm Central / 2233UTC: 92 over 72 for a Kestrel reading.  Still on 287 South for reference.

5:42pm Central / 2242UTC: Can see the Amarillo skyline, it is the biggest city we have seen by far.  Exiting off the highway and right on 335 West Loop.

5:50pm Central / 2250UTC: SW 9^th Street we are stopping and parking next to the train tracks to sit and watch.

6:38pm Central / 2338UTC: The outlook does not look good for us and where our hotel is.  So we are going to go northeast back towards our hotel.  If we were to pursue the cells to the southwest, it would be a very late night for us.  Back on 335 going south.

6:43pm Central / 2343UTC: Left onto I-40 East. 

6:47pm Central / 2347UTC: Dan did a successful sling-shot between two semi-trucks in Amarillo. 

7:10pm Central / 0010UTC: The storm we were following with the huge hail has Doppler indicated 13.4 inches of rain.  Got off for 207 so that we can go north and we had to slow down because of police activity at the Love’s gas station to our right.

7:21pm Central / 0021UTC: Right in the city of Panhandle for 60 East.  The low level jet has kicked in and has helped the cells from earlier that crossed the boundary to continue to stay severe.  One has a tornado warning on it.  Radar images show the beginning of a hook and our weather radios have beeped on more than one occasion for this storm.

7:42pm Central / 0042UTC: Pulled into Pampa to turn left on 70 North.  Our storm has 67dBZ.  And we are going to get gas at a Phillips 66.  Gas was $2.63 a gallon.  We paid $75 for 28.420 gallons.  We drove 3319.2 miles, 421.9 of them today.

8:08pm Central / 0108UTC: Left the gas station and in pursuit.  The anvil on it looks very pretty with the sun right next to it.  While refueling, we noticed that it has started to turn right and separate from the other storms.  It looks great.

8:21pm Central / 0121UTC:  Cg lightning is way off in the distance and the latest volume scan shows it looks a little blobular.  Hope this is just a pulse. 

8:27pm Central / 0127UTC: The skies have darkened considerably.  And our one storm from earlier had an integrated rainfall value of 15.4 inches. 

8:35pm Central / 0135UTC: A beautiful view of the supercell over a small valley/canyon is what we can see to our 9 ‘o clock and the wall cloud is visible to our 11.  The low level jet and crossing the boundary give the storm a great chance to drop a tornado.  It actually could be a tornado. 

8:40pm Central / 0140UTC: The terrain is spectacular and the storm with these canyons is the most incredible sight.

8:42pm Central / 0142UTC: We are pulling off to watch this baby in an old gas station.  DROP ONE!!

9:43pm Central / 0243UTC: We watched the cell with spectacular lightning.  TVSs are popping up, with the storm behind us possibly dropping one.  The wall clouds were amazing with the lightning and they were so low to the ground.  We are heading east to get away from the storms and to go to our hotel.

10:00pm Central / 0300UTC: Right turn toward Canadian on 83 North.  Barn Burner just got splattered by one of, if not the biggest, bug on the chase.      

10:15pm Central / 0315UTC: Left on 60 East.

10:40pm Central / 0340UTC: Crossed the border back to Oklahoma.

10:49pm Central / 0349UTC: U-turn and then a left on 283.

10:57pm Central / 0357UTC: Right on 15 towards Woodward.

11:28pm Central / 0428UTC: Entered the town of Woodward.

11:34pm Central / 0434UTC: 3,467.3 miles traveled as we pull into our hotel for the night.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 6:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 121.603 gallons
• Price of gas: $325
• Tires + Patch (1): $0
• 570 miles for Day 6 / $325 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  793.507 gallons      
• Price of gas: $2089 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 3467.3 miles traveled for Chase II / $2208.60 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 21.85mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100612_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100612_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0300.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0301.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0302.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0303.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0304.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0305.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0306.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0307.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0308.html

Day 7. 6/13/10 Outlook:

When looking at the satellite imagery, a boundary can clearly be seen in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma.  We will not have a problem with moisture, as it is very juicy.  There is a subtle circulation in the eastern portion of New Mexico.  SPC thinks that today’s area will be somewhat the same, except that it extends farther south into Texas.  Hail is not hatched, but still at 30% and tornado is still at 5% on the SPC page.  Today will be a pretty linear day for our storms, so if we want to see structure, we will need to catch these storms in their infancy.  We will need to find the boundary and get there fast to watch convective initiation.  CAPE values are around 2,500 and moves east as the boundary does.  Our storm that had the 6 inch hail still has not been officially reported, but 4 inch hail has been and possible 5.5 inch.  Sunray, the storm with the rain, had record floods ad was over a foot over record flood stage for the local creek.  Our goal today is to go southwest and wait for the boundary.  We will be staying in the same hotel again tonight.

Day 7. Travels:

10:56am Central / 1556UTC: Pulled out of the hotel and into the Murphy USA across the street.  It was $2.619 a gallon.  We purchased $116 of gas for 44.290 gallons.  Mileage is the same from last night.  And Brackett lost his debit card…oops.

