As with any job, you are given days off.
Storm chasing is not unlike a job as you have to work hard to forecast the
threat and then chase after it. Even with the lack of storms, we had been
pretty active with exploration and long drives. So, with that in mind, and
still no storms in the forecast, we elected to take the day off.
We had lunch at Braum’s and went back to
the hotel. Braum’s is a combination burger joint and grocery store. They are
well known across the southern Plains for their delicious ice cream. Fun fact:
they only allow franchises within 300 miles of their dairy farm in Tuttle, OK.
We returned to the
hotel and assigned the students the task of developing a forecast and potential
chase target for Friday. It was an opportunity for them to put their knowledge to the test. Then, Mr. Nordstrom and I retreated to a nearby movie
theater to watch “Avengers: Endgame”. A fine film and well worth the three
hours we invested.
Then it was time for the students to
present their cases. They were divided into two groups. Both chose targets in the proximity of a dry line bulge. A dry line is a boundary which
separates dry air from moist air. It is a frequent generator of thunderstorms
in western portions of Texas and Oklahoma during April and May. A dry line
bulge is an area where part of the dry line has moved ahead of the rest; it is
known for generating rotating thunderstorms due to changes in wind direction
along it.
Both presentations were well done. We
closed out the night with dinner and plans for more tourism the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment