High Plains Drifter

This blog has moved!!

2006-01-15T01:22:00.000-06:00

** This blog now resides on my website at http://www.underthemeso.com/blog **

My blogger account will no longer be updating. Please modify your blog links, thank you! -Mike U

300: #8!

2005-12-04T07:10:00.000-06:00

Okay time to gloat again about my bowling. Hey, it's my blog so I can chest thump if I want to :)

Last Tuesday perfection ensued once again, as I rolled the 8th perfect game 300 of my illustrious bowling career ;-) After struggling for the past few months...ever since the last couple of weeks, I've been much more consistent with my release which is a big confidence boost. Confidence in your game is a huge key to stringing a ton of strikes and posting persistent high scores. Unfortunately for me, this ebs and flows on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.. or at least it has in the past couple years it seems. I could streak together quite a few 650+ series... and twice since I have moved to Dodge City I have bowled two 300 games in a span of just a couple weeks....only to follow it up the next month or two with some horribly pathetic low 500 to 550 series with far too many sub-175 games.

So last Tuesday in the Continental League, my games were 210-300-245 for a 755 series. The following night, I had 12-in-a-row again... in the 2nd game I had the last 10 strikes followed by the first two in the last game. My series Wednesday night was 705. This marked the 4th straight league night with a 700 series...which is a first. How long can I keep this going for? Stay tuned... :)

Major Great Plains Blizzard: 27-29 November 2005

2005-12-04T05:45:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting around to writing about the big Great Plains blizzard early last week. It was essentially a non-event for here in Dodge City, but we really didn't miss this winter fun but very far... for areas near I-70 in northwestern Kansas were about the southern extent of this far-reaching major blizzard. The storm lasted from roughly mid to late afternoon on Sunday the 27th and continued through the day on the 28th before winding down early on the 29th. Widespread 50 to 70mph winds existed from western Kansas through most of central Nebraska into central and eastern South Dakota. By the storm's end, the largest snowfall amounts were in the foot to foot and a half range...mainly from north central Nebraska into south central South Dakota. This is also coincident of the strongest winds during the event...where severe blizzard conditions lasted a solid 24 hours at some locations.

A storm chaser friend of mine, Mike Hollingshead (http://www.extremeinstability.com), actually chased and documented the event. You don't really "chase" these kind of weather events, per se... but just document the events as they unfold near your location. Much like my heavy snow chase along the Front Range in Colorado on October 10-11 a couple months ago.

Some of the towns and cities that took it on the chin with this storm...with blizzard conditions being reported at least 12 hours or so...included Goodland, KS...North Platte, NE...Broken Bow, NE...Ainsworth, NE...O'Neill, NE...Winner, SD...Pierre, SD. This was certainly a large scale event stretching some 600 to 700 miles from northeastern Colorado into the eastern Dakotas. It was a storm that actually unpredicted...to an extent. There was a general consensus some 5 to 7 days ahead of time that there may be a winter storm of some sort...somewhere on the plains...towards the end of the Thanksgiving holiday. None of the models, however, predicted the ferocity of this event until maybe 2 days out...if that. Some of the short term models didn't catch on to the explosive deepening of the storm until Saturday (26th) afternoon! I bolded Ainsworth, NE above because if there was one town that got about as clobbered as any in this event...it was Ainsworth. See the weather observations below.

Below are some of the awesome observations during the storm (every 3 hours through the blizzard...in coded METAR format).

Goodland, KS >>

METAR KGLD 271753Z AUTO 34023G34KT 1/4SM +SN FG OVC003 01/M01 A2934 RMK AO2 PK WND 35040/1656
METAR KGLD 272053Z AUTO 34034G40KT 1/4SM SN FG BKN003 OVC009 00/M01 A2934 RMK AO2 PK WND 34041/2025
METAR KGLD 272353Z AUTO 34040G51KT 1/4SM FZFG M01/M01 A2938 RMK AO2 PK WND 34051/2353
METAR KGLD 280253Z AUTO 33043G54KT 2SM UP BR OVC030 M01/M03 A2941 RMK AO2 PK WND 33054/0253
METAR KGLD 280553Z AUTO 33032G45KT 3/4SM BR VV014 M02/M04 A2946 RMK AO2 PK WND 34045/0546
METAR KGLD 280853Z AUTO 34036G45KT 1/2SM FZFG BKN009 OVC014 M04/M06 A2951 RMK AO2 PK WND 33052/0816
METAR KGLD 281153Z AUTO 34044G53KT 1/4SM FZFG VV003 M05/M07 A2955 RMK AO2 PK WND 34053/1152
METAR KGLD 281753Z AUTO 34042G56KT 1SM -SN BKN075 M03/M07 A2965 RMK AO2 PK WND 33056/1745
{last observation until 290253Z}

Broken Bow, NE >>

METAR KBBW 272053Z AUTO 35028G40KT 3SM -SN BR FEW013 OVC020 M01/M02 A2932 RMK AO2 PK WND 36044/2007
METAR KBBW 272353Z AUTO 35028G42KT 1/4SM FZFG VV001 M02/M02 A2933 RMK AO2 PK WND 35048/2306
METAR KBBW 280253Z AUTO 34037G52KT 1/4SM FZFG VV001 M04/M05 A2934 RMK AO2 PK WND 36054/0158
METAR KBBW 280553Z AUTO 35039G48KT 1/2SM FZFG VV001 M05/M07 A2934
METAR KBBW 280853Z AUTO 35033G44KT 1/4SM FZFG VV001 M06/M08 A2937
METAR KBBW 281153Z AUTO 34040G58KT 1/4SM FZFG VV001 M06/M07 A2934
METAR KBBW 281453Z AUTO M1/4SM FZFG VV001 M07/M08 A2942
METAR KBBW 281753Z AUTO 34040G55KT M1/4SM FZFG VV001 M07/M09 A2946 RMK AO2 PK WND 33056/1733
METAR KBBW 282053Z AUTO 33027G47KT 1/4SM FZFG VV001 M07/M09 A2952 RMK AO2 PK WND 33051/2031
METAR KBBW 282353Z AUTO 34029G47KT 1SM HZ BKN024 OVC039 M06/M08 A2960 RMK AO2 PK WND 30054/2343
METAR KBBW 290253Z AUTO 33032G41KT 1 1/2SM HZ BKN070 OVC100 M06/M10 A2968 RMK AO2 PK WND 33045/0203
METAR KBBW 290553Z AUTO 33032G43KT 1 1/4SM -SN OVC095 M07/M10 A2978 RMK AO2 PK WND 34043/0551
METAR KBBW 290853Z AUTO 33022G32KT 6SM BLSN BKN026 M06/M10 A2983 RMK AO2 PK WND 34038/0759

Ainsworth, NE >>

METAR KANW 272350Z AUTO 34027G37KT 1SM -SN BKN004 OVC008 M02/M03 A2948 RMK AO2 P0001
METAR KANW 280250Z AUTO 33033G41KT 1 1/4SM -SN BKN012 OVC017 M03/M05 A2948 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 280550Z AUTO 34035G49KT 3/4SM -SN SCT012 OVC018 M05/M07 A2947 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 280850Z AUTO 34039G47KT 1/4SM +SN OVC004 M06/M07 A2948 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 281230Z AUTO 34042G55KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M06 A2948 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 281450Z AUTO 33034G51KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M07 A2950 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 281750Z AUTO 33043G53KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2954 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 282050Z AUTO 33035G49KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M07/M08 A2956 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 282350Z AUTO 32032G44KT 1SM -SN VV007 M06/M07 A2963 RMK AO2
METAR KANW 290250Z AUTO 32029G40KT 2 1/2SM -SN CLR M06/M09 A2972 RMK AO2 VIS 1 1/2V4

Pierre, SD>>

METAR KPIR 272353Z AUTO 34023G30KT 7SM OVC013 M04/M07 A2964 RMK AO2 PK WND 33032/2303
METAR KPIR 280253Z AUTO 33024G31KT 1/2SM SN FZFG VV004 M05/M07 A2967 RMK AO2 PK WND 33033/0222
METAR KPIR 280553Z AUTO 33025G33KT 1/2SM FZFG BLSN VV003 M06/M07 A2966 RMK AO2 PK WND 33038/0535
METAR KPIR 280853Z AUTO 34034G42KT 3/4SM BLSN BR BKN006 BKN014 OVC021 M04/M06 A2962 RMK AO2 PK WND 33042/0853
METAR KPIR 281153Z AUTO 33033G45KT 1/4SM +SN FZFG VV003 M06/M07 A2965 RMK AO2 PK WND 33048/1115
METAR KPIR 281453Z AUTO 33036G45KT 1/4SM FZFG BLSN VV003 M07/M09 A2967 RMK AO2 PK WND 33052/1422
METAR KPIR 281753Z AUTO 33033G46KT 1/4SM FZFG BLSN VV011 M07/M08 A2966 RMK AO2 PK WND 33049/1704
METAR KPIR 282053Z AUTO 32033G46KT 1/2SM UP OVC040 M06/M08 A2967 RMK AO2 PK WND 32046/2049
METAR KPIR 282353Z AUTO 32031G42KT 2SM BLSN OVC085 M06/M09 A2973 RMK AO2 PK WND 32044/2259
METAR KPIR 290253Z AUTO 33030G40KT 3SM BLSN FEW030 BKN110 M07/M11 A2979 RMK AO2 PK WND 32041/0201
METAR KPIR 290553Z AUTO 32027G35KT 5SM BLSN FEW024 OVC030 M06/M10 A2984 RMK AO2 PK WND 33037/0521