11:12am Central / 1612UTC: Back on the road going west and we have switched cars.  I am now in Blue Bomber. 

11:15am Central / 1615UTC: 74 over 63 for our temperature and dew point from a Kestrel reading.

11:21am Central / 1621UTC: Missed a turn, so we are heading back to town.  And we have to wait for a train, our first train stop of the trip.

11:32am Central / 1632UTC: Took a right onto 15 West towards Gage.

11:39am Central / 1639UTC: New SPC outlook is almost exactly the spot.  We are still under the influence of the boundary.  Hail is still 30%, but it still isn’t hatched.  The new outlook does reveal that there may be a better chance for isolated storms, stout rotating updrafts.

11:57am Central / 1657UTC: Right onto 283 South.  Van Halen blasting once again!

12:06pm Central / 1706UTC: Right on to West 51.  Cells are already breaking through the cap, but are starting to weaken. 81 degrees over 69 from a Kestrel reading, a 150 temp dew point index, only 10 more until a tornado!  (This is just a joke, it means nothing)

12:12pm Central / 1712UTC: Back into Texas!

12:17pm Central / 1717UTC: Onto 60 West.

12:26pm Central / 1726UTC: Blue Bomber just belted out God Bless the USA!!  It brought yours truly to tears.  ‘Merica!!

12:30pm Central / 1730UTC: Looks like we will be sitting just outside the Pampa area to wait for convection.  The cap rock of Texas is now visible again. 

12:39pm Central / 1739UTC: Crossed the Canadian River and are back in Canadian, Texas driving through.  Saw the Twister Attack, half NASCAR, half TIV, half rally car!

12:47pm Central / 1747UTC: Banked right to continue to stay on 60.  Guzzler snaked us over by tricking us into thinking their tire was going down, but then threw a banana peel at us!     

12:55pm Central / 1755UTC: 60 is such a beautiful road.  There are ups and downs and beautiful views of the canyons on both sides and then we go into wooded areas. 

1:05pm Central / 1805UTC: A Kestrel reading showed 86 degrees over a 70 dew point. 

1:18pm Central / 1818UTC: Entered the town of Pampa.  Cumulus clouds are above us, with some towers off in the distance.  I think we will be stopping for some food fairly shortly.

1:24pm Central / 1824UTC: Turned right on 70 North.

1:25pm Central / 1825UTC: Left on West 152.

1:28pm Central / 1828UTC: 85 over 67 from our Kestrel reading.  You can start to see towers going up and high theta e values in our area.  A mesoscale discussion just came out and it includes the eastern Panhandle, where we are.

1:44pm Central / 1844UTC: Cells are starting to interact with the dry line and are big.  There is an oil refinery or something just under the storm cloud.  Kestrel reading shows 90 degrees over 70 dew points.  We are very close to the triple point.

1:51pm Central / 1851UTC: Right to stay on 152 West.    

1:59pm Central / 1859UTC: Left into a Phillips 66 for $2.489 a gallon.  We paid $92 for 36.963 gallons.  We have driven 3,624.3 miles, 157 of those miles being today.

2:06pm Central / 1906UTC: Realized the dry line has pasted us so we are going back onto 152 but going east towards Pampa.  We hope to see some cells.  A tornado watch is also in effect.  The dry line is definitely surging.

2:14pm Central / 1914UTC: Discussions have just come in and they are very long.  Basically we go from this morning to thinking there was no tornado threat, and now there looks to be a good chance again today.  Moderate level for tornadoes.  This is good news!

2:20pm Central / 1920UTC:  We drove under a cell to get gas, and now that we are getting ahead of it, we can just watch it explode.  Best of all it is ahead of the dry line and to the north of the triple point, meaning it is the most likely to gain rotation.  61dBZ on it as of the last scan and GR Level 3 shows a hail marker.  We are going to eat in Pampa, but I would rather skip it and chase!

2:28pm Central / 1928UTC: BHOTR HIT A DEER!! Way to go Dan for great driving, just gave it a little love tap! 

2:29pm Central / 1929UTC: Left turn onto 70 North.

2:31pm Central / 1931UTC: Going to McDonalds.

2:53pm Central / 1953UTC: After mass confusion as to the meeting spot because Guzzler missed the memo, we see Reid Timmer and his fake TIV.  Massive chaser convergence.  North on 70.  Going to an area near yesterday when we sat.

3:08pm Central / 2008UTC: Going after boundaries, storms are starting to go up.  Going after Bart’s gut model and then a sharp left to sit on a road.  Not sure if this is a private or public road, but who cares!

3:16pm Central / 2016UTC: We have to go north now.  Taking the dirt road back to 70 to head north.  Bart is relying off the seat of his pants.

3:19pm Central / 2019UTC: 70 North and we need to book it to get into position.  Now new SPC finally says hatched for hail.

3:36pm Central / 2036UTC: We were driving through some beautiful canyons and then when we came up and out of them, looking out we can see the wall cloud and its right there!  It’s very low.  Bart said some storm to the south has the best structure he’s seen on this trip, but its 200 miles away I guess. 

