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2019: A Chase Odyssey

The following posts detail the Great Plains Travel Study for 2019.

Before you start reading, know that this is a work in progress. As more images come in from the students, I will be updating the blog. I appreciate the contributions of the students.

On behalf of the group, I would like to thank:

The College of Agriculture and Applied Science. Particularly Dr. Todd Winters and Debbie Hunter for helping us to secure funds for the students.

Mrs. Evelyn Blythe, for providing those funds.

The Department of Agriculture, Geosciences, and Natural Resources, (Dr. Wes Totten, Mrs. Carrie Arant) for their assistance, both monetary and administrative, with the trip.

The folks in the Travel Study office (Lorrie Jackson, Jewel Franklin, Mike Sudzum) for their assistance and support.

Dr. Malcolm Koch and Dr. Joey Mehlhorn for giving us the green light for the trip.

Enjoy the read! Contact me if you have any questions.

Day 1 - Yukon Ho! - May 10, 2019

   On a brisk Friday morning, seven students and two instructors set out from Martin on the first Great Plains Travel Study offered by the University. Despite the cold weather, all were excited to get on the road for this ten-day adventure across the flatter parts of our great nation. Our initial destination was Yukon, OK.

    The goal of the trip was to forecast for, pursue, and observe severe thunderstorms. We were in search of all the hazards associated with such storms: large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. We were not going out there for thrills alone; this would be a unique opportunity to experience the things described in the textbooks. After all, it's one thing to read about inflow into a severe storm, quite another thing to feel the wind at your back.

    On days where there were no storms to observe, we would look for cultural and natural landmarks to explore. Given the overall weather pattern, we would get to see more than our fair share of such for most of the time. A large upper-level trough covered the country east of the Rockies. That explained the colder than normal weather which, in turn, would inhibit the development of severe weather for much of the next 7 days. After that, the models were hinting at a pattern change.

    We left Martin equipped with internet access, two iPads, and a SiriusXM radio. Internet access is critical for storm chasing; it provides the data necessary to find the storms and stay ahead of them. We would use the iPads to both display radar data and navigate the road network. The radio would help to pass the time; you see, just to get onto the cusp of the Plains, we were looking at a 10-hour trip. The Great Plains are too far away from Martin.

    While the overall pattern was quiet, that doesn’t mean the sky was empty of wonders. We saw several interesting clouds along the way. We saw asperatus clouds; these are gray, wavy clouds which indicate the presence of turbulence. This is one of the newest clouds officially designated by the World Meteorological Organization.

     Next up was mammatus. These pouch-like clouds typically develop in the vicinity of severe thunderstorms, but they can also form in other, less turbulent conditions (like today).

     We also saw some cumulus forming from the emissions of nuclear reactors in Arkansas.

     At long last we reached the Holiday Inn Express in Yukon. This chain is a favorite with chasers as the hotels are clean, comfortable, offer free wi-fi and a hot breakfast each morning. This particular hotel was undergoing renovation while we were there, but it did not impede us in any way.

    Most of went to Rib Crib for dinner. As the name suggests, ribs are their specialty. And they did not disappoint.

Day 2 - The Scenic Route to Lubbock - May 11, 2019

    Saturday dawned much as the Friday did; cloudy, cold, and moist. These are the antithesis of severe weather conditions. I am sure the fine people of Yukon were fine with this; Oklahoma gets more than its fair share of severe weather this time of year.

    One thing to clarify: we don’t come out here hoping, or cheering, for severe weather to occur. We are not bloodthirsty maniacs, after all. However, it tends to happen out here regardless of what anyone does. Since that is the case, we came here to see it and, more importantly, learn from it. It is my fervent hope that the things the students witness will make them better meteorologists, determined to provide ample warning to the public.

    Our ultimate destination for this day was the town of Wolfforth, TX; a suburb of Lubbock. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC), and the weather models, were hinting at the possibility of some marginally severe thunderstorms in SW Texas, from Lubbock towards the Trans Pecos region (see map). We felt that the Lubbock area was a good staging area. We could either chase around there or move quickly to the south should the threat area shift.

SPC Outlook for Sunday

    But our first stop for the day was the National Weather Museum and Learning Center in Norman. The museum is a hidden jewel for weather folks, featuring numerous exhibits which detail the origins and growth of the science of meteorology. We were escorted about the premises by Mr. Forsyth who worked at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). He was a great guide, providing insight into many exhibits.

Mr. Forsyth shows off the computer associated with the first Doppler.

How radar data used to look....

Various weather instruments

What's left of a car. Always seek sturdy shelter when tornadoes approach

    Mr. Forsyth related a story about the first attempts to sample the upper levels of the atmosphere. The story was excerpted from Savannah Tennyson’s chase journal:

 “when the first meteorologists were testing the upper atmosphere and learning about how the atmosphere works they would fly to about 19,000 feet; however, there is a lack of oxygen that high in the atmosphere which caused some people to die. To resolve this problem the pilots would bring their small animals up with them and when they started getting drowsy they knew the needed to go back towards the ground because they were in the zone of thin oxygen.”

    The Museum also featured a “green screen”, or chromakey wall, where students could practice reporting the weather as it is done on television.

Keith Gregory stretches his TV legs in front of the Green Screen

Shannon Sullivan at the Wall. The cape adds an interesting effect. Now you see her...

Now you don't.

    We made our way to the library, which featured one of the largest collections of weather books I have ever seen. Fortunately, we had time for a few stories.

Story Time (Photo: Greg Nordstrom)

   Finally, the Museum is in the process of restoring a plane used for thunderstorm research. Similar to the Hurricane Hunters, there was once a plane designed to fly through severe thunderstorms..

Panorama of the museum. Thunderstorm plane on the left. Photo: Savannah Tennyson

Savannah at the helm

    We left the Museum and made our way towards Lawton for lunch. We traveled Interstate 44, which is a toll road through Oklahoma. For some of our students this was their first experience on a toll road. Other than the increased speed limits, there isn’t much to recommend it. Though we did pass the Elmer Graham Turnpike Station. You can learn about this extraordinary man here:

https://legacy.newsok.com/obituaries/oklahoman/obituary.aspx?n=elmer-graham&pid=143605572

    From Lawton, we worked our way south and west towards Lubbock. Somewhere along the way, we (okay, I) took a turn towards the south. We nearly made it to Abilene before realizing the mistake. Our detour cost us about an hour but it did give us a chance to see more of the extraordinary landscape of Texas. Basically, aside from a few random buttes and windmills, it’s quite flat and largely unpopulated. That makes it perfect for chasing.

    After dinner, we settled in for the night.