What was even more unprecedented were the observations out of the automated weather station in Ainsworth, NE. They reported continuous 20-minute observations through the duration of the event amidst incredible blizzard conditions. This station actually reported "M1/4 SM" for 10 solid hours! This is interpreted as "visibility below one quarter of a mile". In other words, likely zero or near zero. It is unusual to see an automated weather observation report M1/4... let alone for 10 straight hours... every single observation during the event. Wow. Note all the "+SN" observations. This is interpreted as "Heavy Snow", but this is more than likely extreme blowing/drifting of snow and actual snowfall may not have been heavy at all for some times. Here are those obs: (look at those winds!!...in bold are winds >= 50kts or 58mph)

METAR KANW 281230Z AUTO 34042G55KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M06 A2948
METAR KANW 281330Z AUTO 33043G57KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M07 A2950
METAR KANW 281350Z AUTO 33040G56KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M07 A2950
METAR KANW 281410Z AUTO 33043G53KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M07 A2950
METAR KANW 281430Z AUTO 33040G52KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M07 A2950
METAR KANW 281450Z AUTO 33034G51KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M07 A2950
METAR KANW 281510Z AUTO 33042G53KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M07/M08 A2950
METAR KANW 281530Z AUTO 33041G51KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2951
METAR KANW 281550Z AUTO 33040G54KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M07/M08 A2951
METAR KANW 281610Z AUTO 33043G53KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M07/M08 A2953
METAR KANW 281630Z AUTO 33039G49KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M07/M08 A2953
METAR KANW 281650Z AUTO 33036G57KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281710Z AUTO 33038G52KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281730Z AUTO 33039G52KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281750Z AUTO 33043G53KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281810Z AUTO 33038G54KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281830Z AUTO 33040G51KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281850Z AUTO 32035G46KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281910Z AUTO 33037G50KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 281930Z AUTO 33042G56KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2955
METAR KANW 281950Z AUTO 33038G51KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2954
METAR KANW 282010Z AUTO 33036G49KT M1/4SM +SN BKN001 M07/M08 A2955
METAR KANW 282030Z AUTO 33034G48KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M07/M08 A2955
METAR KANW 282050Z AUTO 33035G49KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M07/M08 A2956
METAR KANW 282110Z AUTO 33037G49KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M08 A2957
METAR KANW 282130Z AUTO 33042G52KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M07 A2958
METAR KANW 282150Z AUTO 33039G48KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M07 A2958
METAR KANW 282210Z AUTO 33035G45KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M07 A2959
METAR KANW 282230Z AUTO 33035G48KT M1/4SM +SN OVC001 M06/M07 A2960
METAR KANW 282250Z AUTO 32039G47KT M1/4SM +SN VV000 M06/M07 A2960

I've done some research on historical blizzards since 1948 over the past couple of years, and I must say this one stacks up there as one of the true classic large-scale Plains blizzards. Mike Hollingshead was in O'Neill, NE...which is about 65 miles east of Ainsworth. He experienced some incredible conditions. You can read his account and see his images here.

Near-Blizzard possible later today on the KS High Plains!

2005-11-27T07:52:00.000-06:00

A powerhouse winter storm will explode over Kansas later today. The NAM and GFS models have been slow to catch on to the rapid deepening of the system versus the ECMWF and UKMET models. A surface low will deepen rapidly over southern KS later on today as a wedge of cold air knifes down western Kansas. Looks like any rain will change quickly to snow between noon and 3pm here in Dodge with bouts of heavy snow through 9pm this evening. 850mb wind progs of 50-60kts at 850mb suggests that winds at the surface will become sustained 30-40mph with gusts to 50mph during the snow.

Even though the ground is initially warm, these strong winds and heavy snow will rapidly cool the surface such that snow will indeed stick rather quickly... and there could be a significant mess for a lot of western KS west of, oh.. a Smith Center to Russell to Great Bend line. I think the real winner in KS may be the corridor from Hill City to Smith Center where some spots may see 7 to 10"+ of snow with around 6 hours of blizzard or near blizzard conditions. I get to go into work at 2pm to work the event here in SW KS... should be a fun one... stay tuned!

My pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

2005-11-23T10:46:00.000-06:00

We had our annual Fall chaser party this past weekend in Lawrence at my chase partner Jay Antle's place. It went very well with about 20 people showing up. The highlight moment of the party was probably the moment I managed to lock myself in Jay's bathroom when I somehow broke the damn door knob off. Let's just say I was the only one NOT laughing.. ;-)

Ahhh but it was very much fun, with a ton of great video and BBQ. My very good friend Marcie from Texas came up for it, and it was good to spend some time with her in Lawrence for a couple days since we only get a chance to see each other but once or twice a year, if that. It was a 4 and a half day weekend for me, which was much needed after a hectic past couple of months with projects at work trying to complete my 2005 storm chase highlights DVD (which will be available on my website in about a week!). I came back to Overland Park Sunday morning after Marcie left to go back to TX...and went out to eat with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend who was in town (she goes to school in NY as a photography major).

Every weekend I visit bro-yo and I have to settle things on the lanes... and this weekend was no different.. I got to meet some of his bowling pals who are also good scratch bowlers. It seemed like old times, cuz I saw an old neighborhood friend I had not seen in a long damn time from the junior high school days. We all grew up with the same interest in bowling some 10 or 11 years ago (see "Twelfth Frame" May 2005 blog entry).

On Monday I went over to Lee's Summit to see Chieeefy (Evan Bookbinder), and his wife and adorable 1 year old son Jake. The absolute cutest 1 year old kid, oh my goodness... He kept giving me the stare down, it was rather intimidating... quite the observer type, like myself :) Chieeefy and I went out for some wings, fish, and chips...which has become a tradition of sorts...to talk shop and storm chasing, and somehow getting my butt back to Kansas City. I clearly didn't plan my Monday well, because right after I left Lee's Summitt, I met up with my folks again , with my brother and his girlfriend as well as my older brother and sister... for dollar taco night at Tequila Harry's which has also become sort of a growing tradition. I'm a huge mexican eater... and I thoroughly dissapointed myself and the rest of my family when I could only devour one... yes ONE taco... after gorging myself at lunch 3 hours prior. I was not happy. :)

I decided to stick around town Monday night since KU basketball was on. I went over to Jon's house for the game and got to see my good H.S. buds as well as Jon's brother Jason and his girlfriend. It was quite the pinball game, the Arizona-KU game, and we came out on the short end of the stick... cuz we be YOUNG. very very YOUNG. And we certainly looked it. It will be interesting to watch the evolution of KU Basketball over the course of this season and in the years to come. So thus the 4-day weekend came to an end back to Dodge I came Tuesday morning. Now it's time to put my focus on this Pleasant Hill NWS vacancy bid....

The Greek Atlantic

2005-10-22T23:43:00.000-05:00

In a season chalk-full of unprecedented events in the Atlantic basin tropics...here's something else that has never happened before...and quite frankly something that I never thought I'd ever see happen: More tropical storms/hurricanes than we have set names for. The genesis of "Alpha" occurred earlier today, a newly named tropical storm in the northeastern Carribean. It looks like this storm will not impact the east coast of the U.S. as a deep trough...the same trough that will take Wilma across Florida...will take Alpha out into the open Atlantic.

Speaking of Wilma... looks like Fort Myers/Naples are will get a good hit, likely coming in at a Cat 2... perhaps a low end Cat 3. Interesting the Oct22/18z GFS takes Wilma north northeast close to the east coast and impacts New England going into mid-next week.

Enough is Enough!

2005-10-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Gimme a break. Get ready for Wilma-mania! The last name in the Atlantic basic alphabet: Wilma. As of the time of this writing, it is still TD#24, but unless the GFS model is completely out to lunch... which it has *not* been this tropical season for the most part... we will be looking at yet another landfalling hurricane on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The 4th Gulf Coast hurricane landfaller of the season. Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and what would appear to be Wilma sometime a week from now. Obviously, a day-7 forecast has many problems, but of all the times the GFS has bombed a sub-980mb tropical system in the gulf it has pretty much verified. Right now, the official track of soon-to-be Wilma from the NHC takes it on a track very similar to Charley last year.

Funny, I had a dream last night about this storm. I don't remember all the details, but I remember that this storm bombed out into another sub-910mb monster before making landfall in the "armpit" of Florida. After that, I don't recall what happened in the dream... but this landfall is a best-case scenario in Florida. There's just not much population on the coast east of Apalachicola.

This will be interesting to watch this week.

Oct 9-11 Snow chase [post 6]

2005-10-10T18:18:00.000-05:00

... 9 to 11" with major tree damage in Castle Rock ...

The event is winding down early this evening, but not before dumping nearly a foot of snow in the Castle Rock area. The big winner with this event appears to be the Bennet-Strasburg area where a solid foot and a half had fallen. I took many photos of the event, which I will begin posting to my Oct 10 Snowstorm Gallery Page. I'm going to catch up on some sleep this evening. I plan to head back to Dodge tomorrow morning. This was certainly worth the trip!

Oct 9-11 Snow chase [post 5]

2005-10-10T10:50:00.000-05:00

... 7.1" measured as of 920am MDT in Castle Rock...

Since around 7am, averaging about 3/4" per hour rate. This kind of snowfall rate is expected at least through mid-afternoon. It looks like the big winner so far east of the mountains is along I-70 just east of Denver. Persistent 25-35dbz echoes all morning in the area around Bennett to Strasburg. Reports of 9 to 12" already out there.

Oct 9-11 Snow chase [post 4]

2005-10-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

... 5.6 inches at 720am MDT ...

Snow is starting to pile up pretty good now on surfaces other than pavement. The parking lot here is a giant slush pool. I'll get out and take some photos a little bit later this morning. The surface winds are strongly northwest, which is really preventing the good 25dbz+ snows from getting to I-25. Some of these echoes are, however, edging slightly westward as deeper tropospheric upslope maximizes this morning through early this afternoon.

Oct 9-11 Snow chase [post 3]

2005-10-10T03:32:00.000-05:00

... 3.3 inches as of 230am MDT ...

I have uploaded a few photos at http://www.underthemeso.com/gallery2/stormchase/chase05/2005oct10/

I found a decent measuring spot on a trailer bed that is elevated off the ground. Some melting and settling will make measuring difficult, but still think a solid foot to foot and a half is a good possibility by midnight tonight. The strongest lift will be continuing through mid afternoon. I'm gonna catch some Z's for about 5 or 6 hours...and by the time I wake up, there should be about 3 or 4 more inches accumulation.

Oct 9-11 Snow chase [post 2]

2005-10-09T22:05:00.000-05:00

9pm MDT. I have been in Castle Rock for an hour now and when I arrived the temperature was 38 degrees with light rain. As of the time of this writing, I look out the window and see quite a few small flakes... so we have changed over. There is a huge area of moderate to heavy precip to the southeast that is moving northwest towards my area. This should be the beginning of "the show" for the urban corridor. I sit here at 6200 feet. The latest NAM brings the total QPF down just a little bit, but still an impressive amount of snow no matter how you slice it. A good foot and a half still looks good here in Castle Rock! -Mu

Oct 9-11 Snow chase [post 1]

2005-10-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

...Columbus Day Snow Chase -- Castle Rock, CO...

Greetings everyone! Well this is a first for me. I have never done a snow chase before, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me. I have both Columbus Day and Tuesday off, which coincides perfect with the timing of what looks to be a major snowstorm for the Colorado "urban corridor". Both the GFS and the NAM models suggest upwards of two feet of snow south and southwest of Denver by late Monday Night or early Tuesday. Given the unusual early timing of such a powerful snow storm for this area, it may present some problems with numerous trees coming down as many of them have not lost their leaves yet.

I plan to leave Dodge City this afternoon around 2:30pm (Central time) and expect to arrive at my destination of Castle Rock, CO around 7:00pm (Mountain time). It should be raining by the time I get there, but rapidly change to snow sometime between 8pm and 10pm Mountain time. It may even changeover before I arrive. Castle Rock sits at about 6200 feet in elevation which will be plenty high enough for this storm system. Heavy snow will fall overnight tonight and continue heavy through the first half of Monday. By dawn, there may be 8 to 10" already on the ground, with an additional 8 to 10" on top of that. Thankfully, the warm ground will prevent a huge accumulation on roads, but if it snows that hard, it really won't matter much. I hope to document this event extensively through photography and videography as it could be a national news story if there really is widespread 20" or more of snow in the highly populated areas of the I-25 corridor. -Mike

Hurricane Photojournalism: In the Storm

2005-09-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

Storm chasing has certainly taken on a whole new meaning when it comes to tropical storms - especially over the past couple of years, as there has been an exponential growth in Great Plains chasers who seek to chase these incredible natural phenomena. It used to be that the limit of hurricane chasing would be high-end Category 2 type storms, at least when it comes to chasing the eye - or at the very least, get to within 5-10 miles of the coast to witness the eye before it "fills in". There are several elements of the hurricane intercept and documentation that are lures to many who chase them. The experience of the eye. The incredible local variations in wind speed, direction, and pressure in a matter of only minutes. The Surge. Water in motion that cannot be explained unless you are there. And the wind itself. It must be incredible to witness firsthand.

Hurricane chasing is a logistical nightmare. You have to deal with power outages, shortage of fuel, shortage of food/water and even shelter. Especially in times of mandatory evacuations. After everyone has fled, including emergency response personnel, you are pretty much on your own, and when you try to leave, what about washed-out roads and litter of debris? It is these very reasons that I have no interest in the hurricane chase. There are others, however, who prepare for these very things in order to acheive the fullest in their experience.

Hurricane chasing, for those that do it most ethically and SAFE, are really photojournalists. It goes beyond just storm chasing. It is not simply just to get the shot, but to also tell a story.

The photojournalistic aspect to "tell the story" has prompted a few of the most passionate and dedicated hurricane chasers to push the limits of human capability to get these shots in the most extreme conditions. I think Hurricane Katrina certainly showed which chasers/photojournalists indeed are willing to take more risk. The risk-takers are the photojournalists who make a living out of it. A few of the chasers/photojournalists have become more well-known among the storm chasing community (and beyond) based on their most recent work the past couple of years, including Jim Reed, Doug Kiesling, Chris Collura, Jeff Gammons, Mike Theiss, Jim Leonard, and Jim Edds... just to name the most reputable ones.

I think there is a fine line, however, between these photojournalists mentioned above and those chasers who just simply shouldn't be there; the chasers who don't necessarily prepare for the intercept properly and are more of an obstacle to those around them than anything else. One such case from Katrina was from these guys. The "Stormgasm" crew, according to their accounts, appeared to be unprepared for their intercept and got to the point where they had to physically be rescued by a rescue boat. Over the past couple of years, these guys have developed a fairly poor reputation among the chasing community for their extreme chasing tactics and poor ethics - particularly their very controversial June 2004 Manchester tornado video when at least one member of their crew was dancing and frolicking as a tornado blew away a farm house.

Hurricane chasing/journalism is dynamic, and I know that I certainly have no future intentions of chasing hurricanes, simply because I know that there are just too many unpredictable things that can lead to very unsafe situations. I will stick with supercell thunderstorms, simply because I understand these storms far better and their damage capabilities are far more localized than hurricanes, and that is the bottom line for me. I'm not out to photograph/videograph destruction, but rather the artistic beauty of the atmosphere. For me, the artistic beauty of hurricanes is the view from above; the high-resolution imagery taken from satellite. This is absolutely amazing to me, and I'll continue admiring from afar. That said, I respect my hurricane chasing friends Jim Leonard and Jim Reed, especially, because time and time again, they get it done right, even if they do put their life at risk, and they share their stories and photography/videography around the world allowing ordinary citizens vulnerable to these storms to gain a true appreciation for what the atmosphere and ocean can really do.

The Humanitarian Catastrophe

2005-09-02T04:43:00.000-05:00

The Katrina Aftermath and New Orleans. This is no longer a natural disaster. This has rapidly spiralled into easily the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the history of this great country.

It's 4:30 am, and I just finished listening to a recorded interview from Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans himself, on the WWL radio station from NO. It is now Day 4 of this crisis and the anger and frustration from the mayor of NO has grown to a boiling point. It was the most frightening, to-the-point "slamming" of the entire governmental chain of the United States I have ever heard, regarding the complete inept in utilizing all the resources capable to SAVE LIVES. The mayor cussed. He has completely lost faith in the entire governmental chain from State to Federal.

He is right. What the hell is going on here? Cable news network reporters in the field are saying the SAME THING!! An interview of the LA Governer by Anderson Cooper had the same tone.. Where is the HELP??!? All this talk but no action, and it was Thursday... The hurricane made landfall MONDAY MORNING.

It has gotten to the point now, that the death rate among those still left out there grows exponentially with every passing hour. Hundreds, to perhaps THOUSANDS of lives that otherwise would have been SAVED had a plan been in place. It appears as if there is no ultimate plan, no one single leader to head up this plan... There are "too many cooks in the kitchen" as Mayor Nagin has said.

Obviously, the scale of this disaster has stretched resources extremely thin. It doesn't help that we spend billions and billions and BILLIONS supporting an Iraq mission that in and of itself has many questions. What's left for US?? US being home... The United States. Clearly, we are a nation prone to extreme national disasters. Though events like this are rare, maybe 100 or 200 year events, they happen. There is simply NOT ENOUGH THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX in American Government. And it disturbs me.

In the words of Mayor Nagin,
"New Orleans will never be the same.........................."

Mike

Katrina & New Orleans: Before & After

2005-08-30T17:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a before and after MODIS image (courtesy of NASA) centered on the Lake Pontchetrain/New Orleans area at 250 meters resolution. The extensive flooding is quite clear as you can see.

Katrina: New Orleans' "Big One"

2005-08-30T09:22:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday, August 30th. I just got home from my midnight shift and after watching the reports of New Orleans' levee breach filter in during the morning hours while at work, I just had to keep myself up when I got home to see some of the "first of light" images from New Orleans. The video I saw shown in Fox news was just utterly disturbing. Completely. If this isn't New Orleans' "big one"... "worst-case scenario", then it is damn close.

Marshall Law in effect.. this is completey, and utterly incredible. Everyone must get out of New Orleans. I don't know what to say. Water continues to fill the city.

Mike U

29 Aug 2005: Katrina Catastrophe Inevitable

2005-08-28T06:59:00.000-05:00

An unprecedented meteorological event is about to take place, the likes of which I have never seen while I've certainly been alive. It is the ultimate perfection of atmospheric violence: A tropical cyclone in an environment so perfect, you cannot script it better. It is late August and Gulf of Mexico (GOM) sea surface temperatures are around 32 degrees C, which equates to 88-90 degrees F. This is incredible ocean heat energy that is only found in very few oceanic locations around the world. Locations that can typically breed "super" cyclones. Katrina is no exception, with an incredible 910mb central pressure at the time of this writing, it is a mere 30 hours away from "ground zero" landfall precariously close to the worst possible landfall location on the United States Atlantic-basin coastn -- New Orleans.

A category-5 hurricane making landfall moving north, directly into New Orleans, *WILL* create the most incredible natural disaster in United States history. Period. This *doomsday* scenario has been played out in computer model simulations, according to a well-written series in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Upon reading this entire series and studying the graphics.... then putting the NHC forecast track of Katrina in the place of "the big one" in the story... I began to get a lump in my stomach, and I don't even live in the area.

Katrina is certainly the perfect storm. I have NEVER seen intensification overnight like I have seen while on my midnight shift forecasting the weather for my own area of the world in western Kansas. When I got in to work it was 115mph/936mb. Upon leaving work it is now 160mph/908mb. (Yes, it has dropped 2 more MB since I began typing this blog entry!). It is phenominal, incredible, just flat out awesome Nature. It's just a shame that a population of 1 million plus will be affected. But this scenario is most definitely inevitable as people continue to flock to the shores.

-Mike

PhotoTrip: July 25

2005-07-27T00:44:00.000-05:00

Big Basin Prairie Preserve - Clark Co., KS

I decided to get up early Monday morning (7/25) and go on a sunrise photo trip down to my favorite spot in western Kansas, the Big Basin Preserve, south of Minneola. It was a wonderful sunrise with some great photo ops. The last time I was down here doing photography was in February (2/14).

The bison were out, but were a little too far away for good photos. A telephoto lens is getting higher and higher on my wishlist; it's a fantastic setting for great photography of the bison at Big Basin. I really need to take full advantage of these opportunities. It's a true Kansas treasure, Big Basin.

"Whatta Cauntry!"

2005-07-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

God it's hot on the High Plains right now. 103 degrees here in Dodge City the past two days, but it was even worse than that in Hays, where the mercury topped out at 108 and 106 the past two days. It's late July in western Kansas, it's something I have to deal with :)

Whew, lot went on the past week. I drove down to Table Rock Lake last friday (15th) and met up with my brother who also drove down from Overland Park... to enjoy a wonderful weekend with family. It was a very enjoyable time from just sitting back relaxing... to getting sun burned on the lake... to going to my first "Branson Show". No, no, no.. not an Andy Williams show.. but Russian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff. My Aunt and Uncle, who are residents of the area, are able to get into these shows at a very discounted price. The Yakov comic show was very well done. It is a more family-oriented comedy show, but the sketches certainly made us all laugh. Yakov has an incredible talent where he is able to interject a certain seriousness at times, to capture the hearts of his audience through some of phenominal stories of how he became an American.

9/11/01. Certainly a day that changed this country in many facets of life; a day that really hit Yakov at heart. Yakov started his American life in New York, then becoming citizen several years later. Without going into the details of when he and his family moved to America (go see his show!), their first impressions of this country was one of big heart and outpouring support. So, when the two planes hit World Trade Center, it most certainly affected this Russian-American artist and comedian. I say artist. One year after that fateful day in world history, 9/11/02, an incredible rememberance was observed on the grounds of what was once the twin towers. Standing tall above these grounds, and everyone below, was a several-story tall painted mural. A mural painted by an anonymous donor. Yakov painted "America's Heart" the night of the tragedy, which would ultimately become the vision that would stand tall above Ground Zero with the message: "The human spirit is not measured by the size of the act, but by the size of the heart". Read more here.

UTM update: 7/11

2005-07-11T19:11:00.000-05:00

Under The Meso update...
I have decided to make my blog page a place for providing updates on my website now. I have revamped my front page to follow the "KISS" method: Keep it simple, stupid! My website has become more and more a focus of my photography than anything else these days, and I feel it's easier to navigate to my gallery and some of the more popoular albums within the gallery through this simpler page. I've also added a Links page which will be updated with more of my favorite sites as time allows.

Mid-shift doldrums..

2005-06-28T04:27:00.000-05:00

Just a quick little post here to break the silence of this blahhhg. I'm on the "A" shift right now... just one more left after this morning! I have Thursday and Friday off, which I will likely spend around Dodge tidying up my apartment, doing more photography post processing, and working on my resume. That's right, working on my resume. Back in January, when I applied for a vacancy opening at the Topeka NWS office, I learned quickly that half-a**ing your resume doesn't get you very far, regardless of what name recognition you may have. So, I will be rebuilding my resume from ground up.

One of my good friends, Evan Bookbinder (NWS Springfield) just recently got selected Lead Forecaster at Pleasant Hill. The rumor mill is that a Journeyman slot will be coming available at P-Hill in the next couple weeks... which I would more than likely put a bid in for.... hence my extra movitation to get my resume re-built ;-)

Not much else is going on, Jeepie is still in Clayton being worked on, and the big question on my mind is whether I'll get it back in time for my trip to Branson (to visit my favorite relatives!) the weekend of July 16-17th. (I've posted a couple of processed photographs from the chase trip)

Settling down after the chase

2005-06-23T02:36:00.000-05:00

Welp, it's been almost a week now after the chase trip. Once I got back, I almost immediately started on some post-processing work on my D70 SLR photos. I'll share with you a couple of those shots here on this blog:

I'll be taking a break from storm chasing for a while, and it's a good thing the atmosphere is cooperating with such a horrendous summer pattern all of a sudden. My Jeep is still in Clayton, NM. After talking with Brad (of Brad's Auto Service), he reassured me that Jeepie will be brought back to the way she was before hitting the damn rock, but given the fact that his shop, and the Body shop of Clayton are the only decent auto places in that local region, it'll be a slow process. Nevertheless, my best friend Jon seems to always be around to help out, and was willing to let me use "Cavvy", his old vehicle (which is now only used for storm chasing purposes), until Jeepie is back to life.

Other than that, not much is going on... the feedback from my photography seems to be growing every day, it's great! My photo "Dakota Derecho" (the 3rd one I posted above) was a hit on photoSIG, as it hit the Number 1 position on the Featured Photos section on the front page for sometime last evening. I thought this was pretty cool, considering some of the photographers and the overwhelming popularity of the website.

ChaseTrip Day 13: The Last Hurrah in SW KS!

2005-06-18T20:11:00.000-05:00

Jay Antle and I ended our 2005 chase vacation on a good note. We intercepted 3 supercell thunderstorms near the Southwest KS-Eastern OK Panhandle border on Thursday 16th. We left GLD and decided to head down to DDC for a mid-afternoon data stop. Midday short-fuse composite (weather.gov/ddc/short.html) was pointing at far NW OK area south of DDC right along the state border for several hours... and it was based of this information that we pretty much committed to heading south of Dodge. Hard towers went up to our SSW through WSW by the time we got to Dodge. We stopped by my place for data real quick, only to find my damn cable was out. So much for that idea... we had to get back on the road.

We targetted the storm with a developing overshoot southwest of Englewood. We had to punch through some marginally severe hail, but after emerging on the south side we had a great view of the supercell updraft base along with a western supercell updraft over Meade County. We watched these two storms from a high spot on US283 right along the state line (maybe a mile south into OK) for a good while. Our eastern storm was becoming increasingly stretched out/linear and outflow dominant, yet producing Softballs near Ashland to our northeast.

We had northeast outflow winds at our location, but what was interesting was the fact that the winds were actually fairly warm. These winds became more easterly and ESE as the southeastern Meade Co. storm to our northwest began to really crank. A very organized wall cloud developed... classic blocky one at that... with relatively modest rotation... nothing violent, however. We let this action approach our location from the northwest...and the wall cloud itself began to take on a liberty bell appearance on the downshear side with great upward motion. Transparent rotating rain curtains were developing signifiying the presence of a "radar hook" and a classic clear slot developed.

Stacatto CGs then began bolting near us (deja vu of June 12th in Kent Co. TX) and we had to get back in the car. Rotation increased further and we did get a persistent pencil-shaped funnel looking almost due west... probably a couple miles south of the state border north of Knowles. This funnel was in the right spot in the occluded wall cloud with wrapping rain curtains. In my book, based on recent events in Trego County 6/9 captured by Jim Leonard on I-70 (rotating rain curtain invisible multi-vortex tornado) this was probably a weak tornado... I'll leave it to Jay to review the video.

It didn't take long for the storm to gust out with small dust foots and the like. We also heard of the tornado reports near Knowles that Rob Satkus mentioned after the storm had "gusted out" and believe these were only gustnadoes/dust foots and nothing
more.