3:38pm Central / 2038UTC: We are back to our spot from last night!  Exact same spot!

3:51pm Central / 2051UTC: Beautiful rotation on the mesocyclone, but we needed to move because it was literally right on top of us.  Now it’s to our 9 o’clock and it looks fantastic with the scud rotating at such low levels. 

3:54pm Central / 2054UTC: Left turn by a dirt mound and we are unsure of what we are looking at.  Outflow or tornado?  No internet.

4:08pm Central / 2108UTC: SAW TORNADO TOUCHDOWN!! Could have been two.  Later it was confirmed to be two.  Now we are going east so we can get ahead of it so we can watch it!!  Van Halen back on!  And there is another supercell to our south looks even better!

4:14pm Central / 2114UTC: Right on a dirt road and we are going to go back to our parking spot to watch this newer storm.  The one that dropped the twisters is starting to shelf out.

4:16pm Central / 2115UTC: Pulled into our spot again to watch.

4:51pm Central / 2151UTC: Watched the new storm and the things with it is incredible.  We could see two storms 180 degrees apart from each other.  We are going to get rolled.  Lightning is right over our head and it started to pour.  Tennis ball sized hail is associated with this storm.  We experienced heat bursts.  About 20 minutes ago, in the span of 30 seconds, the temperature went from 69 to 78.  It did this a few times.  Here comes the hail, and the wind!!

4:59pm Central / 2159UTC: Left because there is a new circulation developing.  Scud is so low to the ground now as we go east, but it is dissipating because it is entering already rain cooled air.

5:12pm Central / 2212UTC: Went straight onto a dirt road to sit something out and make a plan.  In the course of this short jog, we went up 10 degrees on the car dash.

5:18pm Central / 2218UTC: Sat and watched circulation basically right on top of us.  Scud is rotating and rising, but no touchdown.  Heading on 83 South.  Near a shear funnel.  It was a truly awe-inspiring sight.  Heading back for some quick gas and potty break in Canadian and then back to maybe the same spot, the flat spot.

5:45pm Central / 2245UTC: Right to stay on 60 South for gas at a Shell station.  Gas was $2.699 a gallon.  $93 was spent on 34.458 gallons.  Mileage was not taken because of the whole bathroom issue.  The station is closed and some need to go really bad so we are driving into town for a bathroom.  Moments later we found bathrooms.    

6:09pm Central / 2309UTC: Back on the prowl for this storm, hope it’s not out of our reach.  Those who needed to go went and didn’t fall in.  Left onto 83 North again and going to our spots.

6:25pm Central / 2325UTC: A beautiful wall cloud is to the right of the car.  Guzzler missed a turn so Blue Bomber is lead blocker into the eye of the storm!  We just honked at the real TIV because he cut off a county road and cut Guzzler off.

6:37pm Central / 2337UTC: Turned right onto a puny county road and then right back onto 83.

6:43pm Central / 2343UTC: Going back to the highway after our spot was being rained on.  South on 83

6:50pm Central / 2350UTC: Pulled off on a very wide shoulder to watch the storm.

7:02pm Central / 2402UTC: Left the overlook.  Lots of scud and we are going back to the hotel it sounds like.  Woodward where our hotel is located is under a thunderstorm warning until 8:30pm.  A very successful day today I would add; one or two tornadoes and getting rolled all in the same day is pretty awesome!

7:11pm Central / 0012UTC: Left onto 60 East as the entire Vortex team passes us as the opposite side.

7:39pm Central / 0039UTC: Left on 283 North.

7:48pm Central / 0048UTC: Right on 15 East.  We are under the lightning and rain now.

7:52pm Central / 0052UTC: Looks like we are going to get smoked!

7:55pm Central / 0055UTC: CORE PUNCH!

8:00pm Central / 0100UTC: Solid wall of carnage ahead.

8:37pm Central / 0137UTC:   Pulled into our hotel for the night.  A very early night indeed as the rain we drove through is heading our way.  We drove 3,862.0 miles on the trip so far.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 7:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 115.711 gallons
• Price of gas: $301
• Tires + Patch (1): $0
• 394.7 miles for Day 7 / $301 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  909.218 gallons      
• Price of gas: $2390 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 3862.0 miles traveled for Chase II / $2509.60 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 21.24mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100613_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100613_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0309.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0310.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0311.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0312.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0313.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0314.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0315.html

Day 8. 6/14/10 Outlook:

We have a slight risk that takes on the shape of a slug across the country, from Indiana to Texas.  While that is a large area, the hail and tornado risk is over us.  Hail is hatched again today in our area.  We have a chance for discreet cells today and then as the day goes on, mergers will take place later on in the day.  If we chase today, we have to go south.  We can’t go east because of all the flooding.  The Day 2 outlook is in the CO, OK area like the past couple days.  Or we go sight-seeing to Hooker, Greensburg, and sleep in Garden City Kansas.  If we were to chase today, the rest of the trip would be bagged.  So today we are going to go to Hooker for some shopping, Greensburg to see the city rebuilding, and to other places. 

