STORM CHASE 2006: JOURNAL
Friday, 5/19/2006 at 12:42 CDT
Light ACCAS ahead on 60W.
Friday, 5/19/2006 at 12:58 CDT
Today looks to be a bust unless we really do have the 6400 J/kg CAPE shown in the RUC model. Both low level and deep layer shear is good, helicity is up and I would expect moderate CAPE values. We were originally hoping for a shortwave in the jetstream to cycle through, but now it looks to arrive after dark, so we are hoping for a different trigger.
We spent the night in Miner, OMO. We also ate at the Lambert's Cafe, where they throw rolls at you when you want more bread!
Friday, 5/19/2006 at 4:23 CDT
BUST! All accus, no towering cumulus. We spent most of the afternoon at Duckett's Fuel Center in Poplar Bluffs, MO. I did manage to talk to Belgium and a bunch of states in a county hunter's net.
Sunday, 5/21/2006 at 1:46 MDT
We are headed north on 385 from Burlington, CO towards I-76. A few towers were going up outside Limon, CO, but they became glaciated quickly. We expect either the CO-NE border, or maybe even southeast Wyoming. I hope we make it into WY, I'll pick up a new state.
I need to fix the cable from the battery, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. The powerpole on the radio end does not always stay connected.
Monday, 5/22/2006 at 11:39 CDT
We had an active day yesterday, chasing through northeast Colorado and southwest Nebraska. It was all high based, little to no tornado threat, but we did see a few wall clouds at sunset, as well as a few gustnadoes in Yuma and Phillips Counties in NE. We spent the night at the Economy 8 in McCook, NE, which supposedly had internet, but I couldn't log on.
Monday, 5/22/2006 at 11:14 MDT
I can't get UIView to track. I have a stereo cable from the Icom to my laptop. I'm not sure what is wrong with it. It could be that I am in a dead spot with no APRS signals, or it could be that something does not work. Also something managed to stop the exhaust fan, and it almost burned out. NOt sure why, but it smelled like burning rubber. It might have been the end of a cable tie, which I moved and now it works. I also fixed the powerpole on the battery cable.
According to Goodland NWS, spotter activiation will be likely tonight.
I have been so disorganized this year. I need to develop a better radio box for next year. I think jumper coax to the antenna ports is a good idea. A splitter to run two GPS signals from one GPS would be good as well. I think the TravelPlus repeater directory software is a good addition to this year's chase.
Wednesday, 5/24/2006 at 9:53 CDT
We are headed towards IA and maybe IL, WI, or MN. Yesterday, we chased through northern NE and southern SD. We had problems with the road network, the cell phone service, and even our van door. However we did see a few gustnadoes as the gust front of the storm passed over us in SD. There were reports of tornadoes on our storm, but more likely people were reporting the gustnadoes.