Based on the evolution to outflow dominance, we decided to head west on 64 to catch the Sublette-Tice tornadic supercell. It also gusted out somewhat, however, it developed excellent supercell updraft structure once again as it approached our location near Forgan, OK.

This would be the last supercell intercept of the chase, and a close to one awesome chase vacation that included tornado intercepts from Montana south to Texas.

-Mike

ChaseTrip Day 12: High Plains Dust Storm

2005-06-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

Wednesday the 15th marked the 2nd to last day of my chase vacation. Jay and I spent the past two days in the southern Rockies. We started Wednesday in Gunnison, CO heading east on 50... stopping at Monarch Pass for some excellent views via a ride up the gondola... well worth the $7.

We then headed east on Hwy 94 out of COS and noted some towers trying to go up on the Palmer Divide south and southeast of LIC. We drove to Kit Carson and realized, looking at the sky and radar (I tapped into WIFI, somehow, in BFE Kit Carson CO!)...that the "show" wasn't going to materialize like we had hoped and the "cluster-F*" was fully materializing by 5pm. We did get one decent view ahead of one of the storms northwest of Kit Carson... but this was it before the gates of outflow dust HELL opened up.

The following couple of hours were the worst experience of convective dirt storms Jay and I had been on during a chase. Dry microbursts every direction, including numerous gustnadoes... there was no escape.

We went through the small town of Weskan, KS and noticed at least one foot diamater tree limbs/trunks snapped off. We then decided to stop in Sharon Springs to decide how to escape this dirt hell. After topping off the tank we found a nice hotel, believe it or not, in Sharon Springs with a next door old 50s style diner. Not 30 seconds after getting a Wifi connection to look at radar, the entire town of Sharon Springs became one dirty hurricane scene. Visib went to ZERO with dumpsters full of trash tossed around at the hotel and numerous other loose objects being thrown around. We estimated gusts at least 65 to 70 mph... but the dirt was the big issue. What a mess. Power went out in town as we sat in the parking lot in front of the diner. We decided enough was enough and we high-tailed it north 30 miles to GLD to end this messy convective dust storm. More dry microbursts were visible around GLD as we approached before the storms moved east. Yeesh!!

Tomorrow looks like far SW KS into the OK Panhandle? Nice and close to Dodge, hopefully, for my last chase day.

ChaseTrip Day 11: Southern Rockies Drive

2005-06-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

Jay and I drove through Sante Fe and northwest from there through the mountains of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. We had a great Mexican dinner in Pagosa Springs at Ramon's... then had a beautiful evening drive on State Highway 149 through the Rio Grande Valley and a couple 10,000 to 11,000 foot passes. We arrived in Gunnison late in evening... the next day is a chase day somewhere in northeast Colorado or far Northwest Kansas.

ChaseTrip Day 10: Drive to Ruidoso, NM

2005-06-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

On Monday 13th, Jay and I parted ways with Matt Crowther and Jim Leonard in Abilene, TX and drove west to spend the evening in Ruidoso, NM. It was a long drive, but worth it for the mexican food and evening relaxation. The next day we planned to drive north through Sante Fe and northern New Mexico.

ChaseTrip Day 9: Kent County, TX Tornadofest!!

2005-06-13T11:36:00.000-05:00

I chased with Jay Antle and Matt Crowther, along with Jim Leonard on June 12th. Once the tornado frenzy ensued, Jim Leonard did his own thing, as usual, and got some spectacular video of the large cone with the collar cloud from hell. Jay, Matt, and I remained on Hwy 208 the whole time, and observed the large cone from a distance (after the first truncated cone >> stovepipe event (1 or 2 tornadoes?) in lower contrast before wrapping in rain. Right after this, we figured we needed to keep going south to get out of the CG barrage and forward flank rain (shear vector had some northerly component)... and this decision cost us the following wedge... as we began to note awesome inflow tail to the growing supercell due southwest.

We immediately targetted the southern supercell west-southwest of Clairemont. In retrospect, given the awesome structure of this updraft, I don't regret missing the wedge stage (the wedge could have only been seen from quite close, from some of the other chasers' images I've seen with very low to the ground collar cloud). The southern supercell updraft structure...before it became the dominant storm...was just an awesome barrel. I got some pretty decent stills of the updraft from CR 440 just off of Hwy 70 southeast of Clairemont. This storm rapidly became very interesting with large occluded wall cloud and probable weak tornado. Several other classic tornadoes followed as we headed southeast on Hwy 70 as the "hordes" of chasers were beginning to catch back up with us... since we were out ahead of most everyone. I got stills of everything except the large cone since we were in a poor photography location... did get good zoomed in video though. Great day!

Off to the mountains for a couple days with Jay before hopefully catching some Colorado/Wyoming storms Wed-Thurs before my vacation ends.

It was great chasing with Matt Crowther and Jim Leonard... thanks for the awesome fun guys.

crudely processed digital photography

ChaseTrip Day 8: Amarillo, TX Supercell

2005-06-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

Jay Antle, Jim Leonard and I started the day in Amarillo and intercepted an LP supercell that formed west of Amarillo on June 11th that almost produced a tornado several times as it approached Amarillo. We had to get on the northeast side of the city to view the storm from a distance, but it ultimately became undercut by outflow... saving the city from a potential disaster scenario... as the wall cloud was hovering over the west part of Amarillo. After some indecisiveness...whether to chase our original supercell or the southern Happy-Wayside, TX supercell...Matt Crowther broke off and chased the southern storm. The southern storm produced a few tornadoes, but nothing really photogenic. We ended our chase south of Canyon after we made a futile effort to chase the backside of the southern storm. We came back to Amarillo after the chase for the night. Pictures will be uploaded later.

Mike

ChaseTrip Day 7: Bushland, TX Supercell

2005-06-11T08:43:00.000-05:00

This was to be "the big day" that ultimately became "the big dud". SPC forecast a Day 2 Moderate Risk for the 11th, and from this and other forecasters... the hype for this day was very high. The lack of a cap and the presence of strong "forcing" coming out of New Mexico allowed storms to go up everywhere by high-noon. A bunch of crap storms developed from Amarillo south to Lubbock. Jay and I, along with Matt C and Jim L targetted the Clovis, NM area for renewed development on the backside of this early complex, as some moisture was sneaking around the backside to the west along the TX/NM border. Ultimately, the new storms that did develop, quickly became undercut but the outflow from the previous big complex. We were, however, able to squeeze out a brief supercell thunderstorm on the southern end of the new northwestern TX Panhandle complex as it approached Amarillo. The storm had that green look to it signifying large hail, and even had a very impressive, ominous looking wall cloud. I'm glad we were at least able to salvage something out of this day.

This morning, June 11th, we are in Amarillo, with a target probably not too far from here in mind. We are also toying with the idea of Baca County, CO as well for a potential chase target.

Mike

ChaseTrip Day 6: Kansas Tornado

2005-06-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

June 9th... Wow... okay, this was the most frustrating chase I think Jay and I have ever had in which we did see a tornado... a fairly decent one, too. We, along with Matt Crowther and Jim Leonard, intercepted the Trego County tornadic supercell as it approached I-70 between Wakeeney and Ellis. The tornado developed southwest of our location on the Interstate (our location was just east of interchange 140, the Riga Interchange). From our vantage point, the tornado was a slender cone at times, with "okay" contrast. Jim, on the other hand, drove west further and got incredible video of the tornado approaching the interstate with multiple suction spots.

Our group missed out completely on the Hill City to Stockton significant tornadic supercell that produced a myriad of tornadoes. This was more or less a mis-forecast target on our part, even though we had supercells developing in our target area around McCook. We were distracted by these less-than-significant storms, which delayed our arrival to the real show farther south and southeast. Ahh well, such is chasing... at least we saw a great tornadic supercell, though! The tornado that we saw that crossed the interstate was not too far at all from the Ogallah, KS event back on April 10th that I was on. My 2nd Trego County, KS tornado day of 2005!

After the chase, we all stayed in Dodge City... and departed the next morning for June 10th chase in the TX Panhandle. I left my compact flash card reader at home in Dodge, so I'm sorry I don't have any photos uploaded at this time of the Trego County storm. I got some great images of the very menacing wall cloud bearing down on west-bound traffic on I-70.

Mike

ChaseTrip Day 5: Setup day for "Day 2"

2005-06-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Jay and I met up with "Papa Cyclone" Jim Leonard and his chase partner at Oasis Inn restaurant in Chamberlain, SD yesterday before departure to North Platte. We took a route through the sand hills of Cherry County, and stumbled across this interesting waterfall along the Snake River southwest of Valentine (see photo below). Jim had to take his partner back to Kearney since his vacation ended, and we all met up once again in North Platte. Jim, Matt, Jay, and I met up with Bobby Prentice, Scott Fitzgerald, and Greg Henneman for a nice dinner along with my friend Christina Hannon of the North Platte office. Afterwards we spent the rest of the evening having a little video party of some of the previous days' action.

Chasing resumes again today with a target somewhere southeast of here from Oberlin, KS to Holdrege, NE. It looks like a big day with high CAPE and high Shear for nasty supercell storms with giant hail. Traditional early/mid-June supercell setup!