Day 8. Travels:

9:53am Central / 1453UTC: Left the hotel and back to the gas station to top off.  Gas was $2.619 a gallon.  We paid $75 for 28.637 gallons of gas.

10:02am Central / 1502UTC: Out of the gas station and onto 270.  Pass the “Hang ‘em high” car wash with a pickup truck in a noose…

10:06am Central / 1506UTC: Left on 270 West on our way to the Slapout/Hooker area.

10:11am Central / 1511UTC: Right to continue on 270 West.

10:24am Central / 1524UTC: Passed by a correctional facility that was very close to the highway and then a few blocks later a custom knife shop.  I guess we really can’t pickup hitch hikers!

10:38am Central / 1538UTC: Brackett’s radar detector that he got at Walmart has said he has been going south so far today.

10:43am Central / 1543UTC: Listening to the calming voice of Mr. Prudy over the radio.

10:53am Central / 1553UTC: Welcome to Slapout, population 8!!  Filled up in Slapout.  Gas was $2.699 a gallon and we paid $42 for 15.561 gallons.  3,917.0 miles have been driven with 55 miles occurring today.

11:08am Central / 1608UTC: Left Slapout; it was just a gas station and tire place!

11:52am Central / 1652UTC: The small rivers that go under the road and by the road are very flooded.  The area did get a lot of rain.  Bart and Adam want to be venture capitalists by opening a tornado museum in Slapout and remotely own it with an iron fist.

12:04pm Central / 1704UTC: Right turn onto 94 North towards Hooker.

12:16pm Central / 1716UTC: Welcome to Hooker!  We are going to get out and shop at the Hooker Chamber of Commerce.

12:43pm Central / 1743UTC: Playing with pop-its in the Hooker Chamber of Commerce parking lot.  Our cars are getting tacked!  The two elderly Hookers were so nice to us!

12:48pm Central / 1748UTC: Left Hooker.  Well worth the 20 minutes we had together.  Only cost me $17.50!!

1:04pm Central / 1804UTC: Crossed back into Kansas on our way to Liberal for some good pancakes.

1:09pm Central / 1809UTC: Back in Liberal.  Pancake place is closed.

1:14pm Central / 1814UTC: Going to stop and see Dorothy’s house from Wizard of Oz!

1:29pm Central / 1829UTC: Dorothy’s house was great and we got to play in the Munchkin playground. 

1:31pm Central / 1831UTC: Right onto Pancake Blvd. (the highway) to Subway.

2:15pm Central / 1915UTC: Left onto 54 East on our way to Greensburg.

2:54pm Central / 1954UTC: Passed through Meade.

3:17pm Central / 2017UTC: 93.9 TONAGE!! UH-OH!!  We are talking about swimming, careers, and family in Blue Bomber.  Everyone is pretty chill.

3:45pm Central / 2045UTC: Passed through a small town and the highway was covered in mud because of the flooding and there were windmills made out of street signs.

3:50pm Central / 2050UTC: Welcome to Greensburg, rebuilding stronger, better, greener.  Just taking a tour of the city.  It looks like a very nice city.  It’s so new but there are still a lot of empty lots.  Just shows you what multiple vortices can do and how much work they still have left to do.

3:59pm Central / 2059UTC: Pulled into Dillon’s for gas.  4124.6 miles have been driven on the trip so far, 262.6 miles today.  Gas was $2.559 a gallon.  We paid $114 for 44.549 gallons.

4:22pm Central / 2122UTC: Drove around a little bit more of the town.  The hospital, city hall, art center, school and downtown are all new.  It’s going to be the greenest, newest city in the country.  And now we are going to look at the world’s deepest manmade well as well as the destruction still left behind.  An elderly lady talked to us who used to live here and went to school here.  She even said that she used to work at the well during the summer. 

4:38pm Central / 2138UTC: Left back onto 54 going west for Garden City.

4:48pm Central / 2148UTC: Right onto 400 West.

5:06pm Central / 2206UTC: Passed through Ford, home of the Blue Hereford!  “I got my parachute pants and then I cut them off and I got parachute shorts” –Trucker.  He dresses to impress.  Your radio is talking, the jokin is stroking but Papa Bear is in Texas Stadium with purple Bermuda Shorts.  Trucker talk continues.  Papa bear 63 is ghost talking out of Texas.  He is cool on his stool and will be in his birthday suit, but no pictures, no pictures please!  He is on his second wind with the Cowboys Cheerleaders.  Papa Bear wants us to come down to Tennessee. 

5:16pm Central / 2216UTC: Trucker talk continues as we continue to travel 400 West.  Papa Bear has Old Spice cologne on because that’s what the Cowboy Cheerleaders like.

5:21pm Central / 2221UTC: Left onto 56 West in Dodge City.

5:28pm Central / 2228UTC: Left to go back on 400 West.

5:32pm Central / 2232UTC: Right to stay on 400 West after a decreasing radii turn.

5:41pm Central / 2241UTC: Driving alongside an EPIC train!  Epic win/ftw!!

5:46pm Central / 22456UTC: 400 turned into 50 West.

6:16pm Central / 2316UTC: Turned onto 83 North.

6:18pm Central / 2318UTC: Exit of 83 onto Kansas Ave. and then left into our hotel. 4,227.3 miles have been driven on the trip.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 8:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 88.747 gallons
• Price of gas: $231
• Tires + Patch (1): $0
• 365.3 miles for Day 8 / $231 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  997.965 gallons      
• Price of gas: $2621 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 4,227.3 miles traveled for Chase II / $2740.6 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 21.18mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100614_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100614_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0316.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0317.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0318.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0319.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0320.html

Day 9. 6/15/10 Outlook:

Our outlook doesn’t look good.  If we wanted to chase today we would have to go south of Lubbock.  That is about a seven hour drive for us and its only an isolated chance that we would see them anyways.  All of the CAPE was along and to the south of the front and the high resolution WRF model showed little if anything.  The Day 2 is back in Nebraska, and it might be a moderate by tomorrow.  This poses a problem as to when we would get home on Thursday.  We will be staying in Alliance tonight.  This puts us in a great spot for tomorrow.  We will be sight-seeing again today in places like Carhenge, Chimney Rock, and others.  Another car switch occurred today, so now I’m in Barn Burner.

Day 9. Travels:

10:41am Central / 1541UTC: Right out of the hotel and North onto 83.

10:46am Central / 1546UTC: 73 over 55 for a Kestrel reading.

10:47am Central / 1547UTC: Right onto 83 North.

11:27am Central / 1627UTC: Approaching Monument Rocks

11:40am Central / 1640UTC: Stopped for construction and did the Thriller dance as we waited.

11:50am Central / 1650UTC: Moving again as the landscape becomes more interesting.  It isn’t as flat now and there are little rock formations starting to pop up.

11:52am Central / 1652UTC: Right turn towards Monument Rock.

11:58am Central / 1658UTC: Another right for Monument Rock.

12:05pm Central / 1705UTC: Pulled up next to them, the limestone is a more white color and then just across the way are other rock features that have a more reddish clay appearance. 

12:26pm Central / 1726UTC: Leaving Monument Rock.  Cobb, Adamcheski, and I all climbed to the top.  Heading back out to the highway.

12:40pm Central / 1740UTC: Right back onto 83 North.

12:47pm Central / 1747UTC: SPC completely changed their area.  There are two areas, one in Illinois and the other in Montana.  Montana is going to have to be out because that would be a ridiculous amount of driving.  Illinois would mean a very early return to Valpo, but we will have to wait and see what the plan is as the day goes on.  The discussion says that conditions are favorable for many supercells if the cap is able to break.

12:57pm Central / 1757UTC: Entered the town of Oakley and left onto 83 North.

12:58pm Central /1758UTC: Another right to stay on 83 North.

1:03pm Central / 1803UTC: Left onto I-70 West.

1:15pm Central / 1815UTC: Took exit 53 for gas and Taco Johns, a first time for many in Colby.  The Conoco we stopped at was $2.559 a gallon.  $130 for 50.802 gallons. We traveled 4,349.8 miles so far.  122.5 miles occurring today. 

2:07pm Central / 1907UTC: Going North on 25.

2:33pm Central / 1933UTC: Entered the city of Atwood while Guzzler is watching Twister.  I am so jealous.

2:46pm Central / 1946UTC: Back in Nebraska.

2:53pm Central / 1953UTC: One severe thunderstorm watch in Illinois and Indiana.  We should be chasing back home!

2:58pm Central / 1958UTC: Drove on a dam bridge in the town of Trenton.  Took a right on 25 North. 

3:03pm Central / 2003UTC: Left to stay on 25.  There are numerous reports of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in Illinois and Indiana.  Some flying cheese may be possible if severe storms in Wisconsin produce tornadoes.

3:06pm Central / 2006UTC: Took a Kestrel reading and it was 83 degrees over 51 dew point.

3:10pm Central / 2010UTC: Left on 6 West.

3:20pm Central / 2020UTC: Blue Bomber hit the third bird of the trip.

Entered back into Mountain Time, this will be changed from now on.

2:47pm Mountain / 2047UTC: Right onto 61 North.

3:03pm Mountain / 2103UTC: SPC screwed up their discussion and mixed up the days.  Cheyenne, Wyoming gave the discussion, but they are saying that tomorrow could be an active day, especially west of Valentine. 

3:09pm Mountain / 2109UTC: Left on 61 North.

3:13pm Mountain / 2123UTC: Right to stay on 61 North towards Ogallala, entered the city of Grant.

3:23pm Mountain / 2123UTC: The North Korea vs. Brazil World Cup match had a game time temperature of 34 degrees, not Celsius either…

3:32pm Mountain / 2132UTC: Back in Ogallala.