Mike

ChaseTrip Day 4: South Dakota Supercell/Tornadoes

2005-06-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh what a day in South Dakota. Jay, Matt, and I watched a gorgeous supercell thunderstorm develop in the southeastern part of Badlands Nat'l Park. The storm moved slowly northeast and revealed some of the most amazing barrell updraft structure I've ever seen. To top it off, the storm produced a 5-6 minute tornado near Potato Creek south of the Badlands. Amazing day with lots of chasers around. Not much time for more detail, but a few photos are posted below. Jay and I are in Chamberlain, SD this morning and plan to head southwest into northeastern Colorado to setup for tomorrow; the beginning of another possible incredible stretch of supercells and tornadoes.

Mike

ChaseTrip Day 3: Montana Tornadoes!!

2005-06-07T08:50:00.000-05:00

Matt C, Jay A, and I observed the Ekalaka supercell/tornadoes from inception from the south. Our chase route was the state route #323 from Alzada, which was a beautiful drive watching the atmospheric convection unfold. Ultimately, the storm we had monitored to our due west for the longest time during our drive north... took its vitamins and became an incredibly sculpted supercell updraft with large, menacing wall cloud to the southwest of Ekalaka. We approached Ekalaka and upon arrival noticed the first tornado, a slender trunk with full condensation to the ground for like 15-25 seconds or so. This tornado dissipated, and we continued to the north side of town on hwy #7.

We watched the next two tornadoes from this vantage point. The 2nd was a slender truncated cone about 1/2 to the ground... then as the tornado cyclone continued to stretch, the next tornado was more or less a large truncated cone. We could not discern any debris cloud, but our observations certainly indicated that this was a tornado. Roger Hill saw some brief debris clouds, apparently, as his group observed from farther north on #7. We had no good options east so we blasted north to Baker where we ran into Roger and his tour group and also Adam Houston. It was good to see you guys! The complex became linear with a few embedded mesos/notches until the whole thing became more or less a big bow thing on approach to Bowman, ND. Great structure day with our first Montana tornadoes!

Supercell thunderstorm southwest of Ekalaka, MT

Tornado looking west-northwest from the northside of Ekalaka, MT

Beautiful supercell updraft with truncated cone tornado in the background

Photos at http://www.underthemeso.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=2005jun06

This morning Jay, Matt, and I are in Spearfish, SD at the same motel and the same room as we were at last night. Looks like we will be heading east and slightly south of here today for more fun in southern SD/far northern NEB?

ChaseTrip Day 2: Drive to Dakotas

2005-06-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Jay and I left Salina by mid morning and met up with Matt Crowther in York around noon, then continued our merry way through central and northern Nebraska... arriving in the Black Hills by mid evening. During the drive we noticed the incredibly lush landscape with all the recent rains in Nebraska. The hills are very green and picturesque right now. On the drive along I-90 to Rapid City we observed some convection developing to our west and northwest with one, perhaps small marginal supercell to our northwest in NW SD somewhere. Another small storm went just south of us as we were driving east, which revealed a brilliant rainbow as we got just west of it. I got some decent stills as we were driving along I-90. These were some very picturesque storms which was a pleasant surprise on a non-chase day!

This morning we are in Spearfish with a target northwest of here in far southeastern MT near Ekalaka, perhaps. It looks like a good day for storm structure, I can't wait! Jay and I will be chasing with Matt C for the next week or so.

Mike U

ChaseTrip Day 1: South-Central KS Bust

2005-06-05T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well, Jay and I have our seemingly annual high-risk bust out of the way. We left Lawrence around noon for a target near Wichita. Things looked great for supercell thunderstorms, the shear profiles looked good and the instability was very good. Storms formed quickly after 3pm or so and I think there were too many storms oriented along the shear vector such that competition for discrete long-lived supercells was fierce... there was just too much storm interaction and anvil seeding. We caught a storm that went up fast near Augusta, but it was moving into the water-logged Flint Hills so we had to abandon the storm. Other storms went up near Winfield and Ark City but they had the same problems. There were a couple of tornadoes reported out of all this activity in eastern KS on the 4th, but the most impressive event, by far, was way up north in Brown County, KS. Jay and I didn't even really consider that far northeast in our morning forecast. This event was only an hour and a half drive from Lawrence! Storm chaser Mike Peregrine documented a long-lived, beautiful tornado out of this storm which was very classic and high-contrast. Congrats Mike!

Here is a shot of a shear funnel near Arkansas City, KS:

Jay and I are in Salina this morning, the 5th, and will be making the long drive along with Matt Crowther (who we will meet up in Grand Island or so) to the western Dakotas for what looks to be a decent several days of chasing coming up beginning Monday.

Mike U

Chase Trip Comenceth Tomorrow!! June 4-16

2005-06-03T09:12:00.000-05:00

This morning is June 3rd, the day of my friend David's wedding here in Johnson County, KS. It is scheduled to be an outdoor wedding in Leawood at 6:30 this evening, however, the weather may promote things to "Plan B"... there is a large MCS engulfing eastern KS as I speak. It may very well clear out here by early afternoon, and all will be well. We shall see.

Then tomorrow, Saturday the 4th, chasing begins. I will leave for Lawrence and meet up with Jay and we will set out in his RAV4. We were originally going to take my new 2003 Jeep Liberty, however it is sitting in Clayton, NM at this time awaiting significant repairs. To make a long story short here, I collided with a large rock on a county road in mesa country somewhere between Springer and Clayton, which caused a lot of mechanical damage with a busted transfer case, front differential is messed up, and a damaged oil pan. I probably won't see my Jeep, fully fixed, until at least a week and a half as it will be repaired in Clayton at Brad's Auto Service. My insurance is taking care of me though, since the damages will most certainly exceed 2 or 3 grand.

I'm excited about the chase trip. I think the pattern will certainly support days on end of chaseable supercell thunderstorms across the high plains and northern plains. Saturday's chase target, initially, looks like somewhere close to home!! Emporia, KS?? We shall see... but I invite all my friend and fam to keep tabs with the goings-on of the trip through my Blog as I will try to keep it updated daily with the day's accounts and some photography.

Mike

Short chase trip May 26-27

2005-05-25T22:03:00.000-05:00

Well, after much interpretation of the models, it looks like a very interesting setup in New Mexico the next couple of days. I am off work tomorrow (Thurs. 26th) and Friday 27th, and have decided to join my friends Jon Smith, Rob Mitchell, and Mitch Daszewski, who are currently on their week-long chase trip.

The last two days have been quite fruitful for them on the High Plains of southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico. On Tuesday, 24th, they intercepted several supercell thunderstorms, including near Joes, CO during the mid-afternoon hours: (pictures below are from Mitch's camera cell-phone)

They ended the chase day intercepting a monster supercell thunderstorm northeast of Lamar, CO near Sheridan Lake:

Today, they chased a couple of nice supercells between Las Vegas and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. This same area looks quite good tomorrow as well, and is my preliminary target. I will leave Dodge City around 7:00am to meet up with the guys.

My friend Matt Crowther is also out there with his wife Betsy, and they also intercepted those beautiful storms the past couple of days to mark the beginning of their chase vacation. See his chase blog for his accounts... as well as his awesome photographs from Eastern Colorado on the 24th

-Mu

Storm Chase (sort of) - May 21

2005-05-22T06:34:00.000-05:00

Kinda sort of a storm chase, I guess. I ventured outside of Dodge at 6:30pm when I noticed small Cb's (Cumulonimbus) going up about 30 miles northeast of town. By 7:30pm or so, all this activity pretty much evaporated, but a small supercell thunderstorm did persist farther east near Lyons, KS, which I opted not to chase given the fact that I had to be back in Dodge to work a midnight shift. Nevertheless, I did click a few releases of the shutter on the D70 while I was out and about...

-Mu

Storm Chase - May 17

2005-05-22T06:21:00.000-05:00

(to view full-size images, right click "View Image" if using Firefox)

I left DDC around 12:30 and drove to my target area near Oberlin, KS. I
did see the first Cu develop right around this area upon arrival, and
after pulling up a radar image on StormLab and seeing the myriad of
fine-lines that Rogelio talked about, I figured I was at the southern
edge of the best area. Did see the North Platte complex in the distant
NW, but as I approached McCook, I decided just to stick down here closer
to my target. The storm(s) that ultimately became the Lexington-Cozad
stuff first initiated near Stockville (~25 NE MCK).

I followed this to Farnam, and by this time an elonged area of updraft
was now extending SSW-ward. I contined east to Eustis and the Johnson
Lake area southwest of Lexington...

By the time I reached I-80, it was a full-blown quasi-linear cluster of
high-based storms and the dust was really beginning to limit the
contrast/visib. I exited I-80 at Overton, and the dust limited
visibility to less than a mile numerous times around town. I had a hard
time opening my door to get out of the car. I pulled up a radar/metar
overlay on StormLab and EAR and HDE were both like 15033G43KT.

I continued east to the Odessa area where I finally got back into better
visibility. By this time, a new area was developing off to the
southwest near Holdrege. This structure associated with this storm was
more picturesque now that the sun was getting lower.

I stopped again on the southwest side of Kearney, at the Kearney Event
Center parking lot just before sunset with this view...

And then about 15 minutes later, looking west from about 5 miles east of
Kearney:

I stopped for a brief bit at around midnight near Hill City for some
lightning on my way home...