3:34pm Mountain / 2134UTC: Left on 26 West.

3:37pm Mountain / 2137UTC: Right to stay on 26 West.

3:40pm Mountain / 2140UTC: Left to stay on 26 West.

4:10pm Mountain / 2210UTC: Barn Burner hit a bird!! 

4:18pm Mountain / 2218UTC: Turned right into a Sinclair for gas.  We paid $2.799 a gallon and spent $103 on 36.799 gallons.  We have been in this one in Oshkosh before.  4,549.1 miles have been traveled for the trip, 321.8 miles occurring today.

4:39pm Mountain / 2239UTC: Left the gas station back on 26 West.  Pat is back at the helm after suffering from a migraine earlier in the day.

4:48pm Mountain / 2248UTC: Passed a wagon that said “Beef – America’s Strength” and there is a surge of moisture entering the panhandle of Nebraska currently that is causing cumulus buildup.

5:18pm Mountain / 2318UTC: Left to stay on 26 West.  Back in Bridgeport.

5:20pm Mountain / 2320UTC: Right on 92 West after doing a loop de loop in the gas station parking lot.

5:35pm Mountain / 2335UTC: Left onto the Chimney Rock drive.  It is truly marvelous; only in America is this possible.

5:50pm Mountain / 2350UTC: We are leaving the parking lot and are going to look at it from another road.

6:06pm Mountain / 0006UTC: It looked great higher up, and there was a cemetery that was very old.  Driving back to the highway, 92 East.

6:08pm Mountain / 0008UTC: Left turn onto 26 West.  Indiana is getting slammed with storms and heavy rains!

6:15pm Mountain / 0015UTC: Right onto 385 East.  Benton county supercell had an overshooting top of 62,000 feet and the updraft was so vigorous that it could support softball sized hail!

6:23pm Mountain / 0023UTC: Left to continue to stay on 385 North.

6:46pm Mountain / 0046UTC: Made it to Alliance, Nebraska where our hotel is.  Right on 2 East.

6:50pm Mountain / 0050UTC: Left onto 87 North.

6:52pm Mountain / 0052UTC: Right just off the road so we can see Carhenge! 

7:13pm Mountain / 0113UTC: Leaving Carhenge to go to our hotel.  Left onto 87 South.

7:18pm Mountain / 0118UTC: Right back onto 2.

7:25pm Mountain / 0125UTC: We are going to get gas just down the road from our hotel at a Cenex.  Gas was $2.619 a gallon.  We paid $96 for 36.655 gallons.  We drove 4,664.5 miles on the trip, 437.2 miles driven today.

7:45pm Mountain / 0145UTC: Pulled into our hotel, the mileage from the stop will be our end point, because it’s less than half a mile down the road.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 9:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 124.256 gallons
• Price of gas: $329
• Tires + Patch (1): $0
• 437.2 miles for Day 9 / $329 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  1,122.221 gallons      
• Price of gas: $2,950 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 4,664.5 miles traveled for Chase II / $3069 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 20.78mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100615_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100615_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0321.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0322.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0323.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0324.html

Day 10. 6/16/10 Outlook:

The Day 1 outlook from yesterday for today was going to be a long drive for us.  We would have had to go to Wyoming/South Dakota/Montana region.  Then we woke up this morning and the slight risk is right over our head basically and extends north and east.  Storms are expected to develop in the late afternoon as the low level jet becomes active.  Today is mostly a hail event, but an isolated tornado can’t be ruled out.  We are going to need to stay to the east of the boundary today, this one being a warm front.  High resolution WRF doesn’t pick up on MCS precipitation or the convection from the warm front.  We have a weak low level jet.  We have a powerful system that is 12 hours too fast or too slow, but we have a shortwave between us and our big one.  Bart wants us to launch a balloon today, so that’s fun.  We could stick around here and launch a balloon, second idea is launch the balloon and head towards Iowa so tomorrow’s drive is easy, and the third idea is to go through the Sand Hills and launch a balloon.  But the upper level flow is too weak, so the storms can’t propagate to the east.  Plan is to get Omaha tonight, so we will stay just on the other side of the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Parking is at our own risk! 

Day 10. Travels:

 8:24am Mountain / 1424UTC: As we pull out of the hotel, we can see towers already.  Left onto 2 East on our way to the Sand Hills. 

8:43am Mountain / 1443UTC: Left onto 396 Trail for a balloon launch spot.

8:46am Mountain / 1446UTC: Stopped down the road for a balloon launch, our first of the trip.

11:12am Mountain / 1712UTC: All packed up and driving back towards 2 East after our launch.  The launch was very effective.  We set it all up by splitting up people to different tasks while others watched.  There was only a slight computer problem that was solved very quickly.  Other than that, it was a textbook launch.  The tropopause was very high, around 160mb even for a summertime sounding.  Once it hit the tropopause, we killed the sonde and packed up. 

• Bart and Adam almost got snaked over during the launch.  When the balloon was ascending, the two of them took a walk down the road.  While deep in thought, Bart was going to kick a rock that was in the middle of the road, but this rock hissed back!  It was a rattle snake!  Upon this revelation, he leapt into Adam’s arms and the two of them ran back screaming like little girls.  Maybe some of that was made up, but Bart was almost sssssnaked by a rattler in the middle of the road!

11:31am Mountain / 1731UTC: SPC Day 1 has not changed too much since when we looked at it this morning.  We still have 30% hail but it’s from Ogallala to Wyoming.  Isolated thunderstorms will intensify along the lee trough.  Very large hail from supercells will be possible today in the northern high plains.   

Entered Central Time, so the times will be changed from this point.

1:45pm Central / 1845UTC: Pulled into the city of Thedford.

1:48pm Central / 1848UTC: Pulled into a Sinclair for gas.  It was $2.699 a gallon and we paid $75 for 27.788 gallons.  Total mileage to this point was 4,794.8 miles, 130.3 miles occurring today.  We also stopped here for food, it was actually very tasty!

3:09pm Central / 2009UTC: Back onto 2 East as my green snake is hanging out the window.  We are going to continue to go south and east to watch back building storms.

4:08pm Central / 2108UTC: Papa Bear tried to make it onto our radio frequency; I think he was talking about lawnmowers, but it was very hard to hear. 

5:09pm Central / 2209UTC: Right on 11 South.

5:22pm Central / 2222UTC: Left onto 30 North.

5:23pm Central / 2223UTC: Right onto 11 South.

5:27pm Central / 2227UTC: Left onto I-80 East, the Backbone of America.

5:37pm Central / 2237UTC: What do you know?  Ogallala is under a severe thunderstorm warning!  Only 200 miles of pursuit!  No surprise here, no one was up to it.  It is also under a tornado watch.

5:55pm Central / 2255UTC: We are going to go to King Kong, a burger place with 2 pound burgers!  Every time we talk about it, everyone gets more excited about this place!  Can Hogan and Cobb throw it down?  Only time, and 3,816 calories, will tell!

6:17pm Central / 2317UTC: We are still talking about this restaurant; this could be an epic night for someone, or an epically long night on the toilet!

6:43pm Central / 2343UTC: Exit 403 is King Kong’s exit, you can cut the excitement with a knife!

6:45pm Central / 2345UTC: Stopping at gas before The Kong at Phillips 66. It was $2.649 a gallon.  We paid $150 for 56.624 gallons.  We have crossed the 5,000 mile mark, coming in at 5,050.9 miles on the trip, 386.4 being driven today. 

7:00pm Central / 2400UTC: We are now at King Kong.  Details to follow soon, as they will be juicy!

7:51pm Central / 0051UTC: Leaving King Kong, Hogan and Cobb are both triumphant in eating the two pound burgers!!  They claim so far they are ok, but we have 55 miles until our hotel.  Hogan has an unofficial time of 12 minutes according to Bart.  The drama is only beginning…  Back on I-80 after a wrong turn.

8:37pm Central / 0137UTC: Welcome back to Iowa.

8:39pm Central / 0139UTC: Right onto Nebraska Ave. exit.

8:41pm Central / 0141UTC: We aren’t sure which Holiday Inn Express we have, so we have to turn around in a casino parking lot.

8:44pm Central / 0144UTC: Pulled into the hotel.  We drove 5,108.1 miles for the trip. 

Logistical Wrap up for Day 10:

• Tolls: $0
• Gallons of gas: 84.412 gallons
• Price of gas: $225
• Tires + Patch (1): $0
• 443.6 miles for Day 10 / $225 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase so far:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas:  1,206.633 gallons   
• Price of gas: $3,173 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 5,108.1 miles traveled for Chase II / $3,292.60 spent on the trip so far excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 21.18mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100617_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100616_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0325.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0326.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0327.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0328.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0329.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0330.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0331.html

Day 11. 6/17/10 Outlook:

Today was an interesting discussion.  First off it was in the cars with Rudy and I leading it from two different cars.  The problem with it is that today could be a very big day with a large severe outbreak with the highest percentage of tornadoes, 10% hatched over Iowa and Minnesota that we have seen on the trip.  Hail was 45% hatched as well as wind, with the wind being more eastward.  This is no problem at all, we love the severe stuff, but this is our last day.  If we were to chase, we would have to wait to the west of Des Moines for initiation, and that will begin in the mid-afternoon.  The severe weather isn’t expected to fire up until later in the day.  CAPE is favorable and is expected to be up to 3,500 in the severe region.  Forcing is due to the cold front that extends out from the low in south central Canada.  We have decided to head to Valpo and forgo the chasing today.  We have seen four twisters on this trip, some of the most beautiful mesos of any trip ever, and had a great group of students, prospective met majors, and faculty to make this the highlight to all our summers.  Let’s hang up our hats until next year, it was a great 11 days.

Day 11. Travels:

5,138.8 miles when we left.  This is due to Brackett’s excursion to see his Aunt.  When we pull into Valpo, 30.7 miles will be subtracted off THE Pilot’s odometer for our real chase mileage.