-Mu

Chaseday Forecast: May 17

2005-05-17T12:19:00.000-05:00

Today is a chase day. I will be leaving Dodge City shortly, heading north to an area from Colby, KS to McCook, NE. Low level moisture will be lacking for tornadoes, it appears, however with a strong upper level disturbance moving into the high plains, good convergence and adequate instability and shear should support a decent supercell or two. I will be in search of "tail-end Charlie", a term storm chasers like to coin for the "end-of-the-line" southernmost storm that usually has the best environment to be a sustained longer-lived supercell. We'll see what happens... at this point, it looks like tail-end Charlie will be vey near the NE/KS border... *maybe* as far south as I-70, but we'll see. I don't like the heavy cirro-stratus sheild moving into western KS at this time... but by 5pm, I think this will be less of a problem. -Mu

An active storm period winds down

2005-05-14T09:55:00.000-05:00

The past few days beginning Tuesday, May 10th have been quite fruitful for many storm chasers:

May 10 - Two classic supercells, one near Grand Island Nebraska, and the other in eastern Iowa, provided beautiful storm structure photography and videography for many chasers. See storm photographer Mike Hollingshead's photography from May 10th near Grand Island. Simply amazing and inspiring work. May 10 Storm Track Chase Accounts and Images

May 11 - The day that was hyped up as being the big tornado day. It didn't really turn out that way, however, as the majority of the severe weather developed along the front along the KS/NE border and moved north of it, producing a destructive hailstorm in Hastings, Nebraska. Storm chasers did see some tornadoes in extreme southwestern Nebraska and near the Idalia, Colorado area. Two dryline supercells did develop after 8pm in southwestern Kansas. One of these supercells produced a long-track significant tornado northeast of Ulysses, KS right as darkness was setting in. Only a handful number of chasers documented this storm, as the rest of the chasers were farther north. May 11 Storm Track Chase Accounts and Images

May 12 - Big West Texas day. Numerous storm chasers documented tornadoes from Plainview east to South Plains, TX as well as a couple late evening tornadoes at dark northeast of Lubbock. The most widely documented tornadoes were the ones near South Plains, TX, as were shown on The Weather Channel. Many of the storm chasers that documented this tornado paid the price, however, with giant hail causing significant damage to their chase vehicles, including those with reputable storm chase tour groups like Cloud 9 Tours and Silver Lining Tours. May 12 Storm Track Chase Accounts and Images

May 13 - Western Oklahoma to Northwest Texas. The majority of storm chasers intercepted a meaty supercell thunderstorm from near Paducah, TX southeast to Truscott and points south. At least one decent sized tornado was observed by storm chasers near Truscott. A tornado was also observed by a storm chaser along the Texas Panhandle border with western Oklahoma near Allison, TX. May 13 Storm Track Chase Accounts and Images

Of course, during this good stretch of chasing, I have been at work on evening shifts, until Monday the 16th. I am looking at Tuesday 17th as a possible chase day on my day off as more westerly flow comes across the Rockies allowing a lee trough to develop bringing moisture back north. -Mu

Storm Chase - May 8

2005-05-10T00:18:00.000-05:00

Upon driving to my target towards Medicine Lodge and points east, I noticed hard towers going up at like 1:30pm to my north. I was torn as to what to do, because I liked the area farther south with a bit higher instability and a little more shear. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was indeed telling me something visually, and you just can't ignore a heavily congested area of Cu in the western portions of Central KS, especially in May.. regardless what the setup may be. So, I opted north and caught up with a south-southwestward propogating severe storm near Lyons, KS. For awhile, this was reminding me *a lot* of June 11th last year near Ft. Dodge, IA with the updrafts continuously developing on the south flank down the shear axis.

I did see a high-based funnel cloud that persisted a couple of minutes about 4 W of Lyons, but no evidence of a debris whirl beneath. I continued to follow it southeastward with periods of cyclonic shear zones with sometimes modest rotation. I did see at least two more distinct high based funnels, however, again, no debris cloud beneath. I did not observe the debris whirl weak landsput that both Davies and Roger Hill et al. observed.

The updraft of this storm was becoming less impressive with time as it was becoming more and more undercut by outflow from it's FFD and the McPherson storm immediately downstream. The McPherson storm ultimately became the better looking storm, and after a brief break in Hutchinson, I optioned east towards Newton where I was greeted with a menacing shelf cloud. The underbelly of this shelf was spectacular with perhaps the most impressive "whale's mouth" appearance I have ever seen. The Nikon D70 got a workout :)

I drove south to stay ahead of this storm, and then I noticed a small LP updraft to my immediate south. This storm rapidly became supercellular-ish in appearance as it approached northwest Wichita, with a great looking bell-shaped updraft base:

I followed this storm into the northwest suburbs of Wichita just south of Maize. I did have some near 1" diameter hail pelt me as I was driving south towards the updraft, which made for some fairly neat video looking at this striated updraft base bearing down on me. I then got just east of the updraft and got this view just as it was getting dark:

On the way back home to Dodge City, I was able to get one hell of an incredible lightning show as viewed from near Kingman, KS. I clicked away on the shutter for a good 45 minutes as well as video. Probably my best night lightning documentation in a couple of years:

My thanks to both Jay Antle and Fritz Kruse for invaluable nowcast support.. from a photography standpoint, this was a *very* satisfying chase.

Other photos are located on my May 8th storm chase gallery

Storm Chase - May 7

2005-05-07T23:43:00.000-05:00

Pretty much a bust. I first went after a lame excuse for a small storms in Kiowa and Edwards Co., farther east removed from the dryline convergence. I didn't like this area because the storms would eventually move east out of the best convergence and instability. Sure enough they croaked as I neared Great Bend. Westward Ho to the dryline. I drove west to Ness City and monitored turkeys for the rest of the chase. I saw enough turkey towers try sooo hard... to last me the rest of the chase season. Short story is I went back and forth on US283 from south of Wakeeney to Ness City up till 8pm.

There were at least two "groupings" of turkeys that had my interest, but never could they do anything... with hardly any bases. Just not enough convergence for the strong near surface speed shear I guess. Of course, when I decide to blow the chase off and drive south back home, one of the clumps of turkeys decided to develop a nice, long flat base. I didn't think much of it and kept driving.. I should have known better, for about 10 minutes later, I actually had rock-hard towers going well up into the far reaches of the troposphere. I turned around and went back north in hopes of sunset photography with the small Cb. I didn't quite get the photography I was looking for with nuisance cloud debris between me and the Cb. The storm pretty much croaked just after sunset north of Wakeeney.

I put a few pics on my website here

Storm Chase - May 6

2005-05-07T01:01:00.000-05:00

I had a rather spontaneous storm chase on the evening of May 6th in far western Oklahoma Panhandle. I intercepted a picturesque, small "LP" supercell thunderstorm after 7:30pm CDT. I posted a few pictures on my website gallery.

Here's one of those photographs:

Storm Chasing May 7-8

2005-05-05T23:08:00.000-05:00

Welp, the first significant chase event of the spring season will commence this weekend. I am off work May 7-9, so I am free to roam the plains. This weekend chasing situation is one where there will probably be a widespread "target" for chaseable supercell thunderstorms from South Dakota to North Texas. The entire dryline from Nebraska down into West TX is vulnerable to good storms with widespread high amounts of instability and low level moisture, along with deep layer shear and subtle cold advection in the mid levels.

In this situation, It may be best to chase closest to home, which I may very well end up doing. I am very leery chasing eastern TX Panhandle and Western OK on Saturday given the congruence of a number of things that could make it a "zoo" of chasers out there.... It's May 7th, It's a Saturday, It's the first good chase day in a long time, It marks the beginning of many storm chasers' "chasecations". I have visions of "Sitka" in my mind, and this isn't even Memorial Day Weekend! Thankfully, there will be the large area of potential supercell thunderstorms, so the "hordes" should be dispersed.

The slow moving upper trough will allow the the front/dryline to slugishly move eastward such that Sunday's convective activity will probably fire from Northwest Iowa south through eastern KS... down into N. Texas. I really like the looks of North Texas, but this is quite a haul from Dodge City, althought it *may* be worth it.

I just try to avoid Oklahoma at all costs during the peak of storm chase season (roughly the 1st week of May through the 1st week of June).... I'm hoping for a locally enhanced area in NW KS or something ahead of the trough... I can simply never go wrong, many times, chasing in my home state. -Mu

Storm Photo

2005-05-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

April 10th, 2005: supercell thunderstorm w/ a well-pronounced rear-flank downdraft "clear slot" and bulbous funnel cloud. This is actually a tornado, believe it or not, as other chasers closer to this feature confirmed strong ground circulation over the Cedar Bluff Reservoir in western central Kansas.

High "10" and "30"

2005-05-02T23:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm allowed to gloat every now again, it's my blog! ;-)
In bowling we refer to highest game many times as high "10", in reference to highest score in 10 frames... and 3-game series as high "30"...