8:14am Central / 1314UTC: Leaving the hotel, right onto 23 street.  Left on Nebraska Ave.

8:17am Central / 1317UTC: Right onto ramp for 129 and then merged onto I-80 East.

8:45am Central / 1345UTC: Pulling off for gas at a BP.  Gas was $2.599 a gallon.  Mileage is at 5,175.0 and we paid $106 for 40.786 gallons of gas.  In other news, THE Pilot has gone topless.  The auto bra has been removed and there is caked on mud and I’m sure the paint is darker, but otherwise, she looks good!

9:00am Central / 1400UTC: Back on I-80 East.

10:18am Central / 1518UTC: Took exit for I-80 East/35 North for Chicago.

10:31am Central / 1531UTC: A storm to the south of I-80 has 64dBZ and is moving to the east, so we might get slammed in just a little bit!

10:51am Central / 1551UTC: More cumulus and altocumulus clouds are popping up.

11:05am Central / 1605UTC: Pulled off into a rest stop.

11:17am Central / 1617UTC: Back onto I-80 after bouncing the vans in the parking lot.  Barn Burner got rocked so badly that the radio antenna flew off!

12:15pm Central / 1715UTC: The front of the shirt is done, thank goodness.  Should be pretty sweet.

12:43pm Central / 1743UTC: Exited off the highway for the I-80 truck stop for food and gas.  Pulled into the Pilot for $2.499 a gallon.  We have driven 5,428.0 miles, 289.2 driven today.  $150 paid for 60.024 gallons. 

1:45pm Central / 1845UTC: Left the truck stop and are back on I-80 East.

1:52pm Central / 1852UTC: Exit 290 for 280 East.

2:00pm Central / 1900UTC: Crossed the Mississippi back into Illinois.

2:09pm Central / 1909UTC: The threat for severe weather continues.  Probabilities include 50% for two or more tornadoes, 40% for strong tornadoes, and hail and wind were the same at 80%.  Very high supercell composites for the Iowa and Minnesota region. 

2:24pm Central / 1924UTC: Talked to a trucker over the radio, he was super nice!

2:34pm Central / 1934UTC: Stopped for gas and Katia’s stuff.  We traveled 5,485.5 miles.  Gas was $2.699 a gallon and it cost $44 for 16.303 gallons.

3:05pm Central / 2005UTC: Drove out of the gas station back to I-80 East.

3:18pm Central / 2018UTC: Tornado reported today in North Dakota.

3:28pm Central / 2028UTC: Blue Bomber hit some rubber on the road, I guess it was pretty loud.

3:32pm Central / 2032UTC: Tornado 10% hatched has been moved to North Dakota.  Nothing in western Iowa has become tornadic. 

4:28pm Central / 2128UTC: Got into a traffic jam on I-80.  There goes me being home by 11 Eastern… but I did just watch BP Spills Coffee on the internet and that lightened my spirit!

4:32pm Central / 2132UTC: About 1/6 of Minnesota is under a tornado warning right now and there have been 12 tornado reports as of now in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

5:12pm Central / 2212UTC: Toll booth on I-80 $.60 again

5:19pm Central / 2219UTC: Entered Indiana, the Crossroads of America!

5:40pm Central / 2240UTC: I-80 turns to I-94 East

5:48pm Central . 2248UTC: Took exit 26 A for Indiana 49 South.

6:01pm Central / 2301UTC: Onto LaPorte Ave. and into the Family Express for a possible fill up.

6:15pm Central / 2315UTC: Pulled into Valpo.  Welcome home!  Mileage was 5,656.1 miles. 

• 97,975 total odometer miles on THE Pilot. 
• Due to Brackett’s escapades, the trip mileage has been adjusted.  Trip B 2010 total trip mileage was 5,625.4 miles.

Logistical Wrap up for Day 11:

• Tolls: $.60
• Gallons of gas: 117.113 gallons
• Price of gas: $300
• Tires + Patch (1): $0
• 517.3 miles for Day 11 / $300.60 spent on the day except hotel

Logistical Wrap up for the chase:

• Tolls: $1.20
• Gallons of gas:  1,323.746 gallons  
• Price of gas: $3,473 total
• Tires (1) + Patch: $119
• 5,625.4 miles traveled for Chase II / $3,593.20 spent on the trip excluding hotels and provided meals.
• 21.25mpg Fleet Average Fuel Economy

Storm Reports:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100617_rpts.html

Day 1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2010/day1otlk_20100617_1300.html

Weather Watches:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0332.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0333.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0334.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0335.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0336.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0337.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0338.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0339.html
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0340.html

CONGRATULATIONS!  YOU HAVE MADE IT TO THE END OF OUR TRIP!  WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING ABOUT OUR TRIP AS MUCH AS WE ENJOYED PARTICIPATING IN IT!  FOUR TORNADOES, SUPERCELLS, AND GREAT TIMES MADE THIS THE START OF A GREAT SUMMER!