Highest game: 300

May 4, 1997 :: AMF Northland Lanes (Kansas City, MO) ::
Kansas City Open (youth tournament)

July 11, 1997 :: Laurel Lanes (Raytown, MO) ::
Youth Sweeper Tournament

October 18, 2003 :: Ayr Lanes (Liberal, KS) ::
Western Kansas Scratch Bowlers Tour, unsanctioned

November 2, 2003 :: Centennial Lanes (Hays, KS) ::
Western Kansas Scratch Bowlers Tour, unsanctioned

March 31, 2003 :: Spare Tyme Bowl (Dodge City, KS) ::
Wednesday Triple Threat League

September 22, 2004 :: Spare Tyme Bowl (Dodge City, KS) ::
Wednesday Triple Threat League

October 5, 2004 :: Spare Tyme Bowl (Dodge City, KS) ::
Wednesday Triple Threat League

November 29, 2005 :: Spare Tyme Bowl (Dodge City, KS) ::
Tuesday Continental League

Highest Series: 777

October 5, 2004 :: Spare Tyme Bowl (Dodge City, KS) ::
Wednesday Triple Threat League

-Mu

The twelfth frame

2005-05-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well tomorrow is the end-of-season banquet for the Wednesday night league I bowl on. It is the close of bowling for the Winter 2004-2005 season, and I am looking forward to the break. I thought I'd share a little bit of my history in bowling dating back to my young teenage years in Overland Park.

It was another one of those long, boring summers in the early 90s, when I was around 14 years old or so... when going to the public pool and playing stickball in the neighborhood was just getting to be too much of a regular thing and getting old fairly quickly. I want to say it was the summer of 1994. Anyway, my brother, myself, and a couple neighborhood friends went to the local bowling alley just up the road for a casual game of bowling. This was to be the beginning. We had so much fun; I instantly became addicted. I wanted to bowl more. So the next week, we took advantage of a special summer rate and went again.

By the fall, we were all in our first youth bowling league. We all sucked (relatively speaking), with an average around 110 or so. I remember having a 114 average the first month of the league. I got my first bowling ball from K-mart, some POS plastic Brunswick ball, but it was drilled specifically for my hand, with my name engraved above the fingers!! I thought this was so cool. With this bowling ball, I began to try out "the hook". Now, plastic bowling balls, because of the outer material, are not meant to hook... but I tried to hook it anyway. It turned out that by the end of that bowling season, I turned my 114 average into something like a 146.

It wasn't until the next season that I got my first "reactive resin" bowling ball. My average continued to climb. My brother and I bowled every Saturday morning, and it was something we looked forward to every day of the week. Our home house was AMF College Lanes in Overland Park, KS. Another year went by, and I decided to bowl in the Kansas City youth travel league. The competition was very intimidating. There were a couple of incredible youth bowlers, and one youth in this league who bowled out of Independence carried about a 220 average with one of the most graceful and intimidating styles I had ever seen. I knew he was gonna be a professional bowler sometime down the line... and sure enough he did, Ritchie Allen, and has actually won a national PBA event.

So my "golden season" as a youth bowler, when I really began to blossom, was probably the 1996-97 season when I was carrying around a 210 average, touching 215 many times. I bowled my first 300 game on May 4th, 1997, at a YABA (Young America Bowling Alliance) sanctioned tournament in North Kansas City (Kansas City Open). I continued to carry an average between 210 and 215 through 1999, my last season as a YABA sanctioned bowler. My last Kansas State Youth (Coca-Cola) Tournament was spring of 1999. I bowled in the scratch division and won the state tournament in Wichita. It is my biggest tournament bowling accomplishment to date; winning this tournament allowed me to participate in the International Youth Coca-Cola Classic Tournament in Salt Lake City, UT in August - all expenses paid. What an incredible experience as a youth bowler to be able to compete with the world's best young bowlers; several of which were certainly bound to make bowling their profession.

I ended up finishing like 46th out of 64 in the scratch division of that tournament, but the experience, again, was just awesome. So came to an end, my days as a YABA bowler. Afterwards, I was putting pretty much all of my focus on my education and bowling was tertiary following school/studying and other meteorological/storm chasing activities. This pretty much took most all of my time from the end of 1999 up until the beginning of 2002. I made it a vow to get back in to bowling once I settled down with a new job.... so this leads me to Dodge City.

Upon moving to Dodge City for my new job, I started bowling only about a month later on a Thursday night league. I carried about a 205 average right off the bat, and then I began substituting on a regular basis on my co-worker's Wednesday night team. This takes me up to current time. I am still bowling on both leagues, but my Thursday night team is now moving to Tuesday nights for the 2005-06 season, and I will more than likely be the regular 5th man on Wednesday night... we shall see! Since moving to Dodge City, I have bowled 5 more perfect game 300s, 2 of them in un-sanctioned tournaments, unfortunately. But, I do have two ABC 300 rings now to go along with my one YABA 300 ring and YABA 300 jacket, which, yes I am proud of :-D

For reasons that should be obvious to those that know me, I only bowl with "Storm" equipment ;-)

-Mu

KC this weekend..

2005-04-30T10:13:00.000-05:00

I have today and Sunday off, so decided to drive to KC to visit the fam, since I probably won't come to KC Mother's Day weekend. On the way to KC last evening, I decided to drive through the Flint Hills and do a little photography. The Flints are just beautiful right now, with the new short grass growing after March burning. The hills were definitely alive. I've got a low-res photo posted below, and I'll submit more on my gallery page over the next few days. My favorite area in the Flints is a small area along the border of Chase and Greenwood County about 25 miles SSW of Emporia where "Texaco Hill" is located if you look on a detailed map (i.e., Delorme StreetAtlas). -Mu

Very Late April Winter

2005-04-28T16:22:00.000-05:00

Well, one of the strongest arctic air intrusions we've seen this year, including all of the winter season, is upon the high plains, currently. The temperature today in Dodge was steady around 39-40°F, when we should be around 70°F, which is the average high for this time of year. We are actually looking at the distinct possibility of measurable snow here in Dodge City tomorrow morning, perhaps as much as 1"!! April 29th. Wow. Okay, so obviously, this is putting the storm chasing on an extended hiatus. The system that will give western Kanas snow late tonight and early tomorrow will support what may be a fairly significant outbreak of tornadoes along just south of the lower Ohio River Valley. Memphis could be in trouble. It will be interesting to watch, indeed.

It also still looks like the possibility of a damaging freeze in parts of Western Kansas on Saturday morning, which was the topic of my last post. There could be 6 hours or so of <= 30°F temperatures, which could do a number on the wheat crop.

The blocked up, stagnant northern stream pattern...should it continue...may become detrimental to May chasing. A strong southern jet is great, but if it continues too far south, then lee troughing will be limited, which is crucial for return flow of warm, moist Gulf air. I doubt the pattern will stay like this, but it could very well extend into Mother's Day weekend. I have 3 days off on Mother's Day weekend, and I'd like to have a favorable pattern for high plains chasing. I don't need to see tornadoes, but any sort of large rotating fluid on the order of 3-6 miles in diameter and about 10 miles tall would suffice ;-) -Mu

A "killer" last freeze?

2005-04-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

Interesting weather on the western Kansas high plains dating back to March. There has been a ton of early spring growth out here with the blossoming of an assortment of wildflowers and trees really blooming out. The wheat crop is really starting to green up now and getting taller every day. Some guys at work have some fruit trees and they are saying that the growth looks like early to mid May... a good two weeks ahead of schedule. Why? Take a look at the preliminary climatological data at Dodge City for March and April

The statistic that clearly stands out the most to me is the number of days from March 15 to current (April 25) with average temperature >= 10°F of the "climo" or in laymen's terms "normal": 10. Contrast that with the number of days <= 10°F of climo: 2.

Clearly, the intrepid farmer must be on pins and needles with so much early spring growth given the climatology of western Kansas. The last 28°F (the benchmark temperature for a killing freeze) or colder morning was March 27th. The average last freeze in Dodge City is around April 20th (now, to be fair, this statistic is based on a low of 32°F). Last 28°F or colder low temperature since 1997:

2005: 25° (March 27) *so far!
2004: 24° (April 13)
2003: 24° (April 9)
2002: 23° (April 4)
2001: 25° (April 17)
2000: 27° (April 16)
1999: 24° (April 17)
1998: 25° (April 17)
1997: 20° (April 13)

Now, the reason I write about this is because historically, prolonged warmth is followed by just as dramatic reverse conditions many times. It's just the way it is around here on the high plains. We are now amidst a very cold pattern across the central and northern plains and upper midwest. Portions of Michigan are just recovering from a nasty blizzard just a few days ago. There is still a lot of cold air bottled up in the southern Canadian prairies, and the longwave atmospheric jet stream pattern supports the intrusion of very cold canadian air into the high plains in a more or less "congested" northern stream jet pattern.

By this coming weekend, a strong cold front will be moving through the central plains, and in the wake of the next storm system this weekend (on or about April 30th), low temperatures may very well strattle that dangerous 28°F for lows over portions of western Kansas where the wheat is really starting to take off, ahead of schedule. I shudder to think what will happen to the wheat crop should there be widespread low temperatures in the upper 20s towards the weekend. -Mu

Blogogenesis

2005-04-24T19:06:00.000-05:00

Oh my god, I have become one of them: The blogger!

So marks the initiation of The High Plains Drifter, which will provide all sorts of pseudo-fascinating posts regarding the goings-on in my life, primarily centered around the hobbies that make me who I am... storm chasing, photography, and meteorology (which so happens to be my career). Oh yeah, I'll talk a little about the sport of bowling, too, among other things that make this world turn. Not a lot of people are aware of "300" part of my nickname... so I'll share some bowling stories as well, down the line. -